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
Contact us for more information on the range of our courses.