Ira Glass tells a good story...on storytelling...

For our second blog we were assigned to watch a few videos on YouTube and give our reaction...a very tough assignment! Believe it or not, I'm not familiar with Ira Glass; I've heard the name before but never have really known who he is. I still don't, but now I know a bit more about him and his ideas.
I was pretty impressed after viewing the videos. I commend our professor for picking these clips; I think we all know what he's looking for and expects from us now. I'm still up in the air when it comes to the topic of my project, but after viewing the videos I feel like I can narrow the topics down and try to tell the most compelling and interesting story possible.
In the first clip, I learned that there are two main components to telling a good story: keep the audience interested and have a great ending...nothing's worse than a dull story with a great point or a great story with a crappy ending!
The second clip reassured me that it is HARD to find a great story...it takes time. Unfortunately, time is not on my side right now; three ideas are due in a few hours. Hopefully, something will come to me quickly!
In part three, this problem is answered by the advice of working on a deadline...exactly what we're doing in class! This was my favorite clip; I loved it when Ira made fun of his own writing and on-air reporting. Hilarious! If you click on only one link, this should be the one.
Finally, the fourth clip gives us advice on common problems people experience when trying to create a package. Ironically, my broadcasting teacher taught us that we HAD to learn how to talk in "TV Talk," where Ira says just to talk normally and to be yourself. Perhaps it's a fine line...
Either way, I really enjoyed the videos and thought they can really help me create a good story. I imagine I will come back to them frequently to assess my progress throughout the semester.