From YouTuber to Podcast-Star: Why MrBallen's Storytelling Sets the Gold Standard for the Genre
- 19 hours ago
- 3 min read
By Mackenzie Mitchel
Sliding into the driver’s seat, I take stock to make sure I have everything I need. But before I back out, I notice how quiet it is in the car, and that’s when it hits me - I don’t have any music or podcasts playing. Putting the car back in park, I think for a moment about what to play. Once the answer becomes apparent, I put the car back into reverse, fumble through the apps on my phone, find the one I want, and start backing down the driveway.
The voice that comes over my speakers is so familiar to me by now that I don’t even need to see him to have a picture in my head of his backwards cap and flannel shirt sitting at a desk, talking about those strange, dark, and mysterious stories that I’ve come to love so much. His voice controls the emotion of the story and, in many ways, the emotions of the listeners, as well. I immediately become entangled in his tales of suspense and fear (at times), waiting for that climactic reveal that makes you go, “What just happened?”
For those of you who have not been able to figure it out yet, I’m listening to the infamous MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark, & Mysterious Stories.
It’s no surprise that people love stories. And it seems so easy to be a storyteller, you just recount what happened…right? In theory, yes, but there’s so much more to it than that. As the world around us becomes increasingly instant, it’s becoming harder and harder to capture and maintain people’s attention. There is one person who stands above the rest, and that is MrBallen (AKA John Allen). He hooks you from the very beginning with openers like, “You think you’re safe at home, but today’s two stories prove you’re not,” and “Today’s podcast will feature three stories that will make you wonder how many monsters you may have encountered in your life.” He makes you want to start listening and then saves the big reveal until the very end, keeping you engaged.
John has spoken about his storytelling tactics previously, stating, “If you want a story to land, you start with the end. What am I going to reveal that I will not reveal until the end? And once you have that in mind, you build the story with as much discipline as you can to ensure nothing is tipped. You have to have a payoff at the end and be absolutely ruthless about not giving it up at all before getting to the end.”
His stories are told in first-person narrative. You only know as much as that character knows, and at the end is when the true nature of the world becomes apparent. To give you the best possible experience, he spends hours fully immersing himself in each story he tells. With every detail he gives and inflection of his voice, he’s able to pull you deeper and deeper into the story to the point where you feel like it’s happening to you.
At the end of the day, anyone can sit behind a microphone and talk, but very few can truly pull you into the story. That’s why John owns the mic of storytelling, not by being the loudest, but by being the most intentional. He doesn’t ask for your attention; he earns it. If you want people to lean in, you must give them something worth leaning into. That’s what keeps millions of us coming back time and time again.
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