The secrecy of leadership storytelling that attracts an audience

Leaders need to have relevant and compelling stories in their hands for authentic persuasion. Stories not only build strong bonds with your audience, they make information more memorable.

To create a quick story, the stories should follow a basic story structure. We call this the “IRS” model:

• I – interesting The beginning
• R – Riveting Medium
• S – Satisfactory The end

But it often leaves people with a question. “What makes a story ‘riveting’?” To answer, we shared a recent group of training participants about themselves. Each of the following participants responded with a statement that could form the basis of a writing story:

• “I have to be risk free for my job. So, out of work, I run the risk of finding adventure. “
• “I love social gatherings! But I’m allergic to alcohol. “
• “I am one continent and one ocean away from my family.”
• “I haven’t slept much since March 2020.”
• “I never felt work-related feelings until I joined this company.”
• “I love reading children’s story books. But I often bother adults to sleep with my story. “

Each of these beginnings is interesting. The key to their excitement is to identify the central source of the excitement and to maintain that excitement throughout the story.

Tension detection

As the examples above illustrate, you don’t have to find life-destroying excitement for your story to be riveting.

Believe it or not, one of your biggest conflicts at work can be the most annoying story your audience has ever heard. Or the smallest conflict হার losing your phone for 7 days or splashing coffee on your shirt before an important meeting পারে can be said to be brilliant and keep visitors on the edge of their seats.

Here is an example shared by a participant in the Leadership Story Lab training:

“I was on a business trip from Geneva to another European city. I was chatting with my co-workers, enjoying food and company. When it was time to get off, I couldn’t find my suitcase. My coworker was surprised at my reaction – instead of panicking, I smiled. I have been traveling for business for 25 years, and this is not the first time I have had a suitcase. I consider myself lucky! ”

Losing your luggage is an exciting situation, and the audience wonders how this person will react. It is gratifying that he has responded so pleasantly and unexpectedly — laugh!

A dirty word

You may be surprised that the most dirty words in storytelling Thoroughly. Clients often carry these self-imposed orders that they must have Thoroughly In telling their stories. Not so.

Recognizing the essence of their story and inspiring their audience to ask questions is much more, much more rewarding for everyone involved — for the speaker and the listener.

Question = excitement

Thriller writer Lee Child, author of the popular Jack Richer series, says that anyone who asks a question and doesn’t answer until the end of the story can create suspense or excitement. “It’s like asking a question and people want to be around and find the answer,” says Child. “The ability to ask a question is huge.”

Although the above examples do not directly ask questions of the training participants, they will certainly raise them!

• What kind of risk-taking adventures do you pursue outside of work?
• Do people pressure you to drink alcohol at social gatherings? If so, how do you react? If not, do you feel like an outsider?
• How did you cope with being so far away from your family?
• Why haven’t you slept more since March 2020?
• What was the corporate culture like in your former companies? What about your current company that has allowed you to feel like your own?
• How do you know that adults were upset when you told your stories? Why were you bothering them?

The key is to make the audience think and work with you. The moment they stop working, their attention is diverted. But with these simple ways to create a riveting story full of excitement, there is no reason for it to happen.