To Story or Not to Story

A client of mine gave her first public presentation at a service club. She didn't have a major business tip, just a trip she took to the jungle. And she was invited back. Why? No big tip or advice. Just a simple story of surviving the elements in the heart of Africa.

I ask you why. The reason is because she told a story that was interesting, engaging and generated emotions as she told it.

Jim Rohn once said, “For every point – have a story to go with it.”

I keep a story file in my computer and file cabinet. Whenever I find an interesting story, I save it to be used for a future event. As I write, craft my speech, I first put down the content. Then I go back and find a story that would illustrate the point.

And that's it – find, use a story that would help illustrate the point so that it paints a picture in your audience's mind.

I believe you can do it. Begin slowly and continue to add more stories to bring your presentations to life.

To borrow a quote from Ben Horowitz…

“I emphasize to CEOs, you have to have a story in the minds of the employees. It's hard to memorize objectives, but it's easy to remember a story.”