Getting Ready

1.  Environment: Good stories become great stories when the physical environment is right. I say, do it yourself!

• Lighting and sound
• Stage set
• Food/alcohol
• Waitstaff

2.  Introduction: Good stories become great stories when the audience is primed…get off to a good start with a no-fail introduction.

• The average person should find it easy to read when introducing you.
• Your intro should be no longer than 1 minute.
• Remember that the audience only wants to know:
  • Do you speak their language?
  • What gives you the right to speak to them?
  • Is the session going to be fun?

3.  Monologue: Good stories become great stories when you recruit the audience…start with a killer monologue.

• You only have two minutes to win them over.
• Use no-fail material.
• Leave topical humor to the pros.
• Tell stories not jokes.

Construction tips

1.  Finding stories: The best stories are true…why? Because you see the picture!

• Always put your stories to the “Party Test.”
• Great stories are often ordinary tales in need creative license.

2.  Characters: Characters are more believable if they are real people or based on real people traits.

• Create characters that are lovable and that the audience wants to cheer to a win.

3.  Humor:

• Humor must always be clean. No speaker lost a date by being too clean.
• Self-deprecating is the best. It offends no one and makes you human.

4.  Technique:

• Use call-backs. Surprise your audience by bringing back a character they know.
• Construct simultaneous tales. Tell two or more incongruent stories simultaneously.
• Work in transitions. The in-between-stuff may be the most important.
• For a poignant close, cautiously end on a downer.

Delivery

1.  Stay on purpose. Create a visual image so realistic the audience joins in a vicarious experience.

• When time is compressed, word pictures become more valuable.
• Stories anchor ideas and one story can anchor more than a single point.

2.  Use the stage.

• For a big finish, take risks.
• Be the real you on and off the stage.

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