"What Happened Next?" English Phrases for Telling Great Stories
When telling stories in English, you can use “then” to move from one event to another, but it won’t sound very interesting. To keep your listeners excited to hear more, there are special terms you need to know.
This article will introduce words and phrases to help you smoothly move from one point to another while adding drama and tension to keep your listeners interested. Let’s take a look at some examples.
Words and phrases for stories
Try the following words and phrases instead of "first," "then, "next" and "finally" to make your stories more entertaining and fun to listen to.
Just then
This phrase is more dramatic than simply "then," and it has the nuance of something happening quickly or suddenly.
- Just then, I realized I forgot my phone in the hotel room.
Suddenly
Use this to talk about something that happens surprisingly or without warning.
- Suddenly, the sky got dark and it started raining heavily.
Next thing you know
This is an alternative to “suddenly” that also has the nuance of surprise.
- Next thing you know, she was waiting outside my front door!
Imagine my surprise when ~
This phrase has a slightly formal tone and is used when something is very unexpected.
- Imagine my surprise when my new neighbor turned out to be my old roommate from college!
Out of nowhere ~
This phrase emphasizes that something happens without warning.
- Out of nowhere, the police start knocking on our door, complaining about the noise.
Right away
Use this phrase before mentioning a quick response or reaction.
- Right away I could tell we were going to be good friends.
Even when not telling stories, this expression is used to emphasize quickness or something that must happen immediately.
- We need to complete this project right away, so please forget your other assignments for now.
Related article: 8 Expressions for Making Urgent Requests Politely
Let me back up / Let me rewind / I forgot to mention ~
These expressions can be used in two different ways. First, they can introduce something that happened before your main story which is necessary to know in order to understand what happens later.
- Let me back up. Two weeks ago …
The other use is if you forget an important part of your story; this tells the listener that you are returning to something that happened earlier.
- Let me rewind. You know who Tom is, right?
- Oh, I forgot to mention that Jun had already been drinking a lot by that point.
If you are listening to a story, you can use "back up" to ask your conversation partner to repeat or clarify something. Note that this sounds a bit informal.
- Wait, can you back up? Where did you say you were?
It turns out ~ / In the end ~
Use these phrases to introduce the conclusion or result of something that happened earlier in your story.
- It turns out that the quiz was postponed until the next day, so I didn't need to worry after all.
- In the end, everybody got home safely. But what a crazy night!
Would you believe ~?
When a result or consequence is shocking or unexpected, you can introduce it with this phrase.
- Would you believe they still wanted us to pay full price after that horrible experience?
Story example
Let's put some of these examples together into one story and see how they work together.
Last week, I met Joy and Yuki for lunch at the restaurant on the corner.
Right away, I felt that something was strange.
After the cashier took our orders, we sat at a table near the window.
Suddenly, we heard loud voices coming from the kitchen.
Next thing you know, the whole restaurant was filled with smoke!
The fire department had to come to put out the fire.
It turns out, the restaurant's new cook had never worked in a kitchen before and burned our burgers!
Would you believe they still tried to charge us for our food?
Wrap-up
To be a good storyteller, the content of the story must be interesting, but the words you use to tell it are important too! Simple phrases like "suddenly" and "in the end" can help fill your stories with tension and surprise and keep your listeners wondering what will happen next. Give them a try in your next English chat.
If you want to practice telling a story of your own, book a lesson with an Engoo tutor and give these expressions a try!
