Storytelling in the Digital Age

One day

How to craft powerful stories that make you stand out

The challenge for senior executives is that we’re all in the digital age: there’s no going back, so we need to do it well. And stories are one of our most potent means of getting our message across.

This practical one-day course helps you define the image you want to project and the stories that will bring your core message to life. Stories are vital because they work a lot better than a set of facts. You will learn how to hone and adapt your stories to a variety of media in ways that make your brand credible and trustworthy.

Key focus

Understand why stories are memorable and how they work
Discover how to use stories as a proof of company values
Learn how to structure stories clearly and effectively for maximum impact
Strengthen your delivery to make your stories connect
Learn how to bring stories to life
Find the most effective language for your stories
Widen your personality range to increase charisma
Adapt stories for various digital media

COURSE CONTENT

Part One: Where you are

Individually present stories

Video record and playback with feedback

What do we mean by stories?

An insert in a presentation, pitch, talk, interview or conversation

The overall dramatic arc in a presentation

The media for stories

Part Two: How stories work

The science behind stories

Why they are memorable

Need for compression and brevity

Types of story

When to use stories

Purpose of stories

Values

Your organisation’s corporate values

Your personal values

These provide the personality and ownership of your story

Where to find stories

Know your audience – their interests and concerns

The range of subjects

Story structure

Three structural models

Mythic structures

Story structure in a presentation

How to source and create stories

Part Three: Delivering to connect

Body

Achieving release and a relaxed posture

Finding animation

Voice

Building vocal strength and clarity

Focusing your energy

Being centred and grounded

The use of objectives to connect with your audience

Finding ownership of your message

Effective eye contact

Mindset

Creating the right mindset to succeed with a story

Part Four: The language of stories

Dealing with jargon

Why plain English is so powerful

The power of word pictures and metaphor

Making complex technical information clear and accessible through a simple story or metaphor

Bringing the story to life

Using dialogue

Defining the main characters

Creating word pictures

When to use props and visuals

Part Five: Finding your authentic style

Widening your range

Identifying your own style – extrovert, introvert

Adapting to different audiences

Widening your range and creating rapport

Digital storytelling

Adapting your delivery for: YouTube, website, promo videos, vlog, interviews

Tips on production

Overcoming editing problems

Part Six: Putting it all together

Summary of principles

Checklist: value, purpose, structure, audience, objective, language, story arc

Structuring and practising your story – live audience or online

Presenting your story to the whole group

Video recording and feedback

Action plan and further steps