Techniques
to become a good story Teller
Stories
grab our attention and inspire us. They can change minds and attitudes, a good story not only has the ability to increase audience
engagement, but studies have shown that engaging stories increase information
retention by 65-70%. That is a significant jump in comparison to the 5-10%
retention that takes place when information is presented as statistics and
facts. Below are some Techniques to help you master the art of storytelling
1.
Set the Stage.
This is a vital part of every great story, especially when presenting. Setting the stage draws your audience into the story helping transport them to the scene of your story. Failing to embrace this step will leave your audience disconnected from the beginning and cause your story to fall flat
This is a vital part of every great story, especially when presenting. Setting the stage draws your audience into the story helping transport them to the scene of your story. Failing to embrace this step will leave your audience disconnected from the beginning and cause your story to fall flat
2.
Use
a hook: A “hook” is your
opener. It’s the attention-getter, the question or quote that immediately hooks
your listener or reader.
3.
State Your Reason for Telling the Story Your
story needs to have a message—a clear takeaway for your listeners. It has to
have a purpose and make a point. A story without a message is pointless in
business. In some cases, you can also be bold and take it one step further by
asking for the action
4.
Start with a
person and his challenge, and intensify human interest by adding descriptions
of time, place, and people with their emotions.
5.
Be creative. Create a
storyboard; draw it out, while listening to music or reading something for
inspiration. A good story always has ups and downs, so “arc” the story. Pull
people along, and introduce tension, just like in a fairy tale.
6.
Don't Read Your Story-Tell It Don't ever read
your story. Spend whatever time it takes for you to practice telling your
story. It may not be perfect if you tell it without reading it, but nobody is
looking for perfection. Your listeners are looking to be engaged, to be
inspired, to be entertained. Speak directly to them to get them to lean in to
hear more about what you have to say.
7.
Focus on what's important. When telling a story, it is important to include the details,
to create that sense of immersion. However, you don't want the story to take on
a "rambling" feel. This is why it's very important to focus on what's
important. Cut the details that aren't important for the story, leave the ones
that make the story.
8.
Make it feel conclusive. It's awkward when an audience isn't sure if you're done
or not to make the conclusion of your story feel conclusive. There are a number
of ways to do this, some examples of which are:
9.
Ask a question and give an answer. "How
crazy is that? I know I'm sure not going to try that again."
10. Control your face. If you want to really
become a great storyteller, you have to master your ability to create and
change facial expressions to match what you're saying. Your face should be able
to basically act out the entire story. If you really want to learn from the
master, watch a lot of Youtube videos of John Stewart or Martin Freeman.
11. Remember,
facial expressions come in more than 3 flavors. You can convey really complex
emotions by using very specific facial expressions.
12. Act out the story. If you can, move your
whole body to act out the story. You don't have to reenact every motion, but
use your body at key points in the story to direct the listener's attention to
that point.
13. Practice: Practice telling a story a few
times before telling it to other people. Then practice the story with a few
people that don't matter much before telling it to anyone important. You want
to be comfortable telling the story and get a good feel for when to add in
dramatic pauses, and when to engage that big, building tone of excitement.
14. Allow for interaction. A
listener's experience of a story gets even better if they are able to interact
and join in the experience. You can ask your audience questions or find other
ways for them to interact with the story if you really want to step up your
storytelling
15. When using a
story in a PowerPoint presentation, use appropriate graphics/pictures to convey
your message. Stay away from text and complicated graphics. A single picture
interlaced with the emotional language will go a long way to convey your message.
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