Who doesn’t love a good story?
But have you noticed that some people can fascinate you with a story about how they saw paint dry, while others can bore you to death with the plot of <insert_your_favorite_hollywood_movie_here>.
The reason behind this is simple: the basics of storytelling are not rocket science. If you give us 15 minutes, we can show you the structure of a story and give you an original way to practice with it ₍₁₎.
At that point, technically speaking you know how to tell a story!
You can leave the cork on the champagne though, because despite the fact that the structure of a story is often at the center of traditional storytelling training, it is only a small fraction of what makes a good story.
Compare it to taking a cooking class. In a few minutes you can learn to soft-boil an egg (4,5 to be precise…). But would you call yourself a chef at that point?
As far as we’re aware, there is only one shady guesthouse that gets away with making “one boiled egg” the height of their culinary offering. So why would anybody want to settle for the storytelling equivalent of this?
Knowing how the stove works and technically creating a first dish obviously is not what quality cooking is about. The essence is in the creativity, the enthusiasm, the detail and the seasoning you put in your dish.
Likewise for storytelling: do not expect to impress people with a dry status report that is conveniently forced in a storytelling structure. If you want to do storytelling right, you should aim for colorful details, metaphors and drama, while delivering everything with a serious dose of enthusiasm.
If you do things right, it is as if you teleport the other person to the time and location your story takes place, and they can experience the events up close and personal. Basically it is extremely price-and-energy-efficient Virtual Reality avant-la-lettre.
At Tilt – Improv Based Learning, we are huge fans of storytelling in a business context.
If you bring the topic, we will help you with the teleportation part. We use original and high energy activities to bring your storytelling skills to the next level, with extra care and attention for the real essence of storytelling.
Want to know more how we would do this, or are you looking for other crucial business topics training? Send an email to info@tiltlearning.com or snoop around on the website at www.tiltlearning.com!
₍₁₎ The “15 minute” claim is not a hollow statement, but based on feedback of an enthusiastic training participant: “Two years ago I saw a one hour presentation about storytelling. Davy managed to give me a clearer picture and takeaways within 15 minutes. Really good. Great energy and fun to work with".
Imagine what we can do for you if we can spend a full day with you and your team!
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