Storytelling

Imagine yourself sitting in a room listening to a speech. The speaker produces lists of numbers and statistics to prove his point about...whatever.

Unless you're fascinated by numbers and statistics (and some people are), it's a pretty good bet that your eyes will glaze over after a while and your thoughts will drift to other matters.

But then suppose the speaker says, "Now here's a story that will prove my point..."

You're likely to snap back to attention and listen because everyone loves a good story. It's human nature.

Stories are the lifeblood of any speech, and storytelling is both a science and an art.

The first step in storytelling is to identify stories that are appropriate for your presentation. Ask yourself questions like:

• Is the frame of reference appropriate for the audience? In other words, does it match their intelligence level, age, occupation, life experience, etc. Will the story make sense to them?
• Is there a point to the story that will benefit the audience? Just as you shouldn't tell jokes in a speech just to get a laugh, you (generally) shouldn't tell stories that don't make a point.
• How should I introduce the story?
• What should I say after the story?
• Can this story replace something I'm already using?

As for the stories themselves, here are some presentation tips:

Space the stories at various intervals, but not necessarily in a predictable pattern.

Short stories tend to work better than long ones, so eliminate unnecessary or irrelevant details from your stories.

If you tell a long story, try to punctuate it with some humor.

Don't memorize your story word for word. See the article on using "bits" in your speeches.

Be specific in your stories. Use brand names instead of generic names when appropriate: e.g., say "Captain Crunch" instead of "breakfast cereal."

The same goes for places. Specify the location where the story happened: a Subway at a truck stop in Bowling Green Kentucky" is better than "a sandwich shop in Kentucky..."

Avoid starting a story with a weak introduction like, "that reminds me of..." or "I heard this story the other day..." and never say, "I don't know if I should tell you this one or not..."

Talk about what you learned from the experience, but be careful not make yourself too much of a hero in your stories. If you actually did something heroic, make sure to talk about with a sense of humility or even self-deprecating humor.

Finally, remember that it's okay to occasionally put yourself into certain stories to make them more believable, even if they didn't actually happen to you. Remember what Mark Twain said,

"Nothing spoils a good story like the arrival of an eyewitness..."

People understand and accept that it's okay to fudge the truth or embellish the details of a story a little (or even a lot, depending on the story and the audience), as long as the story itself makes a point that's relevant.

For more do's and don'ts, see Chapter 14 of Tom Antion's book, Wake 'Em Up Business Presentations.

You can also check resources like The National Storytelling Network and The National Speakers Association.

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