Why and how to tell a captivating story?

This Blog is a compilation of ideas/ premises/ arguments and corresponding anecdotes that support those arguments.

Why are anecdotes important?

Storytelling has been the key medium in which we have conveyed messages throughout the ages. From biblical fables to CEO 'real life stories', storytelling is the most natural way for us as humans to reatin key messages and ideas.

From a young age, we have grown up listening to fairy tales and stories from our parents, relatives and teachers. For this reason, this type of communication is easiest for us to absorb as it has been programmed into us from a young age.

We can take advantage of this innate communication ability to ensure our messages are more powerful and longlasting.

How?

Structure: SPADO

- Set the Scene

- What could be HEARD? What could be SEEN? What could be FELT?

- Identify the Players and what they were hoping to do/Achieve

- Describe how the plot Deviated from expectaions

- Describe what was the result of this Other Outcome

Techniques:

"It’s not the story, but rather how it’s told"

Mirror the style of your favourite speakers. Think about them as you speak. Obama, Jill Bolte, Tony Robbins, Seth Godin.

Use repetition. In folktales, events often repeat themselves in threes—a magic number. Pay special attention to repeated rhymes and phrases. Repetition helps your listeners stick with the story by providing familiar landmarks.

- "We need to be in first place; We need to be number 1; we need to be the best; "

- "We strive to be better; challenge the process; push the boundaries"

Use variety. Vary the tone, the pitch, and the volume of your voice, your pace, your rhythms, your articulation (smooth or sharp). Use silences. Remember, variety catches and holds attention. Think Obama and Blair.

Use gestures. but only ones that help the story. Use them to mime the action, or just for emphasis. Make them big! Gestures keep the eyes on you. Be passionate!

Focus on beginnings and endings. Strong beginnings are key to capturing attention. Create an image in minds.In Comedy 101, they teach you to be brief and get to the first laugh as quickly as possible. Opening with a strong punch will draw your listeners in and they’ll be more likely to stay invested if the story hits any flat points.

Endings should be clear, so your listeners know that your story’s over without your telling them. You can do this by slowing down and adding emphasis. “and that’s the end of that,” “and they never saw him again.” “and he never tried that again.”

Introduce Dialogue

When telling a story, dialogue gives you opportunities to enhance the impact of your message on the audience. Dialogue allows you to use variety in your vocal quality. As you take on the character of the person, you use a different tone of voice. You tend to change your rate of speech when you speak as another person.

In addition, when you become one of the people in the story, you have a good reason to take a step to the right or left to show that a different person is talking. You can also make people in your audience become the other person by making eye contact and gesturing toward that person.

The audience will pay better attention because of the change of pace the dialogue provides. And the story is more interesting when you involve other people.

A little boy came crying to his father with the news that his turtle had died. His father looked at the dead turtle in his son’s hand and thought fast. “I know,” he said, “we’ll invite some of your friends over and we’ll have a big funeral. We’ll dig a little grave in the backyard and make a little coffin, and we’ll have a parade. I’ll speak some words over dead Herkimer there and….” About that time, the father noticed that the turtle was moving. “Hey, son, look! Your turtle isn’t dead after all!”

The boy looked at the now animated creature, then looked at this dad with a sly grin and said, “Let’s kill him!”

Certainly, you want to have a point to make from any story. Here the point might be that you can be too good at selling an idea and should know when to stop selling.

Stories with dialogue can come from interviews you have had in developing content for your speech, personal experiences, historical events, and listening to other people in conversation.

Consider making dialogue a regular part of your speaking repertoire. In doing so, you will insure variety in delivery and more attentive audiences.

Mimic the characters. Good characters bring a story to life—so put life into them, with face, voice, gesture, body posture. Act out the policice officer's accent or the surprised face of the Amish man. Try to make each of them different enough so they’re easily told apart. Think Ricky Gervais.

Use descriptive language (onomatopoeia). Awaken the Visual, Auditory & Kinesthetic senses - bashed, banged, clashed, klinked, crushed, buzz, fizzle, flash, whizz, pop, plop, whallop, zoom, smashed. don’t use “big” when “hulking” or “astronomical”are more interesting.

Use funny detail rather than gerneric terms when have to describe anything.

- "It was an angry looking dog" vs. "This German Shepherd looked like he still believed the Third Reich was in power"

"He big man got into the car" vs. "The fat guy with his own gravitational pull, crammed himself and all 5 chins into his mini cooper, "

"She was ugly" vs. "She had a face like a bag of warts"

Ask Questions to engage the audience and invoke empathy. How are we going to get out of this we thought to ourselves?

What are the chances of this happening?

Where can we go now we thought?

What to do next we thought?

Evoke Empathy. You know that feeling ..

- You know that feeling that you have forgotten something but can't quite put your finger on what exactly it is.

- You know that feeling when you know you are wrong but just cannot allow yourself to capitulate.

“Who plays Pictionary?” and observe a man clapping and nodding his head, yes. “Doesn’t it drive you insane when you’re playing with your wife and she can’t tell what you’re drawing?” The nodding man answers yes, and the comic launches into the story he was going to tell in the first place. Ask the listeners questions during the story; it keeps them involved and they’ll laugh more when they relate.

Smile with Tongue in cheek. Communicate with a smirk. That way weird or strange things will come off as tongue in cheek. Use facial expressions. Open eyes wide to show passion and keep you awake.

Use Bridging. Link yourself by creating a "bridge" to a topic you are comfortable with..

Use Humour .

Self deprecation - "I'm possibly the worst person I know.."

Wit - "George Michael just called, he wants you in the toilet in five!"

Irony - "I just love it when your computer crashes when you are on the 11th page of your 12 essay for homework, that you have not yet saved - ah, Microsoft technology"

Exaggeration - "100 hundred million thousand million" , "She had a nipples the size of your head"

Funny analogies and similes:

"Like a van speeding down a hill towards a cliff face.."

"As funny as a buring orphanage"

"It's like Trying to change the wheels on a moving car"

"If you were a brand you'd be Iceland or Morrisons"

Pronounce each sound of each word distinctly.

Personalise. make a personal contact with your listeners. Talk to them—not at them—and don’t be afraid to talk with them. Look them in the eyes and hold for a couple of seconds.

Repeat the question to give yourself more time to answer. It also acts as a trigger for memories on the key words.

Call to action. request that the audience go out and do something.

Conquer fear.

- "What's the worst that can happen?" If you slip up, will it really matter 2 months from now?No, you can bounce back upon this experience.

- "When you live in a land where your firstborn isn't dying of terrible diseases and you're not being shot at, the worst thing that can happen to us is - we embarrass ourselves." Ricky Gervais

- Don't tell your audience about your nervousness. Anxiety typically doesn't show. Don't call attention to your nervousness or your audience will suddenly notice your shaking hands moreso than your message.

Use positive self talk. Negative self talk works, so why can't positive?

- Remember that you will never be able to please everyone and you may see a sour puss in the audience.

Be prepared for that -- and find your fans. Focus on the faces that are interested, listening,smiling, making eye contact, and give you energy. Don't allow yourself to focus on the negative audience members. This is easier said than done, of course as we naturally want to convince our detractors, but often you won't be able to change their minds and you'll just make your own nervousness worse. Focus on the friendly faces in the audience instead.

Remember, anyone who comes to hear is already on your side.

End on the biggest laugh - It defines how the audience remembers your speech.