The question for the Mastermind Group this week was Storytelling and specifically, do you need to be a good storyteller to be a good leader? Here are 3 Tips to be a good storyteller.
Karina, Steve and Robyn all told me some really interesting ideas around storytelling and some great tips!
Magic of Metaphor
Tip 1: Magic of Metaphor by Nick Owen here is a good book tip from Steve about using metaphors to tell stories. They can really make your point and help the audience feel the lesson.
It was the final of the annual lumberjack competition. After days of chopping, only two competitors remained; an old lumberjack and a young lumberjack, 20 years his junior, who had the strength and speed to beat him in a head to head contest.
Magic of Metaphor
They were sent into the woods to see who could cut down the most trees in eight hours. The young lumberjack threw himself into the challenge, working tirelessly all day without stopping, while the older lumberjack took a 15-minute break every hour. With all that extra time the younger lumberjack was confident he’d win.
At the end of the work day, the felled trees were counted. The older, more experienced, lumberjack had cut down nearly one third more trees than the younger man. This made no sense to the young lumberjack. How could the old man have cut down more trees in 25 per cent less time?
He approached the older man to congratulate him and asked, “How did you beat me? I didn’t stop working all day, but you stopped every hour. How did you work less time and cut down more trees?”
The older lumberjack said, “I stopped for 15 minutes every hour to sharpen my axe”.
Think about your Audience
Tip 2: Always think about your audience is the advice from Karina. What is your point and why are you telling them?
The STAR techniques are an easy way to tell your story. I use this a lot in my coaching.
Courses
Tip 3: Coursea.org is a great place to find free courses on storytelling and they have several.
Steve and Karina have both bene in broadcasting and they say that a tip is to stand in the corner with your ears covered by your hands projecting your voice back again the wall. This will allow you to hear your voice as others hear it.
I hope you liked these 3 Tips to be a good storyteller!