Printed Page 57
One of the most powerful means of conveying a message is through a story (also called narrative). Stories help us make sense of our experience.4 They tell tales, both real and imaginary, about practically anything under the sun. Common to all stories are the essential elements of a plot, characters, setting, and some sort of time line.
Stories can be brief and simple descriptions of incidents worked into the speech, or relatively drawn-out accounts that constitute most of the presentation. In either case, a successful story will strike a chord and create an emotional connection between speaker and audience members. For example, in 2008, then presidential candidate Barack Obama opened his remarks to members of the Ebeneezer Baptist Church with a parable—a story illustrating a moral or religious lesson—from the Bible:
The Scripture tells us that when Joshua and the Israelites arrived at the gates of Jericho, they could not enter. The walls of the city were too steep for any one person to climb; too strong to be taken down with brute force. And so they sat for days, unable to pass on through.
But God had a plan for his people.5
Many speakers, whether they’re ministers at the Sunday morning pulpit or high-tech entrepreneurs rallying the troops, liberally sprinkle their speeches with anecdotes—brief stories of interesting and often humorous incidents based on real life.
Give the Story Structure
Speaking expert Earle Gray offers solid storytelling advice: A good story has structure: a blunt beginning that sets the situation (“Let me tell you a story about the importance of higher education . . .”), a rounded middle, and a sharp end. It should be no more than two minutes in a typical talk.6