Anecdotes-art or science (Part 2)

Story telling is an integral part of public speaking skills. The anecdote could be in a formal setting like addressing Senior Management of a Company, or explaining how a product works to consumers or when trying to motivate subordinates or teammate to action and meeting deliverables.  I mentioned in my previous article, great orators are great story tellers and it’s more than the spoken words.

We will explore some of the art or science around good story telling.

First, understanding your audience positions you better to gain their confidence. Speaking to a group of generation alpha without use of certain social media words or events around social media may not help in making them understand why they are even listening to you. The Millennials would have different understanding of events . Baby boomers generation will find your story captivating when you mention the scientific breakthrough in their era such a man landing on the moon or when you speak to the Cold War.  So you need to understand your audience to reach out.

Second, use of right descriptive words would crystallize a message better than using vague words. For example, it’s easier to remember a story of an exploration, that is as far as Lagos to New York than saying 5,261 miles of a journey. The numbers are too abstract and may not be relatable. Also, “sins washed away and become pure and white as snow “ sticks in memory than just the word” sins washed and you are pure”; “ tearing down the Berlin wall” sounds more memorable than “ I need you to open up and collapse the walls blocking East Germany  and West Germany “.  Ultimately,  it depends on the audience but the sticky words are powerful, energetic and can move people to actions.

Third, the use of certain art makes the story unique. The use of transcendentals like” righteousness like a might stream”, “ One nation under God”, “ All men are created equal” , “hope”, “Faith”, move the heart, gets the crowd fired up. Iconic speeches are filled with these phrases to establish a strong connection between the speaker and the audience.

The use of triadic or tricolon in speeches get the message delivered. An example is, ”we came, we saw, we conquered “. A well known tricolon in modern speech is from President Barak Obama victory speech: ”the horse in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher who told a people, we shall overcome, yes we can”. The use of tricolon build bridges and build up emotions to compel the audience into action or impress depending on the intended purpose behind the story.

Another aspect of a good story telling is use of pregnant pauses rather than use fill-ins like “hmm”, “huh’. Pregnant pauses help the speaker to think and hold the audience in awe of the next line in the speech. Also, it helps to convey authority and confidence in the subject matter. The use of fill-ins show loss of confidence or lack of better words in speech delivery. It also helps to gauge audience response as you speak.

Practicing makes the whole difference. Application of the arts and also developing zeal to learn more would make you a good storyteller or a powerful speaker as you wish.

How ready are you to make a difference and impact in your speech using anecdotes? You can impress with your stories, so put in what it takes.