Are you a natural storyteller?
Twelve years ago I had an experience that changed my entire perception about the nature of storytelling, and my own role as a storyteller…
I joined an organisation called Toastmasters (a worldwide enterprise dedicated to fostering public speaking and leadership skills). As I built my confidence I stumbled across an issue that many speakers grapple with when they begin their journey. In short, my speeches were a little on the boring side.
An early mentor of mine, Freddie Daniels, noted that the reason my speeches came across as bland was that they were overstuffed with facts, leaving little room for anything else.
“You need stories”, he said with a knowing smile that indicated he had been through this journey himself. He already knew what my answer was going to be…
“But I don’t have any stories!”
If you have the same worry, I sympathise. But I’m also here to tell you this is another limiting belief you are carrying around, with no basis in truth. The fact is, you are bursting with stories. In the past 24 hours, the chances are you’ve been involved in at least 10 intriguing, thought-provoking sagas.
You might reply with something like, “I suppose in some vague philosophical sense, my life is a series of stories. But unless you want to hear a vivid rendition of how I put my socks on this morning, I can assure you nothing interesting happened to me today. Certainly nothing worthy of a speech.”
Okay, you might not be saying that (I don’t like to put words in other people’s mouths). However, I did say this to Freddie all those years ago. And I really believed what I was saying. “Nothing exciting happens to little old me!!!”
Annoyed and fatigued with the conversation, I asked Freddie, “Why the hell are stories so important anyway?”
Good question!
The answer lies deep in the human psyche. Storytelling is in our DNA. From birth until death, stories form an essential part of the human experiential and learning process. Our memories work by association (forming links), and stories are the most powerful way to do that. Before we had modern technology like computers, books and blackboards, stories were our primary tool for sharing information.
In today’s society, books, movies, television, gaming and theatre are the most popular forms of artistic expression. Why? Because (most of the time) they are story-related. When you tuck your kids into bed at night, I bet they don’t want to listen to an educational workshop, or watch a PowerPoint presentation. What do they want to hear?
Taking all this into account it should come as no surprise to you that storytelling is the most powerful component of public speaking. To quote Craig Valentine (1999 World Champion of Public Speaking) – “When you master the art of storytelling, you have mastered 80% of the art of public speaking.” Some experts put that percentage point even higher.
Back to my argument with Freddie…
“Okay stories are powerful”, I said, “But that doesn’t change the fact that I can’t think of any worth telling.”
“Okay, forget stories then”, Freddie said, “Tell me, did you have a challenge, struggle, hassle, or otherwise negative experience in the past day, week or even month?”
“Loads”, I said, “I work in I.T.”
“Great”, he said, “And did you solve any of your problems?”
“Yeah, some!”
“There are your stories”, he said, triumphantly, “And what’s more. They are the ones that people will want to hear. Why? Because they can teach and inspire people to overcome their own difficulties.”
This leads me to the backbone of what makes a good story… conflict, and how to overcome it!
In fact, that should be the new definition of the word “story” in the dictionary:
“Conflict and how I overcame it.”
You will already be aware of the importance of having engaging characters in an engaging plot for your stories, however it is the conflict that drives the plot, and defines character growth. As a result, a theme, message or moral (sometimes many) should pop out towards the end of the story, forming your climax. In public speaking terms, the “conflict” leads to the “cure” which leads to a “carry-out” message. The “carry-out” message provides something your audience can learn from, and carry with them into their future lives.
By the way, don’t read too negatively into the idea of focusing on conflict. Let me be clear, conflict does not necessarily imply fighting with swords and fists. It simply defines a situation your characters are faced with that has no initial solution. Your story will explain how the solution came about.
In psychological terms conflicts break down into:
If you can identify and clearly define the conflict that drives your story, you are off to a flying start.
Let me finish this first article on storytelling with a top tip related to conflict…
Get to the conflict as quickly as possible, or generate suspense until you get there.
In case you hadn’t noticed, most modern books and movies get straight into the conflict. For films, these days you can expect arguments and/or explosions within the first 10 minutes. For your public speaking stories, do follow suit. Get to the conflict as fast as you can.
The only exception is when you want to give yourself breathing room to build up complex characterisations and/or locations. If you do this, you should introduce suspense (a strong hint that conflict is on the way). This can be as simple as dropping in a statement like, “Of course, this wasn’t going to last…” or “Soon everything would fly head over heels…”
If you watch Brene Browne’s excellent TED speech entitled “The Power of Vulnerability”, she expertly drops in foreboding statements like, “You can tell this is not going to end well” towards the beginning. It’s a great way to buy time as you make your way towards the conflict.
To conclude, stories are the fertiliser for your messages. Conflict, the nutrients.
So, I ask you: What story do you have to tell today? Or are you one of the unlucky people who never encounter challenges in life? After all, no challenge, no growth.
Coming in the next article: Storytelling Part 2 – Powerful Characterisation Made Simple.
Twelve years ago I had an experience that changed my entire perception about the nature of storytelling, and my own role as a storyteller…
I joined an organisation called Toastmasters (a worldwide enterprise dedicated to fostering public speaking and leadership skills). As I built my confidence I stumbled across an issue that many speakers grapple with when they begin their journey. In short, my speeches were a little on the boring side.
An early mentor of mine, Freddie Daniels, noted that the reason my speeches came across as bland was that they were overstuffed with facts, leaving little room for anything else.
“You need stories”, he said with a knowing smile that indicated he had been through this journey himself. He already knew what my answer was going to be…
“But I don’t have any stories!”
If you have the same worry, I sympathise. But I’m also here to tell you this is another limiting belief you are carrying around, with no basis in truth. The fact is, you are bursting with stories. In the past 24 hours, the chances are you’ve been involved in at least 10 intriguing, thought-provoking sagas.
You might reply with something like, “I suppose in some vague philosophical sense, my life is a series of stories. But unless you want to hear a vivid rendition of how I put my socks on this morning, I can assure you nothing interesting happened to me today. Certainly nothing worthy of a speech.”
Okay, you might not be saying that (I don’t like to put words in other people’s mouths). However, I did say this to Freddie all those years ago. And I really believed what I was saying. “Nothing exciting happens to little old me!!!”
Annoyed and fatigued with the conversation, I asked Freddie, “Why the hell are stories so important anyway?”
Good question!
The answer lies deep in the human psyche. Storytelling is in our DNA. From birth until death, stories form an essential part of the human experiential and learning process. Our memories work by association (forming links), and stories are the most powerful way to do that. Before we had modern technology like computers, books and blackboards, stories were our primary tool for sharing information.
In today’s society, books, movies, television, gaming and theatre are the most popular forms of artistic expression. Why? Because (most of the time) they are story-related. When you tuck your kids into bed at night, I bet they don’t want to listen to an educational workshop, or watch a PowerPoint presentation. What do they want to hear?
Taking all this into account it should come as no surprise to you that storytelling is the most powerful component of public speaking. To quote Craig Valentine (1999 World Champion of Public Speaking) – “When you master the art of storytelling, you have mastered 80% of the art of public speaking.” Some experts put that percentage point even higher.
Back to my argument with Freddie…
“Okay stories are powerful”, I said, “But that doesn’t change the fact that I can’t think of any worth telling.”
“Okay, forget stories then”, Freddie said, “Tell me, did you have a challenge, struggle, hassle, or otherwise negative experience in the past day, week or even month?”
“Loads”, I said, “I work in I.T.”
“Great”, he said, “And did you solve any of your problems?”
“Yeah, some!”
“There are your stories”, he said, triumphantly, “And what’s more. They are the ones that people will want to hear. Why? Because they can teach and inspire people to overcome their own difficulties.”
This leads me to the backbone of what makes a good story… conflict, and how to overcome it!
In fact, that should be the new definition of the word “story” in the dictionary:
“Conflict and how I overcame it.”
You will already be aware of the importance of having engaging characters in an engaging plot for your stories, however it is the conflict that drives the plot, and defines character growth. As a result, a theme, message or moral (sometimes many) should pop out towards the end of the story, forming your climax. In public speaking terms, the “conflict” leads to the “cure” which leads to a “carry-out” message. The “carry-out” message provides something your audience can learn from, and carry with them into their future lives.
By the way, don’t read too negatively into the idea of focusing on conflict. Let me be clear, conflict does not necessarily imply fighting with swords and fists. It simply defines a situation your characters are faced with that has no initial solution. Your story will explain how the solution came about.
In psychological terms conflicts break down into:
- Conflict between a person and their world (or some aspect of it)
- Conflict between a person and a group of people
- Conflict between two groups of people
- Conflict between two individuals
- Conflict within one person (inner conflict)
If you can identify and clearly define the conflict that drives your story, you are off to a flying start.
Let me finish this first article on storytelling with a top tip related to conflict…
Get to the conflict as quickly as possible, or generate suspense until you get there.
In case you hadn’t noticed, most modern books and movies get straight into the conflict. For films, these days you can expect arguments and/or explosions within the first 10 minutes. For your public speaking stories, do follow suit. Get to the conflict as fast as you can.
The only exception is when you want to give yourself breathing room to build up complex characterisations and/or locations. If you do this, you should introduce suspense (a strong hint that conflict is on the way). This can be as simple as dropping in a statement like, “Of course, this wasn’t going to last…” or “Soon everything would fly head over heels…”
If you watch Brene Browne’s excellent TED speech entitled “The Power of Vulnerability”, she expertly drops in foreboding statements like, “You can tell this is not going to end well” towards the beginning. It’s a great way to buy time as you make your way towards the conflict.
To conclude, stories are the fertiliser for your messages. Conflict, the nutrients.
So, I ask you: What story do you have to tell today? Or are you one of the unlucky people who never encounter challenges in life? After all, no challenge, no growth.
Coming in the next article: Storytelling Part 2 – Powerful Characterisation Made Simple.
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