Storytelling Myth (#1 of #5) – ‘A Story Needs To Be Extraordinary’
If I’m working with a client on integrating a story into a presentation, often they’ll comment:
“yeah but it’s not a very interesting story”.
The thing is it really doesn’t need to be.
I used to think this too though.
I saw the TED style talks, speeches from Toastmasters World Championships and heard stories from the Moth events.
They’re all rich in detail.
So that’s what I thought a story had to be. Well crafted, well prepared and well-rehearsed.
These types of stories are highly memorable, impressive and inspiring.
But not ALL stories need to be like this.
In fact that type of storytelling is hard to utilise. You can pull it out in select occasions through-out a year.
But for the other 350 days, what do ya do?
Let me tell you – You don’t just have to share information. 🤓
There’s a different type of storytelling that is perfect for everyday use.
In its most basic form, a story simply needs to:
>>> Connect the dots and help people relate to something.
That’s a much lower bar.
Let’s just think about “user reviews” for a second.
People often share super simple, un-edited stories there.
Which can be very relatable, memorable and persuasive.
No need for adding rich detail. Or editing it until the cows come home.
A few years back, I wanted to purchase a stand-up desk.
I actually already had a stand-up desk. But it was a cheap and flimsy and it wobbled once you manually wound it up to the standing height.
Not ideal!
So I wanted to invest more money and get one that was very sturdy. One that was electric too, ideally.
I found a couple of different companies that offered stand-up desks.
The problem was, in all of the information they shared on their website, I couldn’t get an accurate read on whether they were really truly sturdy or not.
So I decided to go to the user reviews. To see if they could confirm or deny this for me.
I wanted to know what experience people had with their desks when they had them at full height.
Were they wobbly, or quite sturdy?
As soon as I sifted through some user reviews for one of the brands, BAM! There it was.
The exact story I was looking for.
Someone mentioned that exact chain of events. (Extending it to full height + what their experience was. 👀)
Luckily for me, they advised that the desks were in fact very sturdy at full height.
Now, the review technically had information, then a short snippet of experience, then more information.
So the story itself was only 1 sentence long. Only 11 words.
Now, could that person have made the story better? Of course.
But does it fit the purpose it’s trying to achieve? Absolutely.
It’s relatable, clear and impactful.
The desk is sort of the main character. They took information “It’s solid” and turned it into a tiny story about what happens to the desk when the desk is extended to its full height.
Here’s the full chain of events: Bought desk > extended it to its full height > no wobbling.
It was also highly persuasive as it was the catalyst for me then going out and buying that exact stand-up desk. Ha!
NOTE: This specific example about the user review technically fits into the type of storytelling I call micro-storytelling. I wrote a separate article a while back about this if you’re curious to read it.
IN SUMMARY
If you ever worry about the fact that a story needs to be extraordinary, don’t!
A story can be super simple and EFFECTIVE at the same time.
Agree!?
Emily
Note: This edition of my Newsletter is one in a series of 5.
Over the next few months, I’ll be covering the 5 biggest misconceptions people have about storytelling, one at a time.
This is Myth #1.
- A story needs to be extraordinary
- People don’t want to hear your story
- You need a long time to tell a story
- You have to have held an amazing life
- You have to have a really good memory
Keep reading my future newsletters to make sure you catch the other ones!
Hey, I’m Emily Edgeley, a Public Speaking Coach for the Tech industry.
Since 2017 I’ve transformed the lives of thousands, by helping them to communicate with more power. I’ve run 300+ group coaching sessions, coached more than 250 people privately, and helped more than 100+ others give their first ever Conf talk.
I’m on a mission to help anyone in Tech communicate with more clarity, impact and confidence. To boost their brand, career and influence.
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