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Fred Miller
Jan 22, 20172 min read

“Tell Your Audience Stories!”



Personal stories reinforce points you make in the body of your presentation.

You want your audience to GET IT! Stories are one of the best ways to strengthen and clarify the meaning of the information you are conveying.

Before people put ink on paper, telling stories was one of the best ways to teach and convey the news.

A complex concept can be explained by telling a well constructed story that simplifies the meaning. Most of us have great memories of stories told to us by teachers, parents, and grandparents. We’ve also enjoyed telling stories to friends and family.

We all love a great story, don’t we! 

Stories about: 

  1. Persistence. (Example HERE)

  2. Helping others.

  3. Seeking the truth.

  4. Showing courage.

  5. Overcoming Obstacles.

  6. Going upstream when everyone else is going downstream.

Unfortunately, speakers sometimes tell stories their audience heard before. Abraham Lincoln’s honesty, Thomas Edison’s persistence, and others come to mind. I once attended an event where two speakers, back-to-back, told the same story! That’s horrible!

Instead of telling someone else’s story, tell your story! Everyone has stories to tell, and no one can tell yours without your permission. This makes it unique to you and your talk. A challenge for many is they don’t know they have those wonderful, teachable experiences they can tell their audiences. They are “too close to themselves.” A great Example from a student in one of my “NO SWEAT Public Speaking!” classes is HERE.

How I found that to be true is one of my stories.

I was working at my computer one day when a good friend emailed a question. I knew the answer, keyboarded it into the email, and hit the reply button. Within moments I received a one word reply. “Wow!”

I looked at that email and thought, “What’s Wow?” I placed that message into the email, sent it back to my friend, and went back to work. About ten minutes later I received his response, which is the basis for writing this article. It read, “Sometimes you’re so close to your own knowledge base that is so wide and so deep – you don’t know what you know!”

Think about that statement because it applies to you!

Your everyday, could be someone’s payday. Your everyday, could be someone’s Aha! moment. You have knowledge and experiences people will benefit from. They will love hearing those stories.

Use personal stores to reinforce points in the body of your presentation and it will be absolutely, positively – NO SWEAT!

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About the Author Fred E. Miller is a speaker, an international coach, and the author of the books, “NO SWEAT Public Speaking!” and “NO SWEAT Elevator Speech!”

Businesses, Individuals, and Organizations hire him because they want to improve their Networking, Public Speaking, and Presentation Skills.

They do this because they know: Speaking Opportunities are Business, Career, and Leadership Opportunities.

They also know: We perceive really great speakers to be Experts, and we like to work with Experts.

He shows them how to: Develop, Practice, and Deliver ‘Knock Your Socks Off Presentations!’ with – NO SWEAT!

Services:

  1. Keynote Speaker

  2. Workshop Facilitator

  3. Breakout Sessions

  4. Personal and Group Public Speaking and Presentation Coaching

Topics:

  1. Lessening The Fear of Public Speaking with – NO SWEAT!

  2. Crafting Your Elevator Speech, Floor by Floor with – NO SWEAT!

  3. Speaking Opportunities are Business, Career, and Leadership Opportunities.

  4. We are All Self-Employed!

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