As a well known Disney fanatic, I get asked about storytelling quite a bit. And, my number one and only tip is this: be authentic.
It doesn’t seem like a lot, but many people are afraid to be authentic. A great way to express authenticity through story is by talking about a time or situation when you were the best version of yourself (success); and likewise when you were not (learned from failure).
Why? Because it tells us two things that any person can empathize with: your success and your lessons from failure.
In essence, there is a transformation. Those are stories worth telling because they shaped who you are :).
As Nancy Duarte says, “The power of a great story is how it connects us, how it makes us feel.”
In the video below, magazine journalist Pattie Sellers says entrepreneurs need to use narrative techniques to tell their own stories through social media.
Ok, now are there specific techniques we can use to give more power to a story? You bet!
The video below explains some of Walt Disney’s unknown storytelling secrets, which reinforces the point of authenticity 🙂
Bottom line: We all have a story to tell, it doesn’t matter where you come from. So, tell us that; no need for gimmicks. Talk about what you’re about, who you are, where you’ve been and where you’re going; at the end make people feel like it’s their story too.