We all have a story to tell.

Most of the time we don’t need to think too hard about how those narratives should be expressed.  There isn’t usually pressure to tell our stories.

You come home from work, you tell your spouse about the atrocities that were endured all day, and then you make plans for dinner.   The quality of your story is not judged the facts are often assumed to be true, and you are free to tell your story in any darn way you’d like.  No pressure.

Right now, I’m guessing, you’re in a different situation.  You’re probably feeling pressure to get your story told to a group of your peers.  Perhaps you need to make a story for your product or service online to get your small business rolling.  Either way, I can help you tell a more effective story.

Let’s Identify the the 3 Biggest things that aren’t helping your cause. By seeing what is being done ineffectively, you’ll be in a much better position to make the right corrections.

3 (Likely) Reasons Your Story Isn’t Working

1. You’re Not Actually Telling a Story At All.  You’re Telling a Report.

Very often when we’re assigned with making a presentation, we go back to our school days, and we try to write a report.  We think about things that have happened, and we write them down.  Perhaps we find all the facts and statistics about our topic and we write that down.  If we’re trying to convince people that our new product or service is really great, we tell you about all the features.

This is a big mistake because there’s very little that a good story has in common with a report.   This is more like news reporting, and does little to hold an audience’s attention.

A report is useful to collect data and stuff into a compact document for somebody to review later- or for you to go back to later.  A good report often has little entertainment value.  More importantly, however, it does little to relate to the reader in a personal way.

A story on the other hand should always incorporate facts within a narrative flow and it should feature a character.

2. You’re Presentation Lacks Relatable Characters.

Think for a second about some of the movies that you like the best.  For me, my favorite movie of all time is The Matrix.  One of the things that I found so appealing about that film is that I related strongly to that character played by Keanu Reeves.  Thomas Anderson was a computer programmer that felt little connection to the world around him.  he always questioned reality- it turned out for good reason.

Wait a minute, you say.  What does this have to do with my presentation?

OK.  Here’s the big ticket info.  If you want your audience to care about your product, service, message, or if you need them to invest in your business idea, then you need to make them a character in your story.  Not literally.  They do, in their minds, need to feel like they could be the hero of your story.  They need to be able to relate to the hero.

The best way to do this is to give the character in your story the same problems as your intended audience members.

You then need to assert that the hero will be able to overcome his problems.

The final piece of this character equation is that you, the story teller, will act as the catalyst for the hero (and therefore your audience member) to break through the issues holding them back and to obtain their solution.

This is important because your audience may see their issues as being insurmountable.  They actually subconsciously project themselves so strongly on your character that they will believe that the problem is too big for the hero to overcome.

That’s where you come in with all those facts from the report you wrote (as preparation for your presentation).  You pepper in only the most important facts to establish your expertise.  Then you relate your story about how you guided the hero of the story to a real solution.

Wow!  Now, you’re audience is engaged because:

• They see themselves in the character that you created.
• They relate to you because you understand their problems.
• They have felt the pain that your hero has experienced.

Imagine how happy they’ll be when they see how to eliminate their problems just by emulating the path that you provided for the hero of your story.

This is actually how to measure a successful presentation.  When audience members see themselves in the shoes of the hero, and overcoming problems that they felt were not possible they do a really cool thing.  They get up, out of their chairs, and they applaud.  They clap because they feel the triumph that hero felt.  They clap because they see their problems are no longer too big to be fixed.  Most of all, they clap for you- the story teller- because you have just provided them a roadmap t achieve this success.

They stand and clap and cheer- for you.

Powerful stuff- right?  Ok. Moving on.

3. You Don’t Make It Clear What to Do Next.

In Hollywood movies, the story isn’t over as soon as the hero overcomes their main conflict.  After the bad guy is killed or the path to happiness is revealed, there’s more.  A good movie illustrates how the main character has changed since the point where we first met them.

In the Matrix, for example, Neo is skeptical throughout the whole movie that he’s the One.  After he’s confronted by Agent Smith, Thomas Anderson discovers that he has powers beyond what he ever thought was possible.  Anderson, after defeating Agent Smith, must then learn to cope with the realization that he is the One.  He goes from disbelief at the beginning of the story, to believing at the end that he’s mankind’s only hope for survival.  It becomes clear to Thomas Anderson that he must act accordingly and he begins to take on a role of leadership in the human resistance.

Every good story needs to have a change in the main character.  For you, you’re hoping that the audience members will also exhibit a change in their behavior.  With that understanding, you must gently coach all the  heroes in your audience what the logical thing is to do next.

Now people may relate to the characters you described, and they may even feel the same exhilaration of victory.  But people don;t always automatically take the next step by themselves.  Many would be satisfied to just experience this win in their heads by virtue of empathizing with your story.  Weird- right?

It sounds silly, but give a simple way for people to take immediate action.  If you told an effective story, they’re all jazzed up right now.  They have put themselves in the shoes of your hero, and they have seen that they can come out victorious.  Now, empower them to do it in real life.  Remind them how to get the same results right now.

If you’re story was meant to inspire, then give them actionable advice that they can use immediately.  Encourage them to act soon- before the story wears off.

If commerce is the ultimate goal of your story, then you have to provide actionable means to purchase your goods or services.  If they’re experiencing your story online, give them a link to click on.  No matter how they get your story, just make sure it’s easy to get your product.  Make sure it’s clear how to get it.

Empower them to be victorious- right now.

I hope this overview of storytelling helps you out.  In the future, I’ll be posting more on this topic.  I need your help, though.  If you enjoyed this post, please leave comments below.  I will answer your questions with great enthusiasm.

If you have an idea for a new post, then leave that as a comment below too.  I’m really interested in the things  you’d like me to post about.

Scott Markowitz – OUT