Lambert's Seven Elements

1. Point (of view)
There has to be a reason behind telling your story.  Just giving a list of what happening is boring and useless.  A point can be a need, desire, or problem that you want to address.  The point of view can be the audience's connection with the story and can be the reason that they understand the premise of the story.  
2. Dramatic Question
Making a point won't hold your audience's attention, you have to have something bigger and broader.  A question runs throughout the story and is in the opening and closing lines.  It's the beginning and the end - Will the girl get the guy? (beginning) the pursuit (middle) and the getting/not getting of the guy (ending).  
3. Emotional Content
Stories need emotion - without emotion fueling a story, it is nothing.  It is boring and useless.  An emotional story connects with an audience like nothing else.  It is a way to involve your audience. Different emotions drive different stories, and a different emotion behind the same story can change it entirely.  
4. The Gift of Your Voice 
Having a voice over can add so much to a story.  We all talk a little differently, and having a conversation with you audience can make your audience more engaged.  We naturally listen more to a voice then to anything else.  We listen for inflections and pauses to help us understand the proper reaction to the story being told.  
5. The Power of the Soundtrack
We are at a time where people walk with soundtracks constantly playing in their heads.  We think to music, we are exposed to a lot of different kinds of music and can connect certain music to certain emotions and situations.  If your soundtrack is off - a sweet, soft song playing while something bad is happening won't connect and will confuse your audience.  Also, the opposite of if fast music is playing and something slow is happening an audience will get lost and lose focus.  We, as audience members, know what music is supposed to go with what, so you have to go with what you know.  
6. Economy 


7. Pacing 
The rhythm of the story determines if the audience will stay interested and entertained.  If the story is too fast, it will create urgency, and could lose the audience if there is no chance to catch their breath.  If the story is slow it could be romantic or relaxed - but if it's too slow the audience will stray.  Changing pace in your story could be very effective - it can help move the story along and keep the audience engaged. You have to be sure to give your audience a chance to stop and process - move at an even pace, but every so often stop or slow down - you know the story but they don't.