Haritosh SrivastavFounder & Head Coach, Confident Storytelling Hub

Forget summarizing, try the PAST method instead #storytelling #tips

4 Apr 2026 · 1 min

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1:03

In this short instructional video, the speaker argues that most people fail at storytelling because they try to summarize too much information, cramming multiple details into a single narrative. To counter this, the speaker introduces the PAST framework—Place, Action, Speech, Thought—as a method for focusing on one vivid event at a time. An example is given: standing in front of a conference room (Place), taking a deep breath and opening the door (Action), a manager’s spoken question (Speech), and the speaker’s internal reaction (Thought). By concentrating on a single movement or frame, the storyteller keeps the audience immersed in the scene. The video concludes with a call to follow Coach Haritosh Srivastav for more storytelling tips.

Chapters

Most people suck at storytelling, and the reason is they try to summarize. You see, lot of people try to cram so much of information, so much of things into one story. But some great storytellers like to focus on one vivid event at a time. And you can use this PAST framework to help you get there. So P stands for place. For example, 2 weeks ago, I was in front of that conference room. A stands for action. I took a deep breath and I opened the door. S stands for speech. Manager looked at me and said, where have you been? Why didn't you pick my call? And T stands for thought. I thought, today I'm done. I'm not sure how I'm going to tell him this. Did you see that? We focused on one movement, one frame, one activity at a time. When you do that, your audience is also with you in that room. For more such tips, follow Coach Haritosh Srivastav.