Bob Dotson Pg. 43-55 Book Assignment.
 How to defeat the TV remote control

I think the TV remote analogy was awesome. I've learned from experience if someone is telling a story I don't really have any connection with, I'm usually not very interested and engaged in the story they're telling. I agree that it is very important for people to find topics that include emotions or feelings that many people can connect with. For instance, The Boston Bombing. If someone is telling a sad heartfelt story, a majority of the people reading are going to have the same sort of emotions while listening to the story. Each story told, should try to include as many people as possible. Imagery is also key, because you want your listeners to be able to feel like they're experiencing the story rather than just listening.
Be conversational

I don't know if I completely agree with the conversational statement, because although someone may be a very intelligent person who writes real well, they may not use correct grammar, and could even make the listeners judge the person for how they talk. For instance, I know many girls that are very intelligent but if they're adding words such as "like" and other teenage girl slang, they might not come across as well as someone who has correct grammar and doesn't include much slang.
Gobbledygook and clichés

I think it is very important to avoid any "Gobbledygook" and cliches. There is a lot of slang in our society these days and you don't want to confuse the listener. People also need to remember to be creative and use their own words/phrases rather than using all sorts of cliches.
Active voice

Active voice is SO important in stories. Nobody wants verbiage in the story, people just want to know the main point with important details. Using active voice can prevent the story teller from rambling and boring the listener. It's important to make the listeners feel involved and with active voice, which produces more imagery in the story.

Writing in Threes

I feel like writing in threes isn't that important in story telling. I could see how it could be somewhat effective but overall I feel like it's kind of pointless. I think there's a better chance that people will remember vivid images rather than a chunk of words.
Surprises

I love surprises! I think they are an awesome component to any story! There's nothing better than reading or listening to a story, then it instantly changes up and shocks the listener. Surprises really help the listener stay engaged because when the story begins to twist a little bit, it makes them want to hear what happens next! Overall I think surprises are very fun for the listener and even the story teller!

Read this story and watch this one (a bit of a sports theme this week). Write two paragraphs (one about each) that explains how the story uses/handles at least three of these aspects. Give specific examples (100 words in each paragraph, so at least 200 total words)

The story about Nick and Nate winning $50,000 and returning it all, was so inspirational. There are very few people that would return all that money. It was definitely a huge surprise. I had no clue that the boys were going to decide to return the money but they did, which was pretty shocking to me. Another aspect that was included in the story was active voice. The article explained "Nate started going bonkers at the other end of the ice, high-fiving and pogo-sticking." It created the image in my head that he was completely ecstatic and so surprised. Another aspect included was the conversational aspect. Without getting off topic or rambling, the story teller explained how the boys switched classes one day to pretend to be the other which was just a little detail to show that you really couldn't tell the two boys apart.

The story about the parents with 12 boys who all played football was unbelievable. It was a very interesting story to listen to. There was a lot of active voice included when the reporter explained about all 12 of the boys playing football. There was even active voice when the mom explained how the boys wanted to keep the green carpet because it resembled a football field to them. The story was very conversational. The mom included how she was so sad that she was watching her youngest son's last football game. It really showed her passion for watching her boys play. The surprise that was included was that although she was heartbroken that it was her last game to watch her son, she was excited to watch many of her 49 grandchildren participate in the same sport.