Get Lori’s latest article: “Seven Strategic Planning Myths You Should Shatter”
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Sometimes a series of small decisions can profoundly impact our lives. How do I know? It happened to me. For years I marketed my management consulting firm by writing articles and speaking free of charge. After my book Critical SHIFT was published, I decided on a whim to pursue paid work as a keynote speaker. How difficult could it be to memorize my talks? I quickly pitched the props. Fifty garbage bags filled with thousands of overhead slides waited on the curb for pick-up. When my big break finally arrived. I was the opening keynote speaker for an 1,100-person conference in Seattle. The night before, I practiced my presentation with my friend Bill. Learning the talk by heart wasn’t working. Bill cajoled me, “Use more examples. They’ll help people discover important points without you listing them.” I stopped cold. Somehow I’d overlooked a lesson learned when I quit smoking: when you give up a behavior you must replace it with a better one. I’d tossed the overheads but neglected to add anecdotes. I stayed up all night reworking my presentation. Afterwords, I though, “There’s got to be an easier way,” I Googled “painless keynote speaking” and up popped the National Speakers Association. What could it hurt to join and attend the annual conference? Five minutes into the conference, I was mesmerized. It struck me: Great speakers tell compelling stories. Stories that give you belly laughs. Stories that trigger teary eyes. In an hour they may only cover three or four key points—no brain overload happened here. So I simplified my talks and queried colleagues for tales to tell. Praise followed. I still felt something was missing, but chose to let life take its course. It soon brought the opportunity to co-author Stories Trainers Tell. While interviewing trainers, storytellers, speakers, consultants, and business leaders for the book, I stumbled onto the answers. Powerful stories have an issue, problem, conflict or dilemma at their core. There are proven ways to structure stories to heighten recall. Using acting techniques when telling them can captivate people’s attention. Through the National Storytelling Network, I saw how stories could increase productivity and enhance strategic communicators. Today, not only am I a better speaker, I’m a better consultant. What about your organization? Do you want people to remember what they hear in a keynote talk? To be inspired to change? Then bring me in to speak to your group. Increase your impact and get the results you need.. |
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Once
Upon a Time, a Speech Became a STORY . . .
