Storytelling Techniques for Engaging Presentations
Written by Antonia Wise
Storytelling is the new buzzword in presenting. Think back to a meeting or presentation you’ve attended recently. What do you remember from it? The chances are the only thing that you can remember are the stories that were shared. Stories are concrete, memorable, have impact and are credible.
Neuroscientist John Medina says that “Vision trumps all other senses”, which is why stories are more memorable than argument or opinion. The listener pictures the events happening and the emotion evoked by the story cements our ability to recall them as the mammalian brain responsible for long-term memory, is activated by emotion.
There are four types of stories that enable leaders to influence, engage and inspire:- connection stories, clarity stories, influence stories and success stories. There are also anti-stories which are stories designed to overcome entrenched views.
Storytelling Structure
All stories follow a basic structure of stating the time/place, telling what happened, telling what was discussed and making the point. The order can vary depending on the type of story you are telling.
Types of Stories
1. Connection Stories
People are more likely to listen to you if they can relate to you and feel that you are someone like them. They also want to know what drives you and need to know you care. Tell a connection story when meeting people for the first time. First show your listeners that you are like them and then tell them a story about what makes you tick.
2. Clarity Stories
When people understand the reasons behind a decision they are more likely to buy in even if they personally don’t like it; people need to know why something happened - be it a new strategy, a change initiative or other developments. Clarity stories are used to explain the why. Start by talking about the decision or explain the change that is happening, the ’So Now’. Then connect this to recent events that happened (internally or externally to the organisation) that triggered the decision, the ‘Then Something Happened’. Contextual information can be given by talking about ‘In the Past’. Finish the clarity story by talking about ‘In the Future’ and use examples of how things will look and feel.
3. Influence Stories
Influence stories are used when you need to change someone’s mind or behaviour, shift an entrenched view, combat an anti-story or just get someone to think differently about it. It is always best to acknowledge any anti-stories at the outset and work out your main point. Follow this by telling a story that illustrates your point. Build your argument and then close by restating your point. Telling the story first ahead of the argument encourages the listener to be more open-minded and also provides them with a concrete example/point of evidence that is hard to argue with
3. Success Stories
These stories are useful when we want to learn from other’s success and want to know what they did to achieve it. The key to these stories is to tell them from the perspective of the individual rather than the company so that the listeners care about what happened and also learn what to do for themselves. To tell a success story first introduce the person at the heart of the problem and describe how they are like the listeners (to create connection). Illustrate the person’s problem and how it made them feel. Then show how the person solved the problem and share how they feel now.
Tips for telling a Business Story
• Never mention the ‘S’ Word…as in "I have a story I would like to share"
• Keep your stories short…90 seconds is a good length
• Practice telling your stories
• Know the business point your are making
• When collecting stories don’t write it out in full, just key dates, names etc.
• Don’t get stuck on a particular story and tell it to death
• Tell your own stories before telling other people’s stories
• Banish the storytelling voice
Bringing Storytelling together
Collect Stories
Start noticing and collecting stories so that you have stories to draw on. When you have an experience that prompts an emotional reaction – anger, surprise, joy, frustration and so on – stop and reflect on it. Tell the story to a friend, colleague or partner and check their reaction. Think about how you might use the story in a business context and what relevance statement you might lead it with. Find a place to collate your stories – a notebook, or a notebook app like OneNote – so that you can retrieve them easily.
Practice
Stories get better with practice. Never tell a story when it counts without having practiced it a few times. By getting into the habit of saying stories aloud two or three times after you’ve noticed them, they get locked in your memory and will be easily available when triggered by context and need.