Day-To-Day Conversations and Random Thoughts Can Reveal Your “Hidden” Stories
Can lawyers, engineers, and other “smart people” be funny…absolutely! In this blog I’ll describe how a lawyer who had just stated “I have no stories” suddenly started sharing a funny anecdote that he was able to use to open up a keynote speech at his company’s Christmas party. The learnings from this apply to everyone. Lets look at this 4 minute video and then visit the success strategies below.
Success Strategies
- Commit to being a brilliantly different presenter who will illustrate points with some relevant funny stories.
- Understand that you will recall stories through daily conversations or even random thoughts…do not let them “get away.”
- Have a system where you can write down 5 to 7 words to help you recall the story…develop a filing system you will use (and have at hand). Use a system such as note book, post it notes, phone “notes”, audio recorder etc.
- The 5 to 7 reminder words you choose should be so clear that at a simple glance will recall the story.
- When looking for a story to illustrate a point, open up your story filing system, and glance at each set of words to find a relevant story that will resonate with your audience (analyzing your audience to identify suitable stories will be covered at a future blog).
- Write out the full story when you are ready to use it and apply humor development techniques to maximize the effect..
Story Filing System Concept
Structuring Your Content To Effectively Incorporate Stories
The following are three important structure steps…make a point…tell a story…revisit the story to identify the learnings.
- Make the point first (identify the point you want to make to frame it in your audiences minds) e.g. My lawyer friend relating that keeping work life balance seems to be impossible and it can get us into trouble. Note: If possible, do not tell the story before you reveal the point. If you put the story first the audience will not have the opportunity to process the story and the point simultaneously, and they may miss the learnings from the story.
- Tell a story (choose a relevant story that the audience can relate to…analyze the audience to make sure the story you choose if a good fit) e.g. my lawyer friend who was caught e-mailing on vacation
- Explain what the audience can learn from the story (this is an important step…this is your opportunity to share with the audience the learnings from the story and what they may want to consider doing different) e.g. my lawyer friend could state that his wife was correct to demand uninterrupted family vacation time. We need to have systems in place so that we can have balance, undisturbed family time, and great vacations. Note: The length of the story is important. Typically stories should be short when illustrating a point. if you find you have a longer story you need to make sure the point you are making is really strong.
This is a series of blog articles and brief videos on “Finding the Funny – Learn the Step-By-Step-Process to Develop and Deliver Humor & Funny Stories & Incorporate into Serious Content.” The blogs are excerpts from my e-learning course (see link on right) which includes:
- Over 16 lessons
- Over 8 hours of video instruction
- Activities and quizzes to complement each lesson
- Downloadable worksheets and templates
- 12 month access to course updates and additions
Please feel free to share with professional speakers, public speakers, trainers…anyone who stands in front of audiences who wants to make them laugh or bring some lightheartedness into serious content. Help me out by “liking,” “subscribing.” and “sharing” on the various social media platforms. To help me out, please make sure you “subscribe” (right-hand column) so you do not miss any of these weekly blog articles. Please feel free to comment on this blog-site and on social-media sites, and share with those who will benefit from them.
Copyright © MMXX by David R. Hill
