Be a Storyteller, Not Just a Speaker

Stories develop themes. The themes chosen to illustrate the possibility of stories are:

Relationships, Choice, Creativity, Making a Difference, Celebration.

Speakers are ordinarily people, from teachers to grandparents, from mountain climbers to cancer survivors. The platform provides them with a privilege and awesome responsibility to share their stories in a way that helps the audience to "wake up." Good stories make people say, "Wait a minute. I can think or act differently about everything than I did before." Stories are everywhere. Speakers learn to retrieve them and retell them to audiences as a way to show their humanness to show they care; to open people to possibility thinking and how making mistakes will lead to the courage to finally help them succeed. Because most of us delineate our thoughts visually, great stories help to enhance and even transform our lives.

Be unique. Think funny thoughts. Live and re-live your story when you are telling a story. Words are critical so be sure to pause when necessary and BE IN THE NOW. Your words need to create an image in the audience's mind so that they can remember your story. They may be a step away from their own story. This will strengthen the connection between you and them.

It's a good idea to use props to enhance your humor. Remember most people have an attention span of six to eight minutes.

The Coach asks. what is your story?

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"Written by Coach Sandra Schrift - a career telecoach to emerging and experienced speakers who want to get to the next level in their profession. Visit her on the web at: schrift.com to learn more about her Speakers University teleclasses. And, be sure to sign up for her great newsletter - Monday Morning Mindfulness!" Phone: 619-688-9467 or email Sandra@schrift.com.