Effective Presenters Always Tell a Story

Effective presenters all have one thing in common. They are excellent storytellers! Connecting with your audience on an emotional level can be accomplished by the art of storytelling, which makes it easier to pull them in and keep them engaged.

The question I am asked most often by participants in our Effective Presentation Skills workshop is, “How do I engage an audience?” If you’ve ever felt the need to grab an audience and move them to take action, nothing will get their attention like a well-told story. To become a truly effective presenter, you need to master the art of storytelling.

In classrooms, boardrooms and at the feet of parents around the world, stories are used to sell ideas, educate and communicate ideas more effectively. So, how do you become a great storyteller? How do you take an ordinary idea or concept and bring it to life with a story that moves people to take action? The following ideas will help you to become an effective and exceptional presenter though the art of storytelling.

Tell Personal Stories

Go to the best source for great stories. You! Most exceptional speakers draw upon their own life experiences to create a narrative that their audience can easily relate to. When we tell personal stories, we’re able to do it with excitement and passion. Passion is contagious, people respond when we speak with great conviction and enthusiasm.

Learning to find the great stories in our life is easy if you possess a great memory. But, most of us don’t. A better way to remember your stories is to write down or record anything that makes you laugh, cry, get angry, etc. You’ll want to be very detailed, because over time you’ll forget the finer and perhaps more humorous parts. Take these stories and think about the life lesson you derived from each experience. Then, the next time you need to drive home a point, you can pull one of these from your storytelling toolbox and effectively present your ideas.

Know Your Audience

When telling a story, always make sure that it has a point and that it’s relevant. As with visual aids, make sure that the story supports your presentation and doesn’t become the presentation. A good story is simply another tool for you to use, it should help to illustrate your point and not the other way around.

Knowing your audience will help you decide what is appropriate. As with your tone, energy and attire, the story you tell will change based on who is in your audience. Bring a story that connects with who they are and to which they can easily relate.

Effective presenters understand the emotion of stories, and create compelling and inspiring ways to use them in their presentations. Some stories make us laugh and others make us cry, while others make us think or cause us to question our existing paradigms. Ultimately though, they should move your audience to action as this should be the goal of every great presenter. By developing the art of exceptional storytelling, you too can become an effective presenter. Get started filling your storytelling toolbox today!