Three Tips for Sharing Your Story: It’s All About Your Audience

Places You'll GoLead Big or Go Home. Draw your listener in with the unexpected. A young man who was in treatment for substance abuse got the attention of his audience with his opening statement: “I come from a very loving family.” That was the last thing this group expected to hear as an opening line; and by the time the young man finished speaking, the audience members had laughed, cried and cheered him on.

Get to the Point. Leave the meandering to all of us who go for a leisurely stroll through the park. Your job is to have a clearly-defined and concise beginning, middle, and end to your story. Knowing the difference between building suspense and rambling aimlessly is a valuable skill.

Take Your Audience on a Journey. We all love adventure. Now that you know the importance of being concise, make sure your story includes enough detail so that your audience is experiencing exactly what you’ve experienced: joy, excitement, pain or suffering.

Follow these tips and your audience will become your advocates; your story will become their story as they spread your word throughout their circles.

About Deb

Deb Nelson, principal of deb nelson consulting, is a creative storyteller. She designs and implements communication plans that leverage strategic partnerships and provide innovative solutions for her clients. You can find her on twitter at @nelliedeb.

Comments

  1. Hello Deb –

    I love your website. It really drew me in and is letting me respond to this blog.

    I am making progress and I have let my website “going live” date slip. 🙂 🙁 .

    Enjoying the weather.

    Best regards,
    Richard

  2. Thanks Richard – glad maneuvering site was effortless! Look forward to catching up later in the month:) in the meantime, enjoy the weather.