***The Art of Storytelling in Public Speaking

Have you ever considered opening your speech or presentation with a story? If done well, a true story is an attention-grabber. It can be humorous, suspenseful, thrilling, provocative, or dramatic, any of which immediately lends credibility to you as the speaker. Don't stop there, however: good presentations have true accounts woven throughout the development. They add interest as well as validity to your topic or your subject.

Telling the following story about getting lost in the woods and discovering something about yourself in the process will be much more interesting, exciting and remarkable if you can describe your adventure with a lot of detail as well as with animation, emotion, and color. While variety in your vocal delivery is imperative, facial expression and body language are also part of that picture.

Notice in the following example, how little detail is given which makes the story not exciting, not suspenseful and certainly not dramatic.

Example 1

Having gotten lost in the woods, I saw a bear while trying to find my way back to camp and discovered that, although I have a bad sense of direction, choosing the right direction can make all the difference in your life.

That one sentence is not going to grab the attention of your audience, hold their attention, or captivate them in the least. But what if you were to describe the adventure in the following manner?

Example 2

A few months ago I was camping with my family in Maine and managed to get lost from our camp when I went for a run in the woods. It was probably not the smartest move I've ever made considering I have no sense of direction. Deep in thought during my 'cross country' jaunt, I ran for at least two miles before I came into very close contact with a heavy branch ahead of me that I had not seen. I was knocked to the ground. I don't know how long I was out but when I came to, I wasn't sure where I was. Although I had my cell phone on me, it was a moot point because our campground was so far from a tower that we had no coverage.

The forest was wet and cold from an earlier rain, my clothes were soaked through and I had a goose egg on my forehead that was pounding. Dusk was fast approaching and I knew I had to find my way quickly or else I'd be spending the night on the wet ground. Confused as to which way to continue, I thought I had chosen the correct path until I spotted a bear ambling ahead of me in the same distance. There was no way I could continue on that route, so I searched through the trees for where the sky was lightest and decided to move in that direction.

After an hour of trying to negotiate the twigs, branches and scruff, I finally encountered a path and prayed it was the right one! While I still had far to go, thankfully I had chosen the right direction because after what seemed an interminable length of time, I finally saw some flickering lights ahead in the distance. I had made it back to our camp all by myself! My family (who was in the process of organizing a search party) was overjoyed to see me and I was more than grateful for some warm clothes and a hot cup of coffee. As one who cannot find my way, even with a map, I was proud of myself for accomplishing my goal through fear, confusion and pain. What did I learn from this experience? That choosing the right direction can make all the difference in your life.

Depending on the presentation, this story could be an opener or a closer. It could also be part of your development.

Audiences enjoy good stories - stories of your success, the success of your clients or your customers, or success stories from others who you can quote which are relevant to your topic and can lend credibility to what you are discussing.

Do not be afraid of good storytelling. The best in the business do it which is one of the reasons for their success.