I know a famous Hollywood comedy impresario who insists on the following principle:
Never be the hero in your own story. He himself can easily say that. This nice man comes across as an undisputed antihero. An antihero is – as we know – more realistic than a hero. I consider myself quite realistic. I recognize myself more in Danny de Vito than in George Clooney.
Okay, back to the message of this blog. 'Never be the hero of your own story' is a rule of thumb that I passionately support.
Learn from Hollywood, dear reader. Don't let your speech be about you. You are not the hero. Not you. The other person is the hero. And because you do that, you are the hero. Complicated? Not at all. Pay attention and read along.
You are on stage, it is about you. But it should not be about you. The shine should shine on you. So you have to mentally mislead the audience. How do you do that? Simple; put characters 'next to you' on your stage. Not in the flesh of course. Figurative characters. Whether they really existed and were actually part of your story, that does not matter. Create them.
The second rule of thumb is that you use these characters likeable must make. The guide who almost sent you into the abyss by mistake. The captain of the sinking ship you were left behind in. Your own ex-Wolf of Wall Street stockbroker Jordan Belfort. They deserve the worst punishment, that's what anyone would think. Nevertheless, you make him likable. You add the likability factor come on. Your audience has to fall in love with that loser. So he was incredibly strong, handsome, clever, pitiful. He couldn't help it, the bad luck was ingrained in his genes. His childhood was harsh and angry.
And – ha! – that infatuation, that compassion that arises, it radiates onto you.
For want of anything better – after all, the character isn't there – they want you, skin and all yours.
That's how it works, dear reader of this blog. The trick of projection. The benefits, but not the burdens.
Rule of thumb 1: Never be the hero of your own story. Create another character.
Rule of thumb 2: Add the likability factor to the character. The shine radiates on you.
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