Ever feel like you’re just yelling at your audience?
Maybe it is just a dump of information, facts, and details.
Maybe it’s reasons why you are better than your competition.
Maybe it’s on video, maybe in person, maybe on the phone.
And even you know it isn’t really working. It isn’t really telling your story.
Back when I was a little nugget of a corporate trainer a national sandwich chain, I was responsible for teaching our values.
And I was always bummed when people when spend a full day in orientation to only not remember the values later on during a test or during on-the-job training.
So I got curious.
And I realized that we were teaching values in a way that made them sound like a dictionary definition. You’ve seen it (and you might be guilty of it in your trainings and even in your client presentations).
We believe in integrity which we define in this way. Or we go above and beyond for our customers.
It wasn’t working.
One night after a new restaurant opening in Chicago, I strolled into the Barnes and Noble down the street.
On the front table I saw Aesop Fables with the story of the tortoise and hare on the cover. You remember “slow and steady wins the race.”
And it clicked — we need to use real stories to talk about our values. We need the stories to help deliver the insight — to make it memorable.
Honestly — we need to story to make it believable to our clients, prospective clients, and employees.
So how can you imbed the lesson of your values inside a real story that highlights your and your team getting it done?
P.S. I teach you how to do this with the third story type in the workbook below! It's free! Grab a copy to start improving your stories at work.
My approach is all about transforming your relationship with your voice, body, and story. It's one thing to write about it - it's another to take a breath and speak the words out loud.
Ready for your close-up?
You don’t need a speaking coach, a formula, or to follow someone else’s steps. You need feedback about how the audience experiences your ideas, your presence, your story, and your speech.
That’s what a keynote director does.
Browse by category
In the world of performance, the director gives “notes” which include specific, actionable tips for the performers.
Musings and dispatches about creativity, storytelling, and finding more meaning as a public speaker.
A podcast with storytellers, public speakers, and performers about the art and science of saying something.
"Mike helped me create the signature keynote I'd been dreaming of giving. He was so skillful, artful, creative in helping me create a #mikedropmoment."
“He should have charged me 5x as much because the VALUE I received was so astounding!”
“Working with Mike made me more compelling, more motivational, more relatable, and more myself”
WORD ON THE STREET
— Erin King, Bestselling Author & Top-Ranked Keynote Speaker
— Tiffany Lanier, Change and wellbeing keynote speaker
— Laura Gassner Otting, bestselling author and TEDx speaker
+ Show / Hide Comments
Share to: