How to Make Storytelling a Habit
Storytelling isn’t something you sprinkle in once in a while. To work, it has to be part of your podcast’s DNA. Without that intentional design, episodes drift back into lists and talking points - and lose their impact. Here’s how to make storytelling a repeatable habit.
Start Every Episode with a Story Question
Instead of “What topic are we covering?” ask “What’s the story we’re telling here?” For interviews, look for arcs in the guest’s journey. For solos, outline the moment of change or challenge behind your advice.
Train Your Story Radar
Hosts and producers get better at spotting story the more they practice. Listen for emotion, stakes, surprise, or a shift in tone. Those are cues to pause, dig deeper, and draw out narrative.
Edit Through a Story Lens
Don’t just clean up audio. Cut with the question: Where’s the arc? Where’s the payoff? Over time, this lens shapes how you record too - you’ll ask sharper questions because you know what you’ll need in the edit.
Make It Part of the Culture
If you’re working inside a business, bring the whole team along. Prep guests to share turning points, brief hosts to ask narrative-driven questions, and promote episodes with story clips.
Review Your Own Work
Look back at past episodes with storytelling in mind. Did they have an arc? Clear stakes? A moment of change? Patterns will emerge, and they’ll sharpen your future shows.
Storytelling is a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger your podcast becomes. Build it into prep, recording, editing, and culture - and it stops being an afterthought and starts being the engine of your show. Want to go deeper? We’ve just wrapped a 5-part series on storytelling over on our podcast Showmakers, available wherever you get your podcast or in blog form at 1878.studio/tips
