Easter Eggs

I actually wrote this post on Easter, but I just finished it now, so the title isn’t quite as topical as it ought to be. I wanted to talk about “easter egg” theory in storytelling, because I think it’s basically the key to telling really cool stories without coming across like bragging.

Basically, it works like this. When you’re talking to a woman you’ve just met, and there’s a flirty, romantic or sexual vibe between the two of you, she’s going to be reading into the stories you tell and scanning them for cues on who you really are, your lifestyle, and how cool you are. She’s going to be listening carefully and sizing you up, ever so subtly, based on what you’re saying.

In a way, she’s like a kid at an easter egg hunt. She’s listening to your story, but she’s also (subconsciously) scanning your story for hints as to your coolness (or lack therof). And most importantly, she’s scanning your story in the way that a regular guy, or a woman who wasn’t flirting with you, would not. And this is what trips guys up.

I do a storytelling program in my bootcamps, where I take student’s (real-life) stories and we polish them so that they’re interesting, not braggy, and yet say lots of good things about the speaker. But when I hear guys on the lounge and in the forums talk, their stories are usually WAY too braggy. They beat you over the head with a hammer that says “I’m cool” on it.

If you understand “Easter Egg Theory” you realize you can be WAYY more subtle, and women will still get it. Even if it’s so subtle that you wouldn’t get it yourself, it’s probably something that a woman who was flirting with you would pick up.

Continued in Easter Egg Theory Part II