Aim for the Heart (Chapters 1-2): Important Takeaways

In chapter one of “Aim for the Heart” by Al Tompkins, it opens the conversation on what to include in a story and why. The idea of “aiming for the heart” is that when one is telling a story, the story being told should be focused to appeal to the reader's/viewer’s emotions. When it appeals to your audience's emotions they are more likely to actually take something from the report and remember it. People should stay at the “heart” of the story so it will be much more impactful. Tompkins brought up an interesting point that at a very young age we learn how to storytell. Yet, as we grow, we tend to forget some of the most basic aspects we were originally taught about storytelling. Tompkins reminded readers that we learn what is most “important” or the subject of a story early on. So, we should strive to take what we learned while we were young and apply it to real-life journalism. Instead of rambling about many things, get to the part that people need to know. Similarly to getting to the main part, but we should take our time and not spread our storytelling to thin. Sometimes there may be a lot to cover, but Tompkins suggests going deeper into the smaller, meaningful details rather than focusing on too much and in the process, not elaborating enough. Tompkins also discusses that when we are reporting specific details, we should quote the interviewee on their opinions or feelings rather than the facts of the present. Facts can always be summarized but it is much harder to re-describe how someone felt without their actual quote present. 

In chapter two of “Aim for the Heart” by Al Tompkins the shape of the story is discussed. Tompkins presents different ways of storytelling and which he believes to be most effective and useful in journalism. He recognizes that some ways of storytelling can make the audience bored, so bored they tune out and stop listening after what you initially say. To combat this, he gives good advice for how journalists can keep their audience engaged. Tompkins reminisces that what stuck with him most over the years is always surprising the audience. This may seem like a no brainer, but it isn't for most. We tend to believe we should open up with the surprise but Tompkis believes saying surprises throughout the story will keep any audience engaged. To also keep an audience engaged, you must never stick to a specific formula when writing stories. You should be changing up each story and craft them all uniquely because you’ll bore your readers/viewers by doing what they expect you’ll do. When one hears your story it should make them engaged, inform them why it even matters, tell them something they don’t already know, and give them new perspectives. Also, I thought Tompkins' hourglass analogy was very interesting because it shows how important or “big” information should be at the beginning and end of a story.