“Tell it With a Story.” One of the best ways to make a point is to reinforce it with a story. The power of a story is being recognized more and more by speakers and presenters. The ones that have mastered the art of story telling are frequently seen as great speakers as well.
Many speakers feel that they don’t have any stories. If you have been around long enough that you are giving speeches and presentations then I guarantee that you have loads of stories. The secret is being aware of them and being able to incorporate them into your speeches and presentations.
Creating an inventory of your stories is a great way to get them more top of mind. I use a simple spreadsheet. It has 4 columns;
Date of Entry (information for me),
Short Title, Brief Description (2-4 lines, not the exact script),
Keywords (these are used to trigger themes, potential use, etc),
Used Where (list of speeches the story was used in)
Take a bit of time to get your inventory started. List as many stories as you can come up with. Once you have your inventory started you can add to it at anytime. If you are away from your computer and you remember a story or experience a new one, make a note of it and add it once you are back at your computer. The stories should be yours or ones that you have permission to use.
Review the stories from time to time to keep them fresh in your mind. This will allow you to share the story or stories in a spontaneous fashion and because you haven’t written out the entire story it will come across more as more natural.
Use stories to make your next speech or presentation more memorable.
Now go out and Make Your Voice Heard!
Want to learn the 5 Tools (you already have) to become a confident, engaging and effective speaker? Click the link for FREE video training. The Speaker’s Tool Box
I would love to hear your thoughts on this. Leave me a comment or suggest a topic for a future blog.
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