Storytelling is a powerful messaging tool. But storytellers need to remember what their audience really wants to hear.
If you’ve been invited to speak about yourself, it’s natural to presume the audience wants to hear about about, well, you.
They don’t.
Audiences want you to talk about their problems, and how they can get past them. They’re looking for wisdom that’s directly transferable to their situation.
So how do you pull off this feat of mental gymnastics, delivering the talk you promised, while giving the audience what they want?
Every good self-help guru knows
Not to be simplistic, but it all comes down to a single line.
I spent a lifetime learning this. But I can teach you in just X hours!
Every self-help guru worth their salt uses this line – or something akin to it – to turn their life story into a lesson their audience can benefit from – for a price, of course.
It’s utterly predictable, and breathtakingly effective.
Just one problem
To turn your storytelling into something your audience wants to learn from, you have to understand who your audience is, how they think, and what they actually need.
The simple secret to telling a story your audience wants to hear? Start by actually asking them what they want to hear! Click To TweetThere’s only one way to do this. Ask.
In my Ultimate Presentation workshop, I teach three simple questions that start you on the right path to understanding your audience’s psychology. If you can’t wait to attend the workshop, you can read about the three questions in my Ultimate Presentation book.
From persuasion to presentation
I started my career as an ad writer and creative director. In short, I persuaded for a living.
Learning how to ask the right questions about audiences was just one of the disciplines we mastered. We also learned:
- How to turn complex propositions into simple ideas,
- How to tell compelling stories, and
- How to add magic to attract and captivate.
I started Your Ultimate Presentation to bring these skills of persuasion to presenters. I’d be happy to teach them to you.
Find out more
Here’s the schedule of upcoming workshops:
- February 17th / 18th in Calgary, Alberta,
- February 24th / 25th in Vancouver, BC,
- March 23rd / 24th in Vancouver, BC,
- April 27th / 28th in Victoria, BC,
- May 18th / 19th in Toronto, Ontario.
- Workshops are two half days – 9am to 1pm, with 1-on-1 coaching prior to, and following the workshop.
- Workshop prices: $1500 per person, or $1000 per person if applying as a group of 3 or more.
- Sign up by clicking here.
Here’s to creating your Ultimate Presentation!
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