Don't get to carried away just stick to the main ideas and points in a short and direct manner!
You’ve heard dozens of times that you’re more likely to engage your audience when you tell a story in your presentation. A story that’s powerful and relevant can galvanize people and inspire action. But even otherwise great stories
can be told badly. Here are few pitfalls you’ll need to avoid to make sure you don’t sabotage your own storytelling.
Bad Habit No. 1: Giving Too Much Background
Your audience won’t understand your story without at least
some background information. But that doesn’t mean they need to know
every little thing, so drop the big wind-up. Instead, set the scene for
your audience in the most concise way possible, telling them only what
they need to know to comprehend your key takeaway.
If you find yourself struggling with this, state the point
of the story first (yes, give it away!), and then explain the context. Not only will listeners know where you’re heading, it will also prevent you from running out of time before getting to your main message. No one likes an unfinished narrative.
Bad Habit No. 2: Telling, Not Showing
You’ve probably heard the phrase, “Show, don’t tell.” This
classic piece of advice for fiction writing also applies to storytelling
for public speakers. No one wants to hear you spout facts for half an
hour—they want action and dialogue (more on that later). For example, I
was recently working with a client who told a story about visiting a few
of her company’s facilities and being struck by how engaged everyone
was. I asked her, “How did you know they were engaged?”
She replied, “Everywhere I went, they asked me, ‘Why are we doing x?’ ‘What could we do to improve y?'” It was a helpful example to support her assertion, and as simple as it was, it let me visualize her interactions with employees. Even small doses of narrative evidence can go a long way to backing up the point you want your story to make.
She replied, “Everywhere I went, they asked me, ‘Why are we doing x?’ ‘What could we do to improve y?'” It was a helpful example to support her assertion, and as simple as it was, it let me visualize her interactions with employees. Even small doses of narrative evidence can go a long way to backing up the point you want your story to make.
Bad Habit No. 3: Taking Too Much Time
Humans have a short attention span–frequently a matter of
mere seconds before losing focus. If your story is too drawn out, you
risk losing your audience’s attention. But how long is too
long? Think of it like a basketball shot clock, which gives players just
24 seconds to get the ball in the basket to keep the game moving. Then
apply that logic to storytelling.
I know it sounds brief, but an ideal length is between 1:30
and 1:45. That’s all you really need to get in a good anecdote before
moving on to the next piece of your message. When you start getting
close to that two-minute mark, you need to start wrapping up your
narrative. In public speaking contexts, anyhow, effective storytelling
is brief storytelling.
Bad Habit No. 4: Not Including Any Dialogue
You need dialogue to bring a story to life, and one line can
make for a great climax. For example, I was recently working with a
Dutch client who told me how, in her view, the Dutch typically have a
strong, independent, self-sufficient spirit. I told her I understood
exactly what she was talking about. I told her a story about being at a
hotel brunch in Amsterdam many years ago. I wanted champagne, but the
bottle was unopened. So I asked a server, “Could you please open this
bottle for me?” She abruptly replied, “Can’t you do it yourself?” That
snippet of dialogue–the quote from the server–was the climax of the
anecdote, the thing that simultaneously tied up the story and made it
effective.
Bad Habit No. 5: Taking Your Audience Through Unnecessary Detours
Don’t go off on tangents when you’re building up the action
of your story. You don’t want to lose momentum and confuse your audience
by discussing something that doesn’t contribute to your main point.
Let’s go back to my champagne bottle story. Say I started by describing
the brunch spread right after I mentioned the champagne bottle–the story
would’ve fallen flat. My client didn’t need to know what kind of
pastries they were serving; all she needed to hear was what the server
said about uncorking the champagne bottle.
You’re telling a story to make your presentation engaging,
which means that how you tell it matters just as much as what the
narrative entails. Avoid these traps, and you won’t just tell better
stories, you’ll maximize the impact of your overall message, and maybe
even leave your audience wanting more.
This article was originally published on May 3,
2018, by Fast Company, and is republished here with permission.
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