Putting the Right Spin on the Tale

Even a well-crafted story can fail to achieve its objectives if it isn’t told well. Here are a few techniques and tips for effectively delivering a story.

Dramatize. Don’t be afraid to ham it up a bit. Remember: you’re trying to paint a picture. As you speak, focus on the scene in your mind and try to become part of it. Relive the story as you tell it.

Describe. Use a lot of details in the beginning of the story and then phase them out. Listeners need to hear more details while you’re creating the context. A good rule of thumb is to start by using more details than you think the story needs. Your goal is to draw your listener into the scene. Once you establish the context and you move on to the challenge and climax, you need fewer details.

Shift. As you’re telling the story, you sometimes act as a guide. Other times, you’re part of the action. In other words, you step in and out of the scene. These dual functions make it acceptable for the storyteller to shift between the past tense and the present tense.

Pause. Timing is key to good storytelling. So-called pregnant pauses can entice your protégé and imbue a story with drama and suspense. If you are not accustomed to telling stories, practice by recording your story on audiotape and listening for places where pauses might add punch. Then tell your story at a pace that is slow, but not too slow.

Gesture. Use different gestures, varied facial expressions, and dramatic body movements. Such techniques can help turn a written story into a living demonstration.

Stay focused. The proverbial admonition to “stick to the story” is good advice. The storyteller who goes off on tangents loses momentum and ultimately frustrates listeners. Don’t introduce secondary issues or new words and concepts. And don’t ask questions during the story. Questions can be effective learning tools, but they tend to break the thread of the narrative.

Stay positive. Even sad stories should have an element of joy. Avoid biting sarcasm and satire. If a story is too acerbic, protégés tend to resist. The same goes for exaggeration. Most storytellers tend to embellish stories and tailor them to fit their needs and goals. That’s expected, but too much poetic license can actually undermine the authenticity and realism that make a story powerful. If your protégé does not buy your story, she or he probably won’t buy your learning points either.

Stories fit just about anywhere. As an introduction, a story can announce and organize the main points of the learning to follow. As a conclusion, a story can reiterate the core principles, ideas, and concepts of the mentoring session. Stories can act as breathers. They can provide welcome respites when topics are complex or abstract, and they can alleviate emotionally charged discussions. Stories can engage learning emotionally and show protégés the consequences of taking or omitting certain actions. But it isn’t enough simply to “make up a story.” As with most worthwhile endeavors, effective storytelling requires thorough planning.