Want to be a Great Speaker? Do 1 Thing!
I hear thousands of speakers every year and I am consistently amazed at how few tell stories. They think a powerpoint slide, or their intelligence, or that fact that people have no choice but to be there will make their presentation worth listening to. This is straight up WRONG!
Great speakers are inevitably great storytellers. One of my all time favorite quotes comes from Mark Sanborn.
“Stories are the coat racks that we hang ideas on. ”
Nothing helps your presentation more than storytelling and Mark’s quote illustrates its power in a simple way.
As a side note, if you need to see what amazing storytelling looks like, stop reading and go watch Mark’s video now…you will be inspired!
Many times speakers are so focused on their content, that they forget about the stories. So why is storytelling so important? Simple…below are 4 benefits to storytelling.
4 Benefits to Storytelling
- You Build Trust: People don’t care about what you know, until they know you care. It may sound like a cliche, but it’s true. If you don’t first build trust with your audience, you will ultimately fail. Stories allow people to trust you…it all starts here.
- You Build a Framework: People are able to remember those things that they can attach to a model they connect with. There are lots of ways to build a model, but nothing creates “connection” more effectively than a story. When you tell a story, you build a framework and this is the structure that great presentations are built upon.
- You Build Attention: A recent study showed that the average attention span for an adult is 8 seconds. If you don’t build attention you have failed by second number 9. Great speakers build attention through stories. You want to be great…then you need the audiences’ attention and this means you must tell stories!
- You Build an Experience: Stories reach in and touch a persons emotions. This is necessary to build an experience. Go watch a great comedian…they frame everything through stories and many times create a loop that brings you right back to the initial story. This ultimately creates an experience and not just a presentation. The ones that create experiences, ultimately create the best presentations.
Once again, if you have not already done it, commit to watch the video below…it is one of the best examples of storytelling I have ever seen and it will leave you inspired to take on the day!!!
To speak with Hitch Studio about learning to tell better stories at your next event or to teach you how to frame your story, you can fill out this Form.