4 Tools for Telling Better Stories

and why audiences will love them!

I’ve always enjoyed sharing stories when I speak. Unfortunately, when I started telling stories over 25 years ago, they weren’t nearly as engaging as they are today. I know I’ve still got plenty of room to improve, but you can trust me when I say, they’ve gotten much better! This is thanks to the generous teaching from other masters of storytelling.

campfire storytelling leadership presentation skills

What are the 4 Tools for Better Storytelling?

These are four tools I’ve picked up over the years. Some of these I’ve picked up from observing and experimenting, while others I learned from a master. Before you dive into these four, I can’t emphasize this enough, your audience just wants you to be you! Be willing to show your vulnerability and share your feelings in the stories. Your audience will love you for your authenticity when the real you shows up. Just be you!

Dialogue brings the magic

I learned this technique from a master storyteller, Craig Valentine. He’s an excellent speaker, storyteller and coach. You can connect with Craig to learn more about his techniques. Dialogue brings your story to life because we get to see the characters in your story speaking in real time, as if it is taking place all over again right in front of us!

Now here’s something else magical that happens with dialogue. (Listen up technical presenters!) When we hear dialogue we watch a recreation of the actual scene in our mind, even if it is only one line of dialogue and not a whole skit. We have to travel back in time to when the scene first took place. The logical part of our brain cannot travel through time because it knows we can’t. However, the creative and imaginative part of our brain has no problem with time travel.

Why is this magical? Because most business presentations I’ve seen are focused heavily on the logical argument… the data, and that’s understandable. But, if you want to persuade someone it’s going to take more than just the logical part of their brains. It’ll take their imaginations and their feelings. If you use dialogue, you just engaged your audience’s imagination in addition to their logical brain. Now just add the feelings and you’re on your way!

Name your characters

I like to camp. After dinner when the sun goes down and the campfire is crackling, the young ones would usually look to one of the adults and say, “Tell us a story… and make it a ghost story!” Not wanting to disappoint, we’d practice our storytelling skills and spin a yarn for the young ones…

“Every day after football practice three young boys would walk home from school past creepy-old-man Johnson’s house.” I’d get no further than that and one of the boys sitting around the campfire would interrupt. “Wait a minute… what are their names!?” And of course, like any good storyteller, I’d name the three boys in the story with the same three names of the boys sitting around the fire. Their excited response would always be the same, “I knew it!”

As humans, we have a hard time becoming emotionally connected to anything without a name. We start to form an attachment once we know the name. You know this is true. As soon as you bring the puppy home, what’s the first order of business? Yep… “Let’s name her Daisy.” What do you do when you meet someone at any event? You introduce yourself and ask for his/her name.

We crave identities so we can relate. Help your audiences connect with your stories by naming your characters. They have a much better chance of becoming emotionally invested in your story.

Work on your timing

It’s not just for comedians anymore! You’ve got to get your timing down. One of my favorite speakers to learn from is Mark Sanborn. He’s known in our industry as a polished speaker and one who is meticulous for the details. One thing I’ve always admired in Mark is his superb timing. If you want to see how to use pauses like a master, watch some of Mark’s stories on YouTube.

As humans we don’t like monotone from our speakers. We don’t like mono volume. We don’t like mono pace. Let’s face it, we don’t like anything mono… including mono! Give your audience variety in your pacing. The engaging adjustments to timing can be with a long pause, a faster pace, or a slower pace.

This sounds simple, but you’d be surprised at how difficult it can be when I ask a student to, “Read this sentence, but I want you to speak one word every second.” When they read the sentence they end up starting with one word per second, but then end up combining a couple words into the same second.

Use body language

I’m sure you’ve noticed body language with other great storytellers. We all know this is true. A great story is not just about the words. Body language can include movement on the stage, hand gestures/acting, and facial expressions. Dr. Paul Ekman is a PhD is a Social Psychologist who has researched facial expressions his entire career. He’d be the first to tell you how much we can actually say with a simple facial expression, even what he calls a micro-expression.

Before you tell your story, think about how you’re going to paint the picture of the scene for your audience with your body language. Think about the pivotal moments of your story and then consider the facial expression you would expect from the person in the story at that time. In business presentations we need to keep it professional, but don’t be afraid to incorporate body language to bring it to life.

Have fun with your next story!


How have you used stories in your presentations? Leave your comments.


See you at the campfire,
Russ

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Russ Peterson Jr. is the co-founder and Managing Director of iSpeak, Inc. – An award-winning professional development training company. Russ is a speaker, international trainer, and published author on Professional Sales Communication and Business Communication. He delivers workshopskeynotes, and personal communication coaching services to business professionals in the US and around the world. You can connect with Russ directly through TwitterFacebook and LinkedIn.

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