Public Speaking and the Importance of Story

Looking to connect with and inspire audiences? Great Powerpoint slides or groovy flash graphics will only take you so far.  As a motivational speaker, keynote speaker or public speaker the most important element to keep top of mind is the story.  Yet sadly, too often it’s the screen behind the speaker that gets the most attention. We’ve all sat through presentations where all the speaker does is read their slides out loud to us – not very engaging or inspiring.

People have been telling stories since the beginning of time. Eager audiences would gather around campfires, in courtyards, in fields and often travel great distances to hear someone speak. Stories would be shared, repeated and passed down from one generation to the next. At no point did these great speakers refer to handouts or screens to help tell their story, although if any visuals were used, it was to add impact, not to distract from what they were saying.

The speaking industry has seen some great changes over the years. From Powerpoint to Prezi, from unconference formats to the TED talksin regions all over the world – the one constant that remains true to form is the power of story. The ability to engage an audience with words, with emotion and enthusiasm and yet still be informative, persuasive and compelling is no small feat.

Story Begins with Structure and Ends with Inspiration

Throughout the ages, good stories have had a structured beginning, middle, and an end. Nancy Duarte, noted storyteller and author of books Resonate and Slide:ology, believes a great presentation follows this same model. In Resonate, she talks about the key differences between reports, stories and presentations.  “Reports inform and stories entertain. Presentations fall in the middle and contain both information and story, so they are called explanations.”

But a good story goes deeper than that. It evokes emotion and reaction. A great presentation with the right structure in place can do the same thing. A wonderful example is Dean Kamen, American Inventor, who gave a moving presentation at the TED Conference on his invention of a prosthetic limb designed for growing numbers of veteran amputees returning home. The first eight minutes are of him standing and speaking. No slides, no video, no images – just him, on a stage, talking.

He presents his story, how he was asked to perform the impossible and create a prosthetic arm in a short period of time; and after seeing and hearing about the subjects he was creating this arm for, decided to put his life and career on hold to accomplish this impossible task. Dean tells us about the day he first saw this man who had lost an arm to war pick up a spoon with his new arm and feed himself for the first time in 19 years, and it’s immediately clear he has a beginning, middle and end. Within the first two minutes you are hooked. His story is compelling, emotional and informative. He has structured it to represent his and his subject’s personal story – for these heroes it’s the dignity they regain in accomplishing the simple task of feeding themselves, something we all just take for granted.

In a The eLearning Coach interview with Nancy Duarte, Nancy sums up the art of storytelling: “Learning how to be a comfortable as a storyteller takes practice. The most memorable stories are the ones that reveal a flaw or a hardship of the protagonist. The most transformative stories are the ones told with personal conviction – these are your own personal stories.” You can be sure the audience that left after hearing Dean’s incredible presentation were moved, transformed and inspired.

In future posts we will touch on the many options for enhancing your story with visual elements, but remember it will be your words, your personal stories, your knowledge and enthusiasm for your subject matter that will have audiences talking long after you leave the stage.