Make the Message Stick: Tell a Story

Carolyn DicksonPosted by Carolyn Dickson on March 24th, 2010 | 1 Comment

You’ve been there. Slide after slide flashes across the screen. Fact follows fact; data piles on data, and charts appear and disappear with regularity. To make it worse, the speaker reads each line of text, just in case you weren’t capable of figuring it all out by yourself.

When you leave a presentation like this, you may have been given the information. But did you feel your time was well spent? Did it hold your interest? Were you inspired? Motivated? Probably not. 

Of course, a structured framework is necessary for a successful presentation, and there are ways to put one together that lead to action. At the same time, facts and figures are not what truly inspire us. The power of persuasion lies in telling stories that illuminate the meaning behind your words. That’s why Aesop’s Fables help us remember life lessons and why humor often drives home a memorable point.

Facts and data provide information; stories supply meaning. A good presentation needs a balance of the two. Stories make sense of complex or abstract ideas, and they bring life to a presentation. The great persuaders in our history have been great story tellers. Abraham Lincoln is a perfect example. Journalist Henry Villard noted that Lincoln could find a story “to explain a meaning or enforce a point, the aptness of which was always perfect.” He always used his stories to illustrate a point or make something more clear. 

Make It Personal  

Throughout my VoicePro® career, I’ve noticed that workshop participants listen politely when we discuss theory. They’re interested in why things are the way they are, and they’re always attentive. It’s when I launch into a story from my own experience or give an example that applies to their own lives that their eyes light up. Your audience wants to hear about real people in real situations doing real things, and they want to hear it from your perspective. Your unique position colors the information with a fresh point of view. 

Add A Light Touch  

Humor keeps the audience on its toes and is a welcome addition to almost any presentation. For business purposes, I recommend you stick with humorous stories rather than telling jokes. When we introduce the idea of humor in our classes, people groan. “I can’t tell jokes,” is a common refrain. A joke requires a punch line, a stong sense of timing, and if nobody laughs you have a big hole to dig yourself out of. On the other hand, a humorous story from your own experience doesn’t rely on audience guffaws. The story has made your point. A hearty laugh, nods of appreciation, or a murmur of enjoyment—all can spur you on without a moment’s hesitation. 

Storytelling, particularly if the stories are humorous, requires preparation. 

  • Start your own humor file.
  • Be alert for the funny things that happen to you and people you know, and write them down.
  • Save articles from newspapers and magazines that make you laugh, and if one fits, adapt it for use in your presentations.
  • Develop the ability to take a lesson learned in one venue and give it general relevance. This is easy to do with stories from sports and athletics, as they have almost universal emotional appeal.  

Don’t Just Talk 

The neat thing about telling a story is that you can live it as well as reciting it. The mantra for a writer is: Show, don’t tell. This is incredibly good advice for the storyteller. Use your hands, your face, your voice, your entire body to create visual pictures for the audience. Practice telling a story without speaking; act it out as if you were entertaining a young child. Then incorporate those gestures that feel genuine to you into your real time delivery. The more authentically expressive you are, the more powerful your story—and its relevance—will be. 

I can’t say enough about practice. Telling a story requires a sense of timing you can’t get without repetition and rehearsal. So work through the awkward stage, and keep at it until you’re comfortable. 

The result? You will come alive and your audience will too. Your story telling—and the lessons they teach—will be motivating people for days, weeks, and even years to come.


1 comment

Tweets that mention Make the Message Stick: Tell a Story : VoicePro® - Communication Skills – Leadership Skills -- Topsy.com - 03.25.10 at 4:36 pm

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Kay David, VoicePro Inc.. VoicePro Inc. said: Storytelling always a great way to convey your message – http://bit.ly/aNsxLB [...]

Leave a Comment