The Level Up English Podcast (Natural British English) #368 The Secret to Telling Great Stories - Rayhan Abbasi
Mar 18, 2026
Rayhan Abbasi, English teacher and creator of Learn English with Ray, shares storytelling tips drawn from vivid personal anecdotes. He explains why stories matter beyond grammar. Expect practical techniques for hooks, pacing, tense choices, and steering conversations. Stories include a kidney-stone operation, a chase in Birmingham, and sleep-paralysis encounters.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Use Tone To Shape The Emotion Of A Story
- Use humor and tone to change the listener's emotional reaction even for unpleasant topics.
- Michael notes Ray made his painful kidney-stone story entertaining by adding comic asides and self-deprecating remarks.
Make Stories Relevant To The Conversation
- Make your story relevant to the current conversation by guiding topics or waiting for a natural opening.
- Rayhan demonstrates both the natural method (responding to an existing topic) and the guided method (steering a chat toward travel to introduce a related story).
Open With A Strong Hook
- Start with a clear hook using superlatives or surprising claims to tell listeners what the story is about and why they should care.
- Rayhan suggests hooks like The Scariest Thing That Ever Happened To Me or I Saw A Ghost to instantly grab attention.