hey it's Riaz Meghji,founder of the every conversation counts platform and
17-year television broadcaster this is the channel that helps you build
extraordinary relationships ask the questions that create breakthrough
moments and become a captivating storyteller that connects on every stage
now how many times have you caught yourself telling what you believe to be
the greatest story ever only to realize that your audience tuned you out 10
minutes earlier awkward storytelling is one of the most important skills for
leading a successful life you can teach a lesson inspire commitment and even ace
that job interview for your dream gig our storytelling ability is the
difference between simply communicating and establishing powerful human
connection and any speech presentation or pivotal conversation if you want to
capture your audience's attention start with story I would see this all
the time interviewing experts leaders athletes and celebrities the big
challenge though how can you successfully reveal a part of yourself
and draw people closer to you at the exact same time
we'll follow these five ideas before you even begin ask yourself what is the
purpose of your story is it to inform persuade and lighten maybe even
entertain every good story starts with framing a problem that needs solving and
consider this what is your audience care about right now clarify your purpose
with a narrative that speaks to their priorities and when you're doing this
keep in mind emotion is everything in memorable interviews that consistently
see that the most impactful stories were not only fueled by emotion but they also
had four key ingredients hope help heart and humor john maxwell outlines these
four and one of my favorite books of all time everyone communicates few connect
if you could deliver on one of these you'll make an impression if you deliver
on all four your audience will never forget you number two great stories tell
the truth in interesting ways opening with an unexpected truth or a secret is
a great hook off the top as it creates a sense of intrigue for your audience
secrets provide motivation and plot twists that may need to be protected or
defended and let's be honest everybody is captivated by a powerful personal
reveal it's important to read the room though and make sure your audience is
ready to receive this degree of personal information as a bonus tip it's also
beneficial to choose a secret with a silver lining because it sets up a
change or transformation now if I were to say and start my story by saying last
month I received an email I was never supposed to see chances are you're gonna
start wondering well what did it say and are you okay begin with the truth or
best secret from your story and you will have your audience asking the most
important question what happened next number three speak to their senses our
brains absorb stories as if we are experiencing them ourselves and an
effective way to tap into this idea is yeah speak to the audience's senses when
you walked into the room what did you see hear smell touch taste you want the
audience to experience your words and these details draw them right into the
scene with you the more detail you can give the more invested they will become
in your plot number four share your transformation the best stories deliver
a transformational truth you've probably heard of the story structure to have a
beginning middle and end which is essentially a hook development and
climax this is a valuable baseline to start with yet if you want to capture
and keep their attention consider following this framework struggle
conflict and then resolution struggle if people are gonna cheer for your success
they need to relate to your struggle first so tell them what did your life
look like when you were losing the river you can be here the better when you
couldn't pay your bills when your relationship fell apart or when you lost
your job everyone loves to root for an underdog so describe that range of
emotion you experience behind the struggle and then draw them in the
conflict what was the roadblock you encountered and really dive into the
challenge you were up against this is your chance to build suspense
and set up a cliffhanger was it physical conflict and emotional dilemma tell them
what was at stake and then finally resolution until now your buildup may
have created mystery and unpredictability your resolution or
moment of transformation that's the big reveal
maybe you saved a life saved your company or reconciled with the loved one
describe the moment where you overcame adversity and explained how this changed
you the key to this point is delivering a tangible takeaway as the entire time
your audience will be asking what's in it for them and your job is to
articulate the lesson learned and give them the meaning behind it final point
getting personal with your storytelling can be an effective way to connect with
someone but consider this convey credibility before vulnerability if
you're going to present something raw and personal you need to make sure
you've proven your worth first in psychology there's a concept known as
the pratfall effect this is important because how your audience responds to
your openness really depends on how they perceive you beforehand so if you have
conveyed credibility and strength and then show your vulnerability you will
draw people closer however on the flip side if people are already questioning
your competence well your personal reveal might actually fall flat and they
may just perceive you as a big hot mess earn their respect before anything else
and your storytelling skills will help you to connect with everyone you meet
now it's your turn in the comments section below share your best
storytelling tip would love to learn how you captivate others for more ideas on
building human connection you can download the free guide the 5 secrets to
making every conversation count and that link is in the description below thanks
for watching this video for more ideas on how you can have better conversations
and become a better listener check out these videos if you liked this one hit
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