Why Everyone Should be a "Storyteller"

From symbols on cave walls to fairy tales and fables, Man has always been fascinated by "stories". Storytelling has existed since the beginning of history as both a communication method and an art form. We are wired to use stories in almost every aspect of our daily lives and we do it because of how effectively it allows the other person to relate to our situation or someone else's. Stories are there to simplify the complexities of life and have people reach a common understanding of a foreign idea. As simply stated by Robert McKee (a renowned lecturer): "Storytelling is the most powerful way to put ideas into the world". And if told right, those ideas can change the world.

So why should your presentation be any different? There is typically a sort of reluctance to attend someone's presentation, specially if it's a pitch. When you are in the presenter's shoes, ideas are flowing in your brain and you want to blurt them all out, excited as you are. But on the other side of the room is a disconnected audience. The reason being that they are not sharing your enthusiam about the subject matter. Your energy, high as it may be, is not being channeled properly. This when you need context. A framework that would render your message more relevant to your audience. In other words, a story.

So, in a world where you are tasked to convince customers of the superiority and importance in investing in your solutions, if you do so leaning on its intricacies, you create a one sided conversation that would end up in polite thank-yous. Remember that your audience is not new to this; they have sat through numerous similar presentations and yours is not standing out. However, the fact that they are present in the room is evidence of their willigness to invest time. What they ask of you in return is one thing: Make me care.

Think back to any memorable book you read or movie you watched, what the creator of the story sets out to do is create a promise that this story will be worth your time. And as the story unveils, you are drawn to it and you are pleased when you see this promise being fulfilled. Again, your presentation should follow the same pattern. When you are telling the story of your solution, you want your audience to experience three things:

- Revelation: Coming out having learned something new or confirmed a feeling or doubt is a welcome addition to their day;
- Curiosity: A rooted need to know more about something that "clicks" will send your audience researching about the subject;
- Contribution: Because your audience are storytellers in their own right, they will want to share what they've witnessed with others through a discussion.

What more can you want? And how else would you define a succesful presentation? By taking your subject matter and turning it into a relevant contextualized narrative, you are able to instill interest and persuade your audience to keep listening. However, in doing so, you need to build up your story to lead to a single goal. This could be proving that your solution is essential to their business, establishing your leading position in the market or simply showing them that you exist. In all cases, the construct of the story should follow these simple guidelines:

- Open your story with a statement that prompts a reaction of fear or intrigue. This could be a case study of a customer you have worked with in the past; a quote from a respected authority in the market or research statistics. An opening of this variety will grab the audience's attention and prepare them to be more receptive when hearing about your solution.
- Create relevance through inclusion. By knowing your customer and what their business issues are, you can cleverly make them a protagonist in the story. Not only does this create relevance in the audience, it enhances their level of empathy; this happens through a phenomena called Neural Coupling which allows listeners' brains to sync up with the speaker's in the event where the conversation is relatable.
- Make it personal. Every individual has organizational and personal goals. The best scenario happens when they both converge. By adding a personal spin in the conversation, you increase your chances of stealthly addressing a personal need that can be a driver for decision making.

Finally, storytelling requires creativity at the same time as it nourishes it. It's a practice that will work well in certain situations more than others. It all depends on how well you know your audience's expecations when walking into the room.

Once you have done this; you can tell you story.