5 takeaways from David Sedaris’s MasterClass “Storytelling and Humor”

Have you tried out Masterclass? I am giving it a go to learn from the best of the best. Starting with David Sedaris’s course on writing. I’m a fan of his work to begin with, so I was excited to hear what advice he has to offer. In my opinion, David’s course is helpful for anyone who wants to make a lasting impression, is a public speaker of some sort (teacher, leader) or in my case - a creative. The course is fun to listen to, easy to watch, and very insightful. Here are a few takeaways for me personally:

Be more like a sponge - absorb what is going on around you to stimulate your mind and fuel inspiration. I do this already as a graphic designer. I’m always looking at signage, critiquing advertisements, imagining how I would rebrand a product. However, Sedaris’ advice applies more closely to personal interactions with people. Take mental notes of interesting or even mundane interactions you have with people. Which leads me to my next takeaway: the importance of mining your own life stories to write about. 

While you are going about your day, think of it as a story. If something awkward or awful happens to you, just say to yourself, “one day you I write about this.”

Consider how engaged you are with the world around you. Tune in and observe your life as a story. Talk to strangers. Seek out random interactions. Say yes more often. If you say no, that’s it - end of story. But if you say yes, you never know what will happen or where it will take you. The key to this takeaway is lifting your face away from your phone and actually participating in the world around you.

Be honest with your writing. Honest writing leads to an awkward conversation. Or a laugh. Or a revelation. Write the truth - not your feelings. Writing honestly will form a stronger bond with your audience.

Put in the work - write it - then write it again - then write it again - repeat until the story becomes complete. This process can be applied to any other creative process as well. Practice makes perfect right? As it turns out, David Sedaris makes notes of how his writing effects the audience during live readings. This blew my mind, but it makes sense. For example, Sedaris notes when the audience laughs or when there is awkward silence. Taking notes in the moment and revising accordingly will yield wonderful results. I plan on using this bit of advice with my art/design projects, granted a proper critique lends itself to this naturally.

Thanks for reading my notes on the David Sedaris Masterclass! I highly recommend it to anyone creative.