what elements did storytelling performers use to make literature memorable?

A good public speaker takes their audience on a journey, leaving them feeling inspired and motivated. But structuring your speech to get your ideas across and keep your audience engaged all the manner through is tricky. Try these eight storytelling techniques for a presentation that wows.

You're doing a presentation, so you outset with the facts yous want to get across. Wrong! Humans are hardwired for stories. They love heroes, journeys, surprises, layers and happy endings.

Evangelize a presentation that captures the hearts and heads of your audience past stealing one of these classic storytelling techniques. Start with the story – the residue will be history.

1. Monomyth

The monomyth (as well called the hero'due south journey), is a story construction that's found in many folk tales, myths and religious writings from around the world.

In a monomyth, the hero is called to leave their home and sets out on a hard journey. They move from somewhere they know into a threatening unknown place.

After overcoming a great trial, they return home with a reward or newfound wisdom – something which volition help their community. Lots of modern stories all the same follow this structure, from the Lion King to Star Wars.

Using the monomyth to shape your presentation can help you lot explain what has brought you to the wisdom you lot want to share. Information technology can bring your message alive for your audience.

Good for:

• Taking the audience on a journey
• Showing the benefit of taking risks
• Demonstrating how you learned some new found wisdom

See also: The Hero's Journey by Joseph Campbell

Japanese yo-yo-er Black tells the inspiring story of finding his life's passion, and the difficult path he took to become world champion. He closes past sharing his new constitute skills with the audience, bringing his journey full circle.

2. The mountain

The mountain structure is a manner of mapping the tension and drama in a story. It's similar to the monomyth because information technology helps united states to plot when certain events occur in a story.

It's different considering it doesn't necessarily have a happy catastrophe. The first role of the story is given to setting the scene, and is followed by but a series of small challenges and rising action before a climactic conclusion.

It'south a bit similar a TV series – each episode has its ups and downs, all building up to a large finale at the end of the season.

Good for:

• Showing how y'all overcame a series of challenges
• Slowly building tension
• Delivering a satisfying conclusion

Aimee Mullins uses a mountain-structure spoken language to tell a personal story – from being born without fibula bones in her lower legs to becoming a famous athlete, extra and model.

3. Nested loops

Nested loops is a storytelling technique where yous layer three or more than narratives within each other.

Y'all place your most of import story – the core of your message – in the centre, and use the stories around information technology to elaborate or explicate that central principle. The showtime story y'all begin is the last story you lot terminate, the second story you start is second to last, etc.

Nested loops works a flake like a friend telling you about a wise person in their life, someone who taught them an of import lesson. The first loops are your friend'southward story, the second loops are the wise person's story. At the centre is the important lesson.

Good for:

• Explaining the process of how you were inspired/ came to a conclusion
• Using analogies to explain a fundamental concept
• Showing how a piece of wisdom was passed along to y'all

See also:Simon Sinek'south TED talk shows how successful organizations identify the 'why?' of what they do at the centre, surrounded by the 'what?' and 'how?' of their business organisation. Nested loops are an ideal way of framing this message, giving your audience a real insight into your identity.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie uses the framework of her experiences in university and the way that Africa is perceived in the Western world to drive habitation her argument near stories.

4. Sparklines

Sparklines are a manner of mapping presentation structures. Graphic designer Nancy Duarte uses sparklines to analyse famous speeches graphically in her book Resonate.

She argues that the very best speeches succeed considering they contrast our ordinary world with an ideal, improved world. They comparewhat is withwhat could be.

By doing this the presenter draws attending to the problems we have in our society, our personal lives, our businesses. The presenter creates and fuels a want for alter in the audience.

It's a highly emotional technique that is sure to motivate your audience to support yous.

Adept for:

• Inspiring the audience to activeness
• Creating promise and excitement
• Creating a following

Meet also: Resonate by Nancy Duarte

Martin Luther King'south speech is famous the world over considering it contrasts the racist, intolerant society of the twenty-four hours with an ideal futurity social club where all races are treated every bit.

5. In media res

In medias res storytelling is when you begin your narrative in the heat of the activity, before starting over at the beginning to explain how you got there.

Past dropping your audience right into the most heady function of your story they'll be gripped from the beginning and will stay engaged to discover out what happens.

But be careful – you don't want to give away likewise much of the action straight away. Endeavour hinting at something bizarre or unexpected – something that needs more caption. Give your audition just enough information to proceed them hooked, as you go back and set the scene of your story.

This but works for shorter presentations though – if you string information technology out likewise long your audition will get frustrated and lose involvement.

Good for:

• Grabbing attention from the starting time
• Keep an audience craving resolution
• Focusing attending on a pivotal moment in your story

Zak Ebrahim begins his talk with the revelation that his father helped program the 1993 World Trade Centre bombing. His audience is gripped from the beginning, as he begins to recount the events of his childhood and the path he took subsequently his father's confidence.

6. Converging ideas

Converging ideas is a speech structure that shows the audience how unlike strands of thinking came together to form one product or thought.

It can be used to show the birth of a movement. Or explain how a single idea was the culmination of several not bad minds working towards ane goal.

Converging ideas is similar to the nested loops structure, simply rather than framing one story with complementary stories, it tin show how several equally important stories came to a single potent conclusion.

This technique could be used to tell the stories of some of the globe's greatest partnerships – for case, web developers Larry Page and Sergey Brin.

Larry and Sergey met at Stanford'southward PhD program in 1995, but they didn't like each other at outset. They both had great ideas, but found working together hard. Eventually they found themselves working on a research project together. A research project that became Google.

Proficient for:

• Showing how nifty minds came together
• Demonstrating how a development occurred at a certain point in history
• Showing how symbiotic relationships have formed

See besides: Steven Johnson'southward TED talk, where he explains how collaboration has fuelled some of history'due south best ideas.

John Bohannon and the Black Label Movement explain (verbally and through trip the light fantastic toe) how scientists and dancers came together to form an exciting, dynamic alternative to irksome presentations.

7. Fake start

A 'faux start' story is when y'all begin to tell a seemingly predictable story, before unexpectedly disrupting it and beginning it once more. You lot lure your audience into a faux sense of security, then shock them past turning the tables.

This format is swell for talking nearly a time that yous failed in something and were forced to 'become back to the showtime' and reassess. It's ideal for talking about the things that you learnt from that experience. Or the innovative mode that you solved your trouble.

But best of all, information technology's a quick attention hack which will disrupt your audience's expectations and surprise them into paying closer attention to your message.

Skilful for:

• Disrupting audition expectations
• Showing the benefits of a flexible approach
• Keeping the audition engaged

J M Rowling begins her speech communication at Harvard in a typical fashion. She talks about her time at academy and the expectations of her parents. The audition expects her to talk near the growing success of her writing career – instead she focuses on a time in her twenties where she felt she had 'failed' in life. What comes side by side is inspirational.

viii. Petal structure

The petal construction is a way of organising multiple speakers or stories around one central concept. It'southward useful if you have several unconnected stories you want to tell or things you want to reveal – that all relate back to a single bulletin.

You tell your stories i by i before returning dorsum to the centre. The petals can overlap as i story introduces the side by side but each should exist a complete narrative in itself.

In doing so, you can weave a rich tapestry of evidence around your central theory. Or stiff emotional impressions around your thought.

By showing your audience how all these key stories are related to one some other, you get out them feeling the true importance and weight of your message.

Good for:

• Demonstrating how strands of a story or procedure are interconnected
• Showing how several scenarios relate back to one idea
• Letting multiple speakers talk around a central theme

See also:Carnegie Mellon Academy's guide to story nodes

Simon Sinek over again! His theory might lend itself perfectly to nested loops, but he himself chose to deliver his talk in a petal structure. He tells his audience a series a stories to help illustrate his ideas, each i strengthening his message further.

Showtime with a story

So there you have it – 8 archetype storytelling shapes to brighten up your talk and actually appoint your audience.

Of course there are many other storytelling techniques out at that place that y'all tin apply. What I promise this post has done is show you that stories are powerful. They are the language of your audience.

Your talk – withal dry the subject – tin can be brought live if you find the story at the heart of it all. If you'd like any aid developing your story and turning it into a winning animated video, contact our friendly Sparkol Creative Services squad here.

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Source: https://blog.sparkol.com/8-classic-storytelling-techniques-for-engaging-presentations

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