3 Ways You Can Become a Great Story Teller
Storytelling is an essential skill that is required in more or less every profession. As a content creator, you must craft a compelling narrative about yourself and a product so your followers are interested in following you and/or buying your product. Therapists often use storytelling when talking to patients. When you work in a consultancy or as an entrepreneur, you need to tell a story in such a lucrative manner that it impresses the client and investor. And this skill is especially important for journalists, writers, and filmmakers. Here are three definite ways you can become a great storyteller.
1. Power of relatability
Your story will be a hit with your audience only when they can connect to your story. How will you know their preference? Research your audience. Dig up some statistics from the past, which will tell you what has worked with them before. Then decide on the topic and how you want to narrate your story. It should have an emotional factor that will strike your audience. Craft your story in a way that strikes the right balance — not overly embellished, yet far from being overly simplistic and dull.
Make sure to weave the facts into your story in an engaging manner, and vary your tone. Don’t be afraid to reveal your vulnerability and add a personal touch. An entrepreneur works hard to make their startup clear and comprehensible. Still, when they share how a personal loss or a heartwarming experience opened their eyes to the importance of something, it becomes truly exceptional!
2. The message should be out there
Even if you are not narrating a story in person, you must ensure your audience gets your point. They might shed tears or laugh while listening or watching your story, but then they should not be a little lost as to the purpose. That should always be there out in the open. Each set of audience has a few words that can generate an emotional reaction. Use those words in your story. Keep your story concise and straight to the point, but use impactful words that leave a lasting impression on your audience.
It’s also a good idea to introduce surprises. While storytelling, challenge the assumptions your audience may have about your narrative. This, however, is only applicable to those dealing with fictional storytelling. When you are writing a story, don’t just write words. Throw in some catchy videos, infographics, or images to ensure your target audience gets your point.
3. Read and consume various forms of content
Crafting a captivating story down to the last-minute detail is not as easy as it seems. So, you need to read a lot of books. Especially books that are outside of your expertise. You may know much about fashion, but that shouldn’t result in zero sports knowledge. You should have a working knowledge of almost every aspect to tackle questions or crack that small joke that would please the audience. Watch movies of all countries and various languages. Observe how they have kept the relatability factor high despite pertaining to one particular culture.
Explore plays and comic books to gain fresh perspectives and discover new stories. By cross-referencing different cultural nuances, you’ll be ready to capture the attention of diverse audiences with your storytelling. Your arsenal of knowledge will be your greatest asset.
So, the key to successful storytelling is always keeping your audience in mind. Say, you are pitching your business or project to an investor or client who has never been abroad; if you keep telling him about your European summer adventures, they will lose interest and reject your pitch. Similarly, if you are talking to someone who’s a sports fanatic, you cannot give them examples of movie personalities. They absolutely cannot relate to it. So, prepare a crisp and not-too-subtle story with the message while keeping the audience hooked.
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