We’re all storytellers - we tell stories every day. You can become a better storyteller, whether at home, at work or with friends, by using the same techniques that pro storytellers use to work their magic.
What are these techniques?
Make eye contact
Involve your audience
Use gestures
Speed up and slow down
Be aware of yourself
Be open to inspiration
Make Eye Contact
If you only use one of these tips, use this one!
Eye contact has so much power, and there is no more powerful way to engage a listener than to look them in the eye. A storyteller once said to me ‘eyes are like sunshine; nobody should be left in the dark’. Years later, I still repeat this to myself before performances. Try to make regular eye contact with all of your listeners, all the way through your story.
Involve Your Audience
Don’t just talk; listen. Ask your audience questions. If we know we are going to be asked a question in a moment, there is no way we’ll be drifting off! This doesn’t need to be a test; it can be as simple as ‘do you agree?’ or, even better, ‘what would you have done?’
When speaking to young children, ask them questions and involve them as often as you possibly can. The younger the audience, the more involvement is needed.
Use Gestures
Think of how an Italian person speaks. They use their hands as much as their voice. Once you set you hands free and let them speak, you might be amazed at how much they can contribute to the effect of your story. If you’re not used to doing this, you may feel self-conscious at first, but it can very quickly become natural. Start with just a couple of gestures and see how you feel.
Speed Up And…
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Slow down. Nothing grabs people’s attention more quickly than a pause. Most of us speed up when we get nervous; notice when you so so and deliberately slow down.
Pause.
Look everyone in the eye.
See what I mean?
Speed up too! Up! Up! Surprise your listeners! Then bring it back… down. As in music, it’s the dynamic changes in your speech that make you engaging. The same applies for getting louder and quieter.
Be Aware Of Yourself
Time for some multi-tasking. While you are speaking, observe yourself. Notice your level of eye-contact; notice how you are feeling, your gestures, your vocal dynamics. How engaged are you with what you’re saying? Are you really present? Are you worried that no-one is really listening? You can work on all these things as you go, so long as you are aware of yourself. Juggling all these areas of attention at once is what makes good communication endlessly challenging and endlessly fun.
Be Open To Inspiration
The magic of telling stories is the magic of the moment. It’s fine - it’s good - to know in advance what you want to say. But what really makes listeners come alive is the sense that a speaker doesn’t know what they are going to say. The story didn’t come together somewhere else, some other time - it is coming together now, and everyone present is part of it. If this happens, and new words and ideas come to you as you’ve speak, congratulations! You’ve struck storytelling gold.
What do you think makes for great communication? Let me know.
