July 21, 2026
Obama has one trick for telling the most unforgettable stories.
And once you see it, you’ll want to use it every single time.
“I open up the curtains. It’s pouring down rain outside. Pouring down rain. Horrible day.
I make myself some coffee and I get the newspaper outside my door and open it up. There’s a bad story about me in the New York Times.
I get dressed, shave, walk out. Just kind of still groggy, still staggering. My umbrella blows open. That ever happened to you?
As I’m walking out I get soaked. I’m just soaked.
I get in the car. I say, ‘All right, how long is it going to take to Greenwood?’
‘An hour and a half.’
So, we’re driving and we’re driving and we’re driving. Doesn’t seem like we’re going anywhere. Sheets of rain are pouring down.
So, I’m about to make my pitch. I’m trying to muster myself up. Let me make the best of this. I’m going to do it quick and then I’m going to get out of here.
And suddenly I hear this voice from the back just shout:
‘Fired up.’
And everybody in the room says, ‘Fired up.’
And then I hear the voice say, ‘Ready to go.’
And everybody in the room says, ‘Ready to go.’
And I don’t know what’s going on.”
Most people tell stories like this:
“Well, last year I had a really tough day at the campaign trail, but later I discovered the campaign slogan.”
Well, that’s a summary.
Sure, you hear it, but you don’t feel it.
Obama doesn’t summarize.
He zooms in.
One specific vivid moment unfolding in real time.
And today we’re going to break down exactly how he zooms in using a four-part framework I call PAST.
When you master those four techniques, you know how to tell stories like Obama.
Most people think that a great story starts with this long description.
“Well, it was a warm Sunday afternoon. Birds were singing and the smell of lavender filled the air.”
Dude, nobody cares.
That just sounds staged or fake and it kills the momentum before your story has even started.
The better way is to just state the place.
Obama does the same.
We know exactly where we are.
First in his apartment, then in the car, then in the campaign headquarters.
So the next time you tell a story, open by stating the location or place.
So you say something like:
“Two weeks ago I’m sitting on my couch in Amsterdam.”
Or:
“I’m outside the conference room taking a deep breath.”
Now you hear those places and a movie starts playing in your head.
You can picture it.
But once you’ve done it, you immediately want to go into the next technique.
This is where the stories die before they’ve even started.
People spend the first minute giving context.
They say something like:
“So a bit of background. I’ve been working at this company for about 3 years. My boss and I had always a complicated relationship, but yeah, it was generally all right.”
Dude, don’t do that.
Context kills momentum, and momentum is everything in a story.
Obama gives zero context about the campaign.
He drops us straight into the action.
He says:
“Alarm goes off and I feel terrible. My umbrella blows open. I get soaked.”
Every sentence is something happening.
You’re not just being told about his morning.
You are reliving it.
And you can do the same.
Start in the middle of something.
Walking, waiting, typing, running, saying something.
Describe what is physically happening in that moment.
“I’m in my manager’s office when he slides a letter across the desk.”
“I’m staring at my laptop, hovering over the send button.”
Those sentences drop your listeners into the moment.
Skip the context and trust that the context will emerge from the story itself.
But let’s now talk about the technique that Obama uses the most.
Your story will often have another character.
But when people tell that story, they usually summarize that interaction with the other character.
They’re like:
“Well, then people helped me come up with a campaign slogan.”
That’s not great because we can’t see it.
We can’t hear it.
We can’t feel it.
Now, Obama doesn’t do that.
He quotes them directly and suddenly:
“I hear this voice, ‘Fired up.'”
And everybody says:
“Fired up. Ready to go.”
Now, you’re not hearing about the crowd anymore.
You are in the crowd.
So, how can you do the same?
Well, find the moments in your story where someone said something more meaningful and quote them directly.
So, instead of saying:
“Well, my customer was very frustrated.”
Say:
“He called me and said, ‘This was the worst customer service I’ve received in my life.'”
Or instead of saying:
“My mom loved the idea.”
Say:
“My mom smiled and said, ‘Oh, that’s exactly what I needed. Thank you.'”
And sure, don’t worry.
You don’t need to remember the exact words.
Just use the words that could have been said in that moment.
Close enough is good enough.
But now on to the next one.
This is the one that I use the most when I want to make my listeners care.
Bad storytellers just describe what happened.
They’re like:
“Well, I walked into the meeting and I had a very tough conversation with my boss.”
Now, average storytellers, they share the emotion.
They say:
“I was really nervous walking in.”
That is already better, but still not great.
While the best storytellers, they share the exact thoughts that they had in that moment.
“Oh my god. He’s going to tear this apart in front of everyone.”
That’s not telling us you were nervous.
That’s putting us inside your head while you were nervous.
Completely different.
And Obama does that as well.
He doesn’t say he was tired or discouraged.
He tells us exactly what was going on through his mind.
“Well, I’m about to make the pitch. I’m trying to muster myself up. Going to do it quick and then I’m going to get out of here.”
Those are the thoughts, raw, honest, and human.
And you can do the same.
Find a few important moments in your story and ask yourself:
What was I actually thinking right then?
Not the polished version, the real version, the slightly irrational but human version.
So instead of saying:
“Well, I was very nervous about the meeting.”
Say:
“I thought, please don’t ask me a question. I have absolutely no idea what the answer is.”
Or instead of saying:
“I was embarrassed.”
Say:
“I thought. Every single person in this room will think that I’m a complete idiot.”
Now, those are the thoughts that make people lean in.
They will recognize themselves inside your story.
And that recognition is what makes the story impossible to forget.
But let’s now look at a second Obama story to see if you can spot PAST in real time.
“You know, we get mobbed. We have to leave the zoo. I’m kind of depressed about the whole thing.
And Malia, who’s sitting in the back seat with Sasha, she says, ‘Dad, uh, you need an alias.’
And Sasha’s like, ‘What’s an alias?’
And I’m like, ‘Well, it’s like a fake name you use so you disguise your identity.’
‘So, it should be like Johnny McJohn John.’
I said, ‘You think that should be my name? John?’
‘Yeah.’
She said, ‘But uh the problem is you also have to disguise your voice because it’s too distinctive. You talk really slow. You need to speed up how you talk and use a higher voice.’
So, she had a whole plan.
Sasha agreed to the plan.
We get home.
They explain the plan to Michelle.
Michelle says:
‘Uh, hun, you know, the only way that daddy’s gonna disguise himself is if he has surgery to pin back his ears.’
Which I found somewhat offensive.”
Well, Place: the car, right?
Pretty obvious.
Action: they leave the zoo and get into the car.
Speech: well, his daughter says, “Dad, you need an alias.”
He shares the exact words of that moment.
And Thoughts, notice Obama doesn’t use too many thoughts in his story.
Actually, the speech or the dialogue really does the heavy lifting.
And that’s completely fine.
You don’t need all four elements in every single story.
But when you do, it will take your story to the next level.
That’s PAST:
Place, Action, Speech, and Thoughts.
So, try using this framework in your next story and notice how much more interesting it will be.
And if you want more tips on how to become a magnetic storyteller, check out this next article.
See you there.
P.S. Want to become a stronger communicator?
Here are two ways I can support you:
👉 Want to tell more engaging stories? Join our next Storytelling Workshop.
👉 Want to speak with confidence and clarity? Check out our Communication Skills Training.
Both are fun, practical, and designed to help you grow fast.
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