Pitch your own story through storytelling

By Faye Nicholson

I come from a family of great storytellers. My most memorable moments with my family, especially my elders, were the true stories they told. Some were hilarious, some were sad, some were inspiring, some were from a historical or cultural perspective, some taught valuable life lessons but one thing they all had in common – they were memorable. 

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They were memorable because with mere words they painted pictures in my mind that allowed me to visualize characters, conflict, and tension (the more the better), what was at stake, the time, the place, the plot, and the antagonist versus the protagonist. They were all unforgettable.
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Stories don’t have to stop within one’s family, you can use the art and the power of storytelling to pitch your idea, your invention, or your startup. 

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Karen Friedman, a business communication expert, cited a program at Stanford University, where students were asked to give a one-minute speech that contained three statistics and one story. Only 5% of listeners remembered a single statistic, while 63% remembered the stories. "For a story to be effective, it must engage all the senses," said Friedman. “Listeners need to see what you saw, hear what you heard, smell what you smelled and touch what you touched.”

Friedman offers 5 tips on how to make the stories you tell more memorable:

1. Begin with the problem, conflict or challenge that was faced.
2. Describe obstacles and struggles encountered along the way. How did you or the other people in the story feel? Were you scared? Excited? Apprehensive? Details that evoke emotion will keep listeners connected.
3. What was the “aha moment” in the story that led to a different way of thinking or that changed behavior?
4. What was the story's outcome? How was the problem solved? People will often apply your story to their own life.
5. If you are using PowerPoint while telling your story, then limit words on the slides and use visuals whenever possible.

Watch how effectively iPad storyteller Joe Sabia introduces you to Lothar Meggendorfer, who created a bold technology for storytelling: the pop-up book. He limits words on the slides and uses visuals whenever possible. Sabia shows how new technology has always helped us tell our own stories, from the walls of caves to his own onstage iPad.
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Joe Sabia: The techology of storytelling