Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Article on Stories in Business

I received the following link to an article about storytelling in law practices. Although the legal profession is mentioned and how to use stories to garner more clients has a paragraph most of the article is simply about how to create and use stories in the business world. It is well worth the read for anyone who is not convinced that stories have a place in the fast paced world of Inc.'s or doesn't know when a good story is appropriate. Let me know what you think of the artilce and if you have any questions on finding, creating and delivering your own business stories.

http://www.abanet.org/lpm/lpt/articles/mkt04081.shtml

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Michael Scott Karpovich

On Monday the 21st, Michael spoke to the CT chapter of the NSA (National Speaker's Association) about how to use stories in your presentations. He was brilliant, even if he is brain damaged. That is right he had a traumatic birth leaving him brain damaged resulting in severe learning disabilities and dyslexia. With determination and love from his parents he has overcome all this and has had a very successful career as an orator for the past 30 years.

His signature story is full of emotion (happy, sad, fear, joy, triumph). Including emotion is key to connecting with your audience which is why personal stories are powerful. Emotions are where the real power of a story is. Most people get hung up on the fact that they need sad stories to make an impact but that is just wrong. Any emotion is what is needed and the more different emotions, think roller coaster, the more memorable the message will be.

He also reminded us that even well known stories that by some standards have been overused by speakers may in fact still be new to many in the audience. You can never assume everyone in the audience is familiar with the story especially with the diversity in most audiences. More on this later.

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Upcoming Events

Next weekend at this time I will be happily immersed in story. It is the 27th Annual Connecticut Storytelling Festival. Really geared more for education and librarians there is always something a business storyteller can take away because it is not just performances. Saturday afternoon is full of workshops ranging from beginning storytelling to more advanced uses of music within your story.

If you are in Connecticut it is worth the trip to New London (full details at http://www.connstorycenter.org/). If you are elsewhere there are storytelling conferences and festivals all over including one in Washington DC geared specifically towards people who use stories to improve business communications. Search the web or keep your eyes open for local events listed in your newspapers and community calendars.

Friday, April 18, 2008

Randy Pausch

Last week there was this amazing story on television about a man named Randy Pausch. I had heard part of his "Last Lecture" and was intrigued so I watched the special. Randy is a man who was diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer and given 3-6 months to live. He has defied the odds and lived much longer than that, I beleive mostly because he has a great attitude and is living life to the fullest. His is a great uplifting story.

As inspiring as his story is what really hit home for me was when he said "Don't give people advise on how to live their lives, tell them a story and they'll figure it out." Randy echoed what many cultures around the world have known for thousands of years. Here in the United States we seemed to have lost touch with the power of a story. What a shame. Although I am heartened to see many websites and events geared to storytelling in its many forms.

We all can learn much from Randy and his story. If you haven't heard his last lecture yet, I urge you to search the web for a copy. It is well worth the time.