Great speakers tell great stories. Often their stories are original, but sometimes the source is someone else, told as a third-person story. Such stories can be found in books, videos, one-on-one conversations and other sources. Using someone else’s story is fine, so long as you attribute the story to the source, or in some way modify and make the story your own. You’ve likely heard speakers use material from notables such as Steve Jobs and Warren Buffet.
Skills
Needed For Effective Story Telling
There are a
few key skills involved in effectively using stories in presentations. First is
simply being a good story teller, which involves dramatizing some elements, and
using voice and pausing. The purpose of a story is to make a point with an
audience, so if some embellishment might help land the point, it’s worth some
polish. The objective isn’t to provide 100% accuracy, even in the unlikely
event that your memory of the event is 100% accurate, or to share every tiny detail.
The objective should be to tell the story so it’s remembered and the lesson is clear
and vivid, along with the most important story elements.
A second skill
in using stories effectively is finding them, usually by mining your personal
experience. Often when I am working with a speaker, during casual conversation
we uncover stories that are valuable for future presentations.
A third
skill is in understanding the point and value, and maybe the multiple points,
of a story. I usually carry a 4x6 moleskin notebook in a jacket pocket. Just about
any story I tell with passion to a friend or colleague I jot down in the notebook
and capture the point of the story. For example, one story I captured was about
a minor, but funny, incident that happened while on a plane. That story was simple, relatable and offered
some lessons on clear communication, on asking for what you want, and on customer
service. One story with at least three lessons.
Jumping
From the Stratosphere Hotel Tower
I write this
because last year I discovered a video I had saved on YouTube, and then ignored,
from a team building event. I wasn’t
excited about this team building event at the time. Each team member individually
jumped from the 829-foot (253 meters) Stratosphere tower in Las Vegas and recorded
a personal video of the jump from a wrist-mounted camera. I didn’t see great
value in this as a team building experience, and would not have spent the money
personally to make the jump. Regardless, we shared this individual, sequential
experience. We all enjoyed the adrenaline rush, and we spoke about it
afterwards, but we didn’t observe and learn how team members react and perform
as we would in other team building experiences
Information
on the jump is available at this link https://thestrat.com/attractions/skyjump
My jump
video is available here https://youtu.be/E7U64OV0iVU
Mining
Our Experiences for Stories
When I rediscovered
and watched the ninety-second video after these years had passed, I recognized
that those ninety-seconds perfectly illustrate an element of situational
leadership, a model I like to present to audiences. I will write a second post
on that those elements, but this post focuses on mining for stories.
Great
speakers do tell great stories. The best
way to find great stories is to consider and mine your personal experiences. I had
saved this video but saw no value in my Stratosphere experience beyond the
immediate rush. However, when I reviewed it again, I realized the potential of
the video. It’s always well received by
audiences and helps me illustrate situational leadership.
You may also
have some video content you’ve tucked away somewhere. You may have some stories
you like to tell from past experiences. You might have a passionate discussion
today with a friend of colleague about a recent event. Become skilled at
capturing these stories and the lessons they illuminate. Then share them with
audiences.
People love
stories. People remember stories. Bolt your point or lesson to a good story and
you have an asset to build into a great, reusable speech.
#situationalleadership
#leadership #risk #stories
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