The Power of Story

If you want to stand out from the crowd, be a storyteller.

Most speeches or presentations overflow with facts, figures and information. We’re bombarded with data.

How can your audience possibly remember everything? It can’t. 

But you can improve the chances of your message being remembered by using the power of story.

Story is a great device for making information memorable.

In story, there are three important elements: the protagonist, the antagonist and the quest. 

The protagonist wants something (the quest). The antagonist is the problem standing in the way of success. They duke it out to the climax. Somebody wins. Somebody loses.

What holds us spellbound is the element of conflict. The struggle to overcome obstacles and achieve something worthwhile.

Remember that when you are telling a story about your product, or company. A story about the development of your product will be more compelling if you recount some of the obstacles that had to be overcome. An account that delivers a rosy picture of a perfect company operating in total harmony probably won’t ring true. Tell your story honestly.

Put a human face on your data. Convert your facts and figures into a story people will remember. Your audience will hang on to every word you say.

 

Throw away the script

Much has been said about the rhetorical prowess of Barack Obama as he fights his way to a possible Democratic nomination. The prevailing thought is that he out-speaks Hillary Clinton, and that he is a gifted orator who inspires and motivates.

I agree Mr. Obama has great skill as a speaker. But not all the time. When he inspires, when he motivates, when he gets audiences to their feet is when he speaks without a text.

But often Mr. Obama has to read what someone else has written for him. When he does, he comes across as yet another polished, competent speaker. But not as someone who can inspire or motivate.

When he frees himself from paper, when he can look at his audience, something special happens. He connects with the audience. In that connection, he speaks from his heart straight to theirs.

The resulting magic is understanding at the heart and soul level. That’s what will get you elected. That’s what will convince others to follow you. You will never get there by keeping your eyes glued to the page and reading the text aloud - no matter how well you can read.

Throw the paper way. That doesn’t mean you memorize your speech. But it does require that you understand what you’re saying, why you’re saying it and how you’re going to say it.

When it’s time to speak, focus on getting your heartfelt message across to your audience. Think of nothing else. Not what you’re going to have for dinner, not on what the kids are doing, and especially not on wondering if the audience likes you.

Focus on speaking your important truth from your heart to theirs. With this knowledge, with this focus, you will never need to use a paper crutch. Your presentations will be powerful. You will touch souls and win hearts.

Power of the Pause

“When you are speaking, timing is not so much knowing when to speak, but knowing when to pause.” Jack Benny, Comedian

A professional speaker told me when he was getting started in the business, he hired a presentations skills coach. I asked him what he thought was the most important thing he learned. He told me he learned to pause.

He paid $7000 to get this tip! So reading this blog is saving you a lot of money.

“Never miss a good chance to shut up.” Will Rogers, Actor

In my workshops I tell clients: "It’s your ability to shut up that will determine how great a speaker you are."

What's Your Communication Impact?

Whether we like it or not, the way we look will have the strongest impact on our audience.

In fact 55% of your Communication Impact is the way you look.

It’s all about your clothes, hair, makeup, accessories and body language. So you need to pay attention to all of these when you speak.

The way you sound accounts for another 38% of your Communication Impact.

Do you speak too quickly? Too slowly? Too loudly? Do you mumble? Do you pause when you speak? Do you vary your tone and pace? Listen to a recording of yourself or get some people whose opinions you trust to listen to you. Make sure you sound good.

Only 7% of your impact is your words. So 93% of your impact on the audience is the way you look and sound. Only 7% is your content.

The content is vital. It’s what your audience has come to hear. But - as I tell my clients at Talkitout workshops - to make sure your message is understood, you have to have total mastery of the way you look and sound.

Keep it simple

I once heard a CEO tell his audience: “Now maximizing value drives us to invest in our assets and move our resources to opportunities that generate the greatest returns and position us for continued growth.”

Just look at those words, and the sentence he wrapped them in. No wonder the audience was restless.

Always use simple sentences and simple words when you speak.

The simpler the sentence the more powerful you are as a speaker. When we talk, we instinctively know that delivering our messages using simple words and small sentences makes sense.

No one speaks the way that CEO did. So why - when we make presentations or speeches - do we revert to this kind of elaborate language?

Sometimes we think that’s the right way to do it. We believe it’ll make us look smarter and more important.

The truth is, this kind of language alienates our listeners. There’s beauty – and great power – in simplicity.

If they snooze, you lose

A couple of quick tips about PowerPoint presentations.

Too often, we make PowerPoint the center of our presentation when it should be just a tool to support what we have to say.

Here are two tips to help you respect your audience, and still harness the strength of PowerPoint.

First, never turn your back to your audience and read aloud the words projected on the screen. You will insult them - and probably put them to sleep.

Second, never prepare your PowerPoint by doing the slides first. Always begin with your content. Prepare an outline of what you plan to say. Talk it out, write it out, rehearse it. Then -and only then - prepare your slides based on the content.

In my book Talkitout: Become A Commanding Speaker In One Day, I call PowerPoint evil. Why? Because, if we’re not careful, it makes us lazy communicators. It’s a crutch.

Always remember, you’re the star, not PowerPoint.

Tell Me Your Story

I'd love to hear your experiences of speaking in front of an audience - whether it was a presentation in front of a small group of colleagues, a family occasion, or a speech at a crowded convention.

What worked well for you? And what did you learn from those moments that didn't work quite as well as you had planned and hoped?

Give me the short version of your memorable (or forgettable) moments as a speaker or presenter. I'd like to share some of the lessons and insights with other readers.

You can e-mail me at halina@podiumcoaching.com

It's All About Authenticity

How much do you think about ‘authenticity’ when you prepare a speech or presentation?

You should think about it a lot. Look at what happened to United States presidential hopeful Mitt Romney.

Romney should have been a front-runner for the Republican nomination. He had the money. He had the style. And he had the political machine.

But he ran into big trouble – over the ‘A’ word.

He lost in early primaries in Iowa and New Hampshire, and never recovered. And people were quick to say it was because of a perception that he lacked ‘authenticity’.

USA Today summed it up by saying: “A lot of voters… believe Romney is telling them what he thinks they want to hear rather than what he believes.”

So think about authenticity. Just the perception that it was missing from his speeches cost Romney a shot at the White House.

It is only by tapping into your true self and finding your own voice that you can hope to be a compelling and convincing speaker.