![]() Practice preparing for them by asking yourself: Usually this arises from thinking way too much about what we want to say, not what the audience really needs to hear!Ĭonsider the important communications coming up in your day or week. And even if we know that’s not going to work, it’s excruciating to sort out what’s most important. Whenever we’ve worked hard on a project, we feel compelled to share everything we’ve learned. Too often, we think way too much about what we want to say, not what the audience really needs to. Practice Analyzing Your Audience’s Perspective And a marathon makes a good analogy for implementing new technology! Common categories for metaphors include sports, food, health or money. Now think of simple, everyday metaphors that could help your audience gain a better understanding. What is the most complex information you regularly have to describe? Make a list of everything that comes up frequently, but that you struggle to explain. Instead of hearing an anxiety-inducing string of unfamiliar jargon, your audience thinks, “Okay, so this new thing is like this old thing I already understand. ![]() Practice Finding Metaphors for Complex InformationĮvery metaphor creates a sense of familiarity. Learn to listen for these three types of plots. Or, practice categorizing the stories you hear. Do they use one of these storylines? If they don’t, but one of these plots would be a natural fit, why not reshape your stories so the structure is more solid? For instance, origin stories narrate the beginning of your business, idea, product or service, connecting the dots between past and present in an inspiring way. Choosing the right type of plot shows that you are tuned in to your audience’s needs. The way a story is structured affects the way the audience feels. Three main business storylines are stories of Origins, Underdogs, and Overcoming Monsters. Practice Using 3 Basic Business Storylines Or, practice this with your career story, your LinkedIn profile or your next social media post. Write the beginning of each story first, then end, then middle. Write one today, another tomorrow, and another the day after. Choose three stories that are best suited to intersperse into this project. Look ahead to your next big project that will require you to bring your communication “A game.” This is where telling stories easily gets nerve-wracking and time consuming. ![]() ![]() The middle will be the longest part of the story because it shows the character’s journey-how they got from the beginning to the end of their story. That makes it much easier to write the middle. When you write the ending, you get very clear about what you want your audience to walk away thinking about. To make the process even faster, write the beginning and ending before you write the middle. gettyĪn easy way to structure a story quickly is to think “IRS”: To write stories quickly, start with the beginning and end, and write the middle last. (See examples of contrast, conflict and contradiction here.) 3. What defied your expectations? Turn that into a “contradiction” hook.What were the competing ideas or scenarios? Turn that into a “conflict” hook.similar studies? Turn that into a “contrast” hook. your last update? What’s different about this set of results vs. Or, if you will have to share a project update or present results in a meeting or email, consider your hook. How does it start? Improve your hook by including contrast, conflict, or contradiction. Practice starting every presentation, elevator pitch or casual story in one of these three ways. Create a contradiction by showing how someone flouted the norm.Introduce a conflict by making the audience wonder which of two sides will win.Show contrast by highlighting the difference between past and present.Here are three easy ways to find a good hook: Practice Hooking Your Audience’s Attention (Learn more about identifying good stories.) 2. Did you feel like doing anything in response to the story?. ![]() Do some reverse-engineering to figure out how the story worked and whether it was persuasive. If you get to the end of the day and realize you haven’t told any stories that you remember, consider the stories you heard. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |