Public Speaking Tip: How to Use Storytelling

Scott Ginsberg talks about the “PIP” method, which is a three-part framework for improvising stories.

How to Be a Hero in Art, Sales, Service, and Story

Ever run out of gas and someone stopped to pour a gallon into your tank for free? They became your hero! Remember what it was like to hear an artist articulate something that spoke a truth to you so deeply you nearly cried? That artist became your hero! Have you ever wished there was an easier way to get from point A to point B only to discover a service provider that helps you do just that? The service became your hero!

Forget about making the customer the hero. Take action and become a hero yourself! The customer is the dude or damsel in distress. Save them! Save them from their bad breath, their boring life, their poor choices, or their terrible job.

In the image above you can see the person in location A. They want to cross the chasm to location B. How will they get across? This situation frames the plot and the story unfolds in the distance between the two points. A hero provides a means to the end. In this case the hero is (or provided) a red bridge that literally carries the person across the gap. When you act as the hero, your action becomes the bridge that safely takes someone from here to there.

To apply this idea, you must understand the needs of your customer or audience and know what you are willing to risk in order to help them reach their goal. If your client wants a website, you make them one. If they need new tires, give them tires. If they want to be enlightened, enlighten them.

Whenever you interact with someone you’re creating a story. Keep that story in mind and it will shape your actions. Your actions create the tale that later gets told about you. Be the hero to your customer and they will tell a positive story with you or your product as a major player in their story.

To be the hero you need to skillfully and swiftly provide the product, service, or experience that your audience needs in order to bridge their gap, thus taking them from point A to point B in their personal journey.

Ira Glass on Storytelling: Advice for Beginners

This video was created by David Shiyang Liu.

Storytelling with Display Advertising from Microsoft

This short video from Microsoft Advertising basically says that it used to be simple to tell a good story to sell products but technology makes storytelling difficult and complicated. However, they’re going to make technology work for you and thus storytelling gets simple again, if you partner with them.

How to Use Storytelling in Business: An Example

The Story

I went to the dentist to get my teeth cleaned. An unfamiliar man came through the waiting room door and called my name. He introduced himself as Ben, my new dental Hygienist. My first thought was, “He is the third Hygienist I’ve seen in this office in three visits. I hope nothing is wrong.”

Ben showed me to my chair. As soon as I sat down he told me that the previous Hygienist moved to Africa because her husband joined the Peace Corps. Ben added that he had no plans of joining the Peace Corps, or moving, and so I could expect that he’d be my Hygienist for a long time into the future. He then proceeded to very comfortably clean my teeth and he explained everything he was doing. I ended up feeling confident about seeing him at my next visit.

Dissecting What Happened

When I walked in and saw the new Hygienist, I began to question. That led me to make up a story about how something was wrong in the office that was driving employees away. Ben’s explanation was simple. The information he shared wasn’t epic. However, just giving some back story about where the last Hygienist had gone cleared up any negative thoughts about why the she left in the first place.

What’s more, Ben talked about his intentions for the future. By doing so he created a positive story in my imagination about my next cleaning. Instead of thinking about what had happened (the old Hygienist left) I ended up thinking about the future (returning to the office for another cleaning).

This was a good use of storytelling in business. I doubt Ben considered his actions “storytelling” but I’m sure he was aware of the need to tell his clients about the changes in the office and why they happened. 

How Do You Know When and Where to Tell a Story?

In the case above it is most probable that Ben had been questioned about the former Hygienist so many times that he just began answering the question before people asked. When people are invested in something they will ask questions about it. When you hear the same inquires over and over, that’s how you know you need to tell a story. If your story can convey a positive answer to those questions then you can build trust, especially if you appear to anticipate the question as Ben did. Leave too many questions unanswered and people will make up their own stories, which you cannot control! Being transparent and sharing information in the form of a story is a good thing because it affords you the opportunity to author the tales to your customers tell.

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