Monday Minute: Red Herring

It is time for your Fearless Monday Minute. I just came yesterday from delivering a story at a storytelling event. And in the crafting of the story, I use an amazing rhetorical device that I’ll share with you, which is a “Red Herring”. Now a red herring comes from the early 1800s. And apparently on the hunt, they would smoke a very smelly fish to divert the dogs from chasing the rabbit. So similarly, in a story, a red herring is used to draw attention to a plot point that leads the audience away from what it is that you’re actually speaking about to offer a surprise or a huge payoff at the end. So as you are crafting your stories, think judiciously about including a “Red Herring” to lead the audience off the trace of the hunt of the story, but delivering a huge payoff.