--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My advice for telling someone else's…" description: "\"My advice for telling someone else's story is to try not to consciously bend the story in any particular direction - to listen with an open mind, to in..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/657/michael-finkel-7714_advice_my-advice-for-telling-someone-else-s-sto_3074745.jpg" --- # My advice for telling someone else's story is to try not… ![“My advice for telling someone else's story is to try not to consciously bend the story in any particular direction - to listen with an open mind, to include the good with the bad, to attempt to quell one's biases and allow the person you're writing about to emerge as wholly as possible, warts and…” quote by Michael Finkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/657/michael-finkel-7714_advice_my-advice-for-telling-someone-else-s-sto_3074745.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/657/michael-finkel-7714_advice_my-advice-for-telling-someone-else-s-sto_3074745.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/657/michael-finkel-7714_advice_my-advice-for-telling-someone-else-s-sto_3074745.jpg) > “My advice for telling someone else's story is to try not to consciously bend the story in any particular direction - to listen with an open mind, to include the good with the bad, to attempt to quell one's biases and allow the person you're writing about to emerge as wholly as possible, warts and all.” [Michael Finkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-finkel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote advises writers to stay impartial, letting subjects' stories unfold naturally without imposing personal bias. **In simple terms:** Write honestly, showing both strengths and flaws. Key Takeaway Prioritize truth over narrative control. Themes integrity objectivity storytelling Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type ethical reflective When to use this quote - biographies - documentary filmmaking - journalistic reporting Key Concepts bias mitigation authentic voice narrative ethics Questions to Reflect On - How can writers recognize their own biases? - What techniques help maintain openness? A Different Perspective Complete objectivity is impossible; personal perspective always colors retelling. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Advice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/advice/) [Advice Telling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/advice-telling-1853039/) [Biases Allow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biases-allow-5218093/) [Direction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/direction/) [Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Open mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/open-mind/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Story Particular](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story-particular-515636/) [Telling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/telling/) [Telling Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/telling-story/) [Try](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/try/) ## Related quotes > [“Values are the individual biases that allow you to decide which actions are true for you alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stan-slap/values-are-the-individual-biases-that-allow-you-to-decide-which/) [Stan Slap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stan-slap/) > [“She seemed to be trying to take in what Kay had said to her: this bizarre, dangerous advice about telling the truth”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling/she-seemed-to-be-trying-to-take-in-what-kay-had-said-to-her-this/) [J.K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling/) > [The only advice I can give you is what you're telling yourself. 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I don't like explaining a lot in dialogue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sofia-coppola/i-like-telling-the-story-in-a-visual-way-i-don-t-like-explaining-a/) [Sofia Coppola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sofia-coppola/) > [You're telling the story, creating the sets, doing the lighting, the designing, and establishing the pace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-sienkiewicz/you-re-telling-the-story-creating-the-sets-doing-the-lighting-the/) [Bill Sienkiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-sienkiewicz/) > [Everything, for me, is fueled off telling my story through music, because I have a lot to say, and it's some urgent things that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-b/everything-for-me-is-fueled-off-telling-my-story-through-music/) [Lil B](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-b/) > [Telling a story of illness, one pulls a thread through a narrow opening flanked on one side by shame and the other by trivia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-griffin/telling-a-story-of-illness-one-pulls-a-thread-through-a-narrow/) [Susan Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-griffin/) > [Story is about pulling the reader in and a plot is a more externalized mechanism of revelation. 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And once it's gone, there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/time-is-priceless-you-have-it-but-you-don-t-own-it-you-spend-it-but/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You don't need to take a persons advice to make him feel good, just ask him for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-j-peter/you-don-t-need-to-take-a-persons-advice-to-make-him-feel-good-just/) [Laurence J. Peter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-j-peter/) > [Some of the things that we hold onto the most, are the things that we need to let go of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryaj-ablando-catayas/some-of-the-things-that-we-hold-onto-the-most-are-the-things-that-we/) [Ryaj Ablando Catayas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryaj-ablando-catayas/) > [“If your clothes are enough to drive would-be friends away, they're not the kind of friends you want." Typical mother advice. 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He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-coman/my-relationship-with-ibrahimovic-was-completely-neutral-he-is-not-the/) [Kingsley Coman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-coman/) [Browse all 8,535 Advice quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/advice/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My advice for telling someone else's story is to try not to consciously bend the story in any particular direction - to listen with an open mind, to include the good with the bad, to attempt to quell one's biases and allow the person you're writing about to emerge as wholly as possible, warts and all.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michael Finkel" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-finkel/my-advice-for-telling-someone-else-s-story-is-to-try-not-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Advice" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-finkel/my-advice-for-telling-someone-else-s-story-is-to-try-not-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/657/michael-finkel-7714_advice_my-advice-for-telling-someone-else-s-sto_3074745.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/657/michael-finkel-7714_advice_my-advice-for-telling-someone-else-s-sto_3074745.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/657/michael-finkel-7714_advice_my-advice-for-telling-someone-else-s-sto_3074745.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My advice for telling someone else's story is to try not to consciously bend the story in any particular…” — Michael Finkel", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Michael Finkel", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-finkel/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "My advice for telling someone else's...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-finkel/my-advice-for-telling-someone-else-s-story-is-to-try-not-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-finkel/my-advice-for-telling-someone-else-s-story-is-to-try-not-to/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```