storytelling

Story tip: the best way to keep your audience engaged

Story tip: the best way to keep your audience engaged

When something goes along exactly as planned or is merely a funny back-and-forth exchange, it can catch your attention momentarily but what keeps you from leaving your seat for two hours, even though you REALLY have to go to the bathroom/work/etc? If you feel the tension building in a story, maybe you know what’s going to happen but the main character doesn’t, or you feel something isn’t right and it’s about to come to a head but it hasn’t happened yet. You just want to hang on and see how it goes down and how the main character recovers from it.

Hidden Story Types that Grow Your Business

Talking about your business with a complete stranger or someone you see infrequently can be petrifying for anyone. How much do you share? What exactly should you tell them so that you're not rambling or selling yourself short?

I have frozen in conversation so many times because I don't want to give a canned, 30-second elevator speech. I want to say something more heartfelt and interesting - something that feels real. Ideally, I want to share something that actually gives them a flavor of who I am and what I'm all about. So I started a quest to become better at storytelling and I voraciously studied everything I could find for about a year.

All of that studying is helping me and I want it to help you, so that you have this information available at your fingertips without having to do a ton of research. Today's vlog is the last of a series of three where I discuss the types of stories people are most interested in hearing from you - whether you're at a cocktail party, giving a large presentation, or sharing on social media. I hope you enjoy these final two story types. I would love to hear if you work these into your conversations and what kind of results you have.

Happy storytelling!

Stories that Engage Your Audience

Storytelling is such a powerful way to engage and sell with gently and with subtlety. If you're not already incorporating this into your presentations and communications in your business, here are a couple of story types to boost results.

If you haven't checked out the other videos in this series, check out the past three to begin learning how to master this skill.

Must-have Stories for Business Owners

When you lead a business, movement, or idea, there are specific stories you can tell to help you share who you are and what you're about while influencing and inspiring others. Watch this vlog to learn them.