Stories make your message stick – whether you are talking to your board, your team, your prospect, your kids, or even people you meet while traveling.

My takeaway from listening to many people at conventions, social events, dinners and airplane mates : you are NOT good storytellers.

Here are 5 ways to screw up on telling your stories ➜

BORING STORY 😴

What makes a story boring? No conflict. If you want to engage your listener, include the stuff that causes problems. Would you go to a movie or read a book that only revealed that Dick and Jane met and then lived happily ever after? Nice chain of events (in fiction-land) AND boring.

CONFUSING STORY 😵‍💫

The trick about telling a good story is to start with context. Include some specific details about where you are or the place where the story begins. Then tell your story with up to three characters. You get confusing when you have too many characters. Next – ask yourself, is your info pushing your story forward? Or, are you going off on tangents? Is your added morsel about sales figures from three years ago creating more clarity or confusion?

POINTLESS STORY 🙄

Why tell a story that has no relevance to the listener? Is there a moral, learning lesson or value to your story? You don’t have to be preachy, but you do need to provide a reason for your audience to want to hear your story. Our blog on a travel nightmare shows how to make a story (with plenty of conflict!) meaningful to all listeners.

ALWAYS THE HERO STORY 😑

You know people who do this! Every story is about themselves and they swagger on and on about their triumphs. Do not be this person! The best stories are self-deprecating. You can still share your successes but we learn more from your foibles than from your gold medals.

EXAGGERATED STORY 🤥

Sometimes it helps to embellish a story! You can tweak your true events to make the characters, conflict and conclusion more relevant. BUT avoid over exaggerations that belie your message. We will figure out that you are beyond reality on the size of your captured fish and then you become discredited.

Practice storytelling with friends. Be aware of when you lose their interest, or they don’t laugh when you think they should, or they don’t “get” what you’re saying. Review this Glossary of Bad Stories and call us to work on this skill set.

© 2024 Karen Cortell Reisman, All rights reserved

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