We all have a story that we can tell, question is how well can we tell it? Here are some tips on how to tell your story.
How to engage others and let them into your world as you tell your story.
Engage the audience from the first word.
A great story draws the listener in from the start. For instance, you could begin with a question, Ever loved till your heart ached? You could also begin with some interesting statistics. For example, Did you know that the chance of ‘Love at first sight’ drastically reduces when you get older?’. You could also draw in the audience by beginning with a personal story. Personal stories are touchy enough to keep the audience glued. Personal stories also build a sense of trust.
Start telling the part of the story that most inspires you.
While life has many chapters, just a year has different seasons and a day has weather changes. Our stories may be a particularly lengthy, leaving us not knowing where to start. There is no rule of engagement when it comes to this. Start with the part that inspires you most, the part that you can easily share. This will build up your confidence to tell the other parts of the story.
Try shading it with humor.
Listeners respond best to emotions. Engage on an emotional level while throwing in some jokes and some sense of humor. Expose the different elements of your story with something that is laughable and exciting from the whole experience. We all need a good laugh.
Set a good path.
Even if the story is haphazard, Keep on the theme for the listeners to keep in the journey of your life. Sometimes telling our stories to others may seem as if we are telling it to ourselves. Be ready to relive the moments and keep on the right trajectory and theme.
Be honest.
Impactful stories are authentic stories. Stories that mirror our truth. While we may be tempted to throw in lies to spice up our story, this will only leave a bitter taste in the mouth of our listeners when they get to know that it was a lie. Then your story, even the parts that were true will be trashed just like that. The lies won’t be worth it. Share your narrative truthfully while respecting the right to privacy. You may have to change character names or get their authority to use their real names.
Describe the weather.
While this may seem insignificant, describing the weather as you give your story brings the listeners right into the context of the story. It creates mental scenes in the mind of the listeners, this way, engaging them even the more. Getting the listeners into your world while telling your story is definitely a plus.
For your story to be memorable, it ought to be mind-gripping as well as inspirational! Laughter, tears, anger… need to be well brought out word by word.
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