People love stories. We love to hear about other people, and stories help us to learn, remember and put to use new concepts. Aesop knew this. His fables help us to learn life lessons through tales about others, without having to learn them the hard way.
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In modern times, Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen also understand the power of stories to teach, motivate, and inspire. Their "Chicken Soup for the Soul" books continue to sell in the millions of copies because they tap into our primal need to connect with others through storytelling.
What can stories do for you and your business? Stories can educate customers about a need they have and how you fill it, subtly demonstrate your expertise, create empathy, suggest new uses for your products, train new customers and employees, and motivate listeners to take action.
I recently observed several group presentations by an insurance agent. He knew many of the people in the audience, and prior to each presentation he would look for someone who had made a claim under their policy and ask them to tell the audience how the benefits had helped them through a difficult time. If there was no one in the audience to do it, he would tell about someone who had used the policy and what it had done for them. The stories the agent told were effective, but hearing the claimants themselves was incredibly powerful. Hearing someone talk about the uncertainty of illness, the expenses they faced which were not covered by other insurance, and what the benefits meant to them was moving. I'm sure he sold lots of policies!
Where will you get stories? Stories from your own experience can be effective, and they are unique. You may also get stories from customers, employees, friends and others. The media can be a source of stories. Stories that are familiar because they have been told through the media can establish a commonality between you and your audience, or among members of your audience. Stories unique to your experience provide a personal touch, and can be surprising because they are not known to the audience.
Another possibility is creating composite or fictional stories. This may not be acceptable in some circumstances. For example, several newspaper columnists have been fired for making up stories, or creating composite characters, and passing them off as absolute truth. However, if your primary purpose is to educate or entertain, and you are not presenting them as news, you may take some liberties with minor details of your stories or take bits and pieces from multiple stories and combine them into one composite. Remember that it is important to maintain credibility, so business storytelling don't do anything that would deceive your audience.
Once you have your stories, where will you use them? Tell them when you are in one-on-one meetings, in group presentations, and when making speeches. Write them down and include them in articles, brochures, sales letters, on your web site and in other written communications. Record them on audio or video and use them in commercials. Use them when training new employees to teach them about your company and its culture. Publish them in your client or company newsletter to reinforce emotional ties.
Stories are a powerful tool which teach and motivate by making an emotional connection with your audience. Use them wisely and well.
When you hear, "tell me a story," does your mind suddenly go blank? Don't panic. Do you know that the best corporate leaders liven a business presentation with a story, but you don't know how? Don't worry.
The good news is you're already a natural storyteller! Surprised? You shouldn't be. It's built right into our genetic code.
Human beings are a storytelling species. Of all the creatures on Earth, we're the only ones that share past memories and future dreams as a way to get to know others, build friendships, plan an endeavor, inspire a group.
In fact, we're usually telling ourselves some kind of story all the time - about our job, a relationship, the kids, neighbors down the street, our next vacation. You name it, and we're probably making up a story about it!
So, with all that creativity just naturally flowing, the secret is how to channel it into crafting a story that's interesting and fun for others to hear. How, in other words, do you go from being a "natural" storyteller to being a good one?
Here are ten tips to get you started.
1. Know your audience. Do you want to tell stories to your kids? Your grandchildren? Your child's third-grade class? Co-workers? Family friends? Sometimes you can tell the same story to everyone, but the way you tell it will be different for each group.
2. Choose a story you genuinely like. It could be a traditional folk tale or fairy story. A historical tale. A personal story. The most important thing is that you really like it. It doesn't matter how exciting a story might be or how well you tell it; if you really don't care about it, your audience will be bored too. Guaranteed.
3. Keep it short. A good story doesn't have to be long and elaborate. Especially when you're just starting out, it's much easier to practice and polish a piece that's only 4-5 minutes long. (In fact, for some business applications it might be only 2!)
4. Find out what the story is really about for you. Why do you want to tell this particular story? What does it mean to you? The exact same story may mean something different to every teller. That's fine. When you discover what the "heart" of the story is for you, you'll automatically find the passion and life in it.
5. Tear it down to the bare bones. Particularly if you're starting with a written text, read the story over a couple of times to get the basic outline, and then lay the book aside. See what you remember when you simply tell it. These points will become the foundation for rebuilding the story using your own creativity.
6. Know where you're going. Make sure you have a beginning, middle and end for your story. A good storyteller never makes the audience nervous that they (and you) are lost.
7. Practice out loud. Get in the habit of talking to yourself. You can never become a good storyteller by telling the story in your head, no matter how many times you practice. Tell the story in your car while commuting to work. Tell it in the shower. Tell it to your dog (pets tend to make quite good listeners, by the way). Tell your story over and over until you're as comfortable in it as you are in your favorite jeans.
8. Find your own voice. Listen to other storytellers to hear different styles of telling. Are they flamboyant or quiet? Dramatic or laid back? Funny or serious? The list could go on and on. Notice which tellers appeal to you and which ones don't. There are no right or wrong ways to tell a story; there's only what's right for you.
9. Don't try to memorize. Storytelling isn't a theatrical performance. It's a shared experience. No matter how many times you tell a particular story--as long as you haven't committed it word-for-word to memory--you never know when something brand new and absolutely delightful will show up.
10. Roll with the punches. Did you suddenly remember a critical piece of the story you totally forgot to mention earlier? No problem. Bring it up when you think of it and let your audience be part of the discovery process. ("And what I didn't tell you before, was...")
Most importantly, trust the stories that choose to be told through you. Follow their lead. When you do, both you and your audience will embark on a magical journey you'll not soon forget.
Copyright 2009--Stories from the Heart