HOW TO BE A GREAT STORYTELLER

How to Be a Great Storyteller and Win Over Any Audience
By Steve Tobak | January 12, 2011

It’s hard to imagine your career going anywhere if you can’t tell a story. Whether it’s an investor pitch to a VC, an “about us” to a potential customer, justifying your group’s existence to management, or an “about me” in an interview, your success in business is all about effective storytelling.

If you don’t think some of that stuff is storytelling, then you’re really in for a shock. Because if it isn’t, then you probably won’t get your funding, win the business, or get the job. Why is that? Simple. Media overload, communications overload, gadget overload.

These days, we’re all overdosed with rhetoric.

A thousand TV channels and movie choices, countless blogs and commentators, countless email blasts, and millions of websites - each one jockeying for a position in our lives, a share of our minds, just 30 seconds of our eyeballs.

Now, more than ever, if you can’t tell a story in a way that grabs people’s attention, gets across your position, and sticks with them, you may as well just hang it up. It’s as simple as that. Of course, a more positive way to look at it is that nothing can boost your career more - or be more fulfilling - than being adept at telling a story and truly connecting with your audience. Nothing.

The good news is that long ago, I was professionally trained as a speaker, I’ve given thousands of speeches and presentations, and I’ve been helping executives and companies position themselves, market their ideas, and tell stories for decades. I’ve also had the privilege of working for more than a decade with one of the great high-tech PR experts in Silicon Valley, Lou Hoffman of The Hoffman Agency. Lou writes a great blog called Ishmael’s Corner: Storytelling Through a Business Prism.

Here’s Lou’s take on one storytelling exec:

Look at Reed Hastings over at Netflix. I worked with him way back at Pure Atria. He was fantastic to work with: conversational, knew how to turn a phrase, knew how to tell a story. Fast-forward to today. Netflix is a well-known, publicly traded company and Hastings is still conversational, can still turn a phrase, tell a story.

That’s why you won’t read about this stuff in a book, learn it in Harvard Business School, or hear it from some self-proclaimed guru or expert. Because these are lessons I learned from real experts in the real world:

How to Tell a Story and Win Over Any Audience

Part I: The Setup

You were probably taught to use your own point of view (POV) as a starting point. Wrong! Dead wrong! Do you think companies are successful making products they want to make, or making products their customers want to buy? Do you think entrepreneurs get investment capital because they have a great idea or because it meets the criteria of the VCs? Do you think this blog is successful because the content is what I want to write about or what resonates with you, the audience?

Here’s how to do it right:

1. First, determine who your audience is. And don’t even think of saying, “it’s for everyone.” That simply won’t fly. If you can’t specifically define your audience, you’re sunk. If it’s for multiple audiences, it’s different for each one. I know it’s a lot of work but that’s the way it works. If you dilute the message for multiple audiences, it won’t hit any of them hard and you’ll fail to resonate across the board.

2. Second, put yourself in your audience’s shoes and ask three questions: 1) What’s in it for them, 2) why should they care, and 3) what criteria do they use to determine if whatever it is you’re pitching is a good idea or not. If you’re selling something, for example, customers have very specific criteria they’re looking to meet. Likewise, VCs have specific criteria to determine if they should invest or not. This may take some research but trust me; it’s worth it.

3. Third, develop your story by satisfying those three questions. Of course the story’s all about whatever it is you’re pitching, but if you don’t put it in perspective for your audience and answer the questions in their minds, you’ll never resonate with them. Also, make sure to consider the mechanics of the situation, i.e. how much time you’re expecting to have, what’s the venue, etc.

MY THOUGHTS

one weekend i went home and found everyone crocheting - my mom, my sister-in-law, her ten-year old and their maid. all of a sudden, a big question popped from me. "what am i gonna do when i'm really old and there's nothing else to do?". i can't crochet. i can't knit. i can't cross stitch. i can't even go fishing. my friend said i'm too noisy for the fish.

my sister-in-law looked up from her half-done doily and said "you're going to tell stories". i like that. i like that very much. i cannot picture myself sitting in a rocking chair. but i can picture myself weaving words and phrases together, watching my listeners, listening to their reactions, making changes along the way.

i think a good storyteller is one who's a good listener,too. otherwise, what stories can you tell?