Storytelling Myth (#2 of #5) – ‘People Don’t Want To Hear Your Story’
When Theresa Payton came on stage at CyberCon recently, she asked us to vote on what we wanted to hear.
She said:
“I have two stories I can share with you from when I worked with President Bush. I’ll give you an option. Would you like to hear both stories? Or do you just want one story and I can share more information?”
Now if you were also in the audience, you would know that we responded that we wanted:
>>> 2 stories please!!
So she proceeded to tell her two stories.
Now if you ask me, they were the best part of her whole talk.
They were far more interesting and memorable than anything else she went on to share.
It felt like we were having a coffee with her at that point. Getting the low down on what it was like working with President Bush. 🤓
Something you couldn’t just read online.
Don’t just take my word for it though.
When I saw people posting about Theresa’s Keynote in the days after the conference, what do you think they were mentioning?
It wasn’t the information she shared. It was the STORIES.
It’s no co-incidence that speakers who give Keynotes (who are generally paid money to show up) are almost always filled with stories as well.
Because we love stories.
This was confirmed with a Poll I did on LinkedIn recently. 👇
Stories was the top choice (tied between the way it’s delivered).
But, this isn’t a preference just for Conference talks though.
I want you to ask yourself this question.
Why is it that…
- The best SharkTank pitches are the ones where they tell a story?
- The most popular TED Talks have so many stories in them?
- We love to read books and tune into Podcasts?
- Buyers check user reviews when they’re purchasing a product?
- People love to follow someone else’s journey online?
- We pay attention to Documentaries?
- Iconic Superbowl ads have a storytelling component to them?
It’s because we all LOVE stories.
Stories are engaging, relatable, memorable and persuasive.
HOT TIP: You don’t want to repeat the same few stories over and over again though. Find fresh stories to tell. In a future Newsletter i’ll share how you can do that easily.
IN SUMMARY
Don’t worry that people don’t want to hear your story.
They definitely do.
In fact we should be more worried that people don’t want to hear the information! 😬
Emily
P.S. This particular edition of my Newsletter is part of a series of 5.
This is Myth #2 of 5.
- 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 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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