Greetings!

 

 

We've been doing a lot of presentation skills training and coaching recently, and have learned all sorts of great things from our clients. Here's one: even if you think you have a fabulous, defining, marketable story, it is never just ONE story. And there is never just one RIGHT way to tell it.

Here are some of the tips and guidelines we discovered through our work.

1. Start with the moral of the story. In other words, what's your point? What meaning are you trying to convey? An athlete-speaker who wants to impart the importance of a supportive community should tell a different story (or tell a story differently) than an athlete intending to emphasize the importance of personal tenacity even in the face of others' skepticism.

2. Remember that no matter how good your signature story is, you are not ONE story. Imagine a filing cabinet in which all of your experiences are stored. Then decide on a case-by-case basis, which stories meet the needs of your specific audience and context. Pull those files and combine them to create the appropriate presentation.

Need some structure to help with the above? We continue to rely on The Story Spine, though this time we offer it to you backwards.
 
The Story Spine

Some of you may be familiar with this tool, created by Kenn Adams, and used around the world. It is a simple template for creating and doctoring stories. For those of you who don't yet have it memorized, we have recorded it again here. For those of you who already use it, we have included a new way of applying it that focuses on illustrating a specific point.

The Platform:
 - "Once upon a time..."
 - "Everyday..."

The Catalyst
 - "But one day..."

The Consequences
 - "Because of that..."
 - "Because of that..."

The Climax
 - "Until finally...."

The Resolution
 - "Ever since then..."

The Moral
 - "And the moral is..."


Backwards Storytelling

To work on creating stories that support a point with impact and focus, use the Spine in reverse: What's the moral? What is the final outcome that illustrates that moral? What happened to get the protagonist to that point? What was the first change that lead to that path? What was life like before that step?

Ask yourself: Does my story really illustrate my point? Could it? What must I flesh out, explain, cut, add to make a stronger message? And don't forget to get feedback from others. Audiences always know more about your story than you do.