The science writing advice that changed everything

Why story beats storyteller every time

I’ve been at this science writing game for more than 15 years now. And in all that time, there is one singular piece of wisdom that sticks out more than any other. It has shaped the way I think about everything I touch, from op-eds to pitch decks to articles and talks. It’s practically my daily mantra.

Spoiler, it’s actually three pieces of wisdom.

Back when I was just a baby science writer and a student at MIT’s graduate program, I was lucky enough to meet Robert Krulwich: the seminal NPR reporter and uncommonly kind human. Among the many gems he shared that day, he outlined his philosophy to telling complex stories, which I’ve since bastardized and evolved into the following core ideas:

• No one likes to feel dumb.

• Everyone likes to feel smart.

• But what everyone loves is to feel smarter than you.

That’s it, goodbye! Just kidding. There’s a lot here so let’s unpack it together.

No one likes to feel dumb.

My freshman year of college, I found myself in a weeder calculus class that I had absolutely no business being in. I still remember the deep and overwhelming shame I felt sitting in that lecture hall, utterly lost, while the hundreds of students around me seemed to be hanging in just fine.

When you’re telling a story about anything technical, this is the first and most critical risk: alienating your audience before you even start by making them feel stupid. The less we understand, the more defensive we get, and the less receptive we are to new ideas.

And that’s not just a hurdle when talking to a lay audience. Between acronyms, jargon, or heck just the constant barrage of phone notifications, even the most PhD-laden, technical guru of an audience member can fall behind—particularly in a fast-paced pitch environment.

Everyone likes to feel smart.

This may seem like an obvious corollary to the first idea, but there’s an important nuance at play.

That sensation of “getting” something? Man does it feel good. It both lights us up and makes us feel safe and in control. And it turns out that positive emotions like these can increase attention, enhance memory, and widen our scope of attention—quite literally making us more open-minded.

This positive feedback loop is an incredible storytelling tool. Making your audience comfortable and happy isn’t mere fluff. It’s how you prime them to hear you out and ask for more.

But what everyone loves is to feel smarter than you.

This—oh, this is the clincher.

Robert Krulwich told us that just before a big reveal in a story, he’d write in a speed bump. It could be a few extra words, a brief pause, or even repeating himself. This might seem like a tool to build anticipation. It’s actually just the opposite.

By slowing down at that critical moment, he’d give the audience a chance to get ahead of him (as you may be doing now, dear reader) and figure out what he was going to say before he said it. That second or two was all it took for his listeners to say, “HaHA! I beat you to it! I’m smarter than the guy with the microphone!”

Does this technique require you to sacrifice your big mic-drop moment? Absolutely. But that’s the beauty at the heart of this advice: that the storyteller’s ego is never more important than the story itself.

Sure, your audience may get to hold one over on you. But they’re listening—and remembering. It’s a different, more meaningful, and longer-lasting kind of victory. I don’t know about you, but that’s the one I’ll take it every time.

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