by Patricia Fripp, CSP, CPAE
When we think of Hollywood, what we usually remember most
are the moving, dramatic, and funny stories that movies tell.
The screenwriter Robert McKee says, "Stories are the creative
conversion of life itself into a more powerful, clearer, more
meaningful experience. They are the currency of human contact."
All actors recognize the value of great stories and the
importance of making them come alive. I teach business leaders
and sales professionals to use stories to train, lead and
sell.
Some people are born street-corner, back-fence raconteurs
for whom storytelling is as easy as a smile. Whenever a
group gathers around the coffee pot for the midmorning ritual,
everyone is eager to hear their latest personal stories.
An audience of one or a thousand will always prefer a trivial
story brilliantly told to a brilliant one told badly.
Executive speech coaching has become an exciting part
of my business. Often, a corporate speaker brings me sheets
of statistics and says, "Here's what I want to talk about."
"Why should your audience care about all this?," I ask.
"Where is the excitement? Where is that currency of human
contact, the STORY?" Then we set about turning the numbing
data into stimulating descriptions of what it all MEANS.
More than any words you say, people will remember what they
'see' in their minds while they are listening.
Don't depend on PowerPoint, slides, and overheads alone
to tell your story. In a recent speech training session
for engineers, I asked one man to tell us again what he
had been saying, but without the help of his very expensive,
four-color view-graphs. The entire audience agreed that
he was much more effective and passionate about his subject
WITHOUT his visual aids.
Am I asking you NOT to use these tools? NO! But first
decide what you want to say. What are your points of wisdom?
How can you illustrate these points best? Use your support
materials to support your case. One corporate team walked
out of my studio saying, "This makes so much sense. We've
been putting together 40 PowerPoint slides, then deciding
what to say in between them."
You need to connect with your audience EMOTIONALLY as
well as intellectually. Look at the people you're talking
to, not at your notes. Keep the type on your slides to a
minimum. Your audience is there to listen to your stories,
not read them.
Relate your stories to the needs and interests of your
audience. For example, if you're talking to salespeople,
tell stories about how your satisfied clients have used
your product or service. Use their comments as exciting
and vivid dialogue in your story. Follow the classic Hollywood
formula:
- Start with interesting characters.
- Add sparkling dialogue.
- End with an important lesson learned.
Remember, everyone resists a sales presentation, but few can
resist a good story well told.
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