“Come then, and let us pass a leisure hour in storytelling, and our story shall be the education of our heroes.” – Plato
Tag: storytelling
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Storytelling at Work: Giving the Presentation They’ll Always Remember
Stories are a powerful motivator, wouldn’t you agree? You see the world through the storyteller’s eyes, feel what they feel, and rise when they rise to success. It’s emotional storytelling and compelling presentations like these that you always remember. But what’s the secret ingredient to keeping you engaged from start to finish?
The audience’s level of engagement has everything to do with how well you relate to them and how you make them feel with your story. A recent experience of mine is a perfect example of this need for shared enthusiasm.
Making Your Story About Them, Not You
A not-for-profit startup company was born during the pandemic and it had a noble cause. It wanted to save lives with vital health education that it had developed. During its first few months, however, it didn’t realize one critical and important problem.
Its mission was about itself, and not about its clients.
To catch a bigger audience, and to win others to your cause, you need to make your story about them, and not about you.
Creating a healthier world by providing clients with an educational course at a price wasn’t actually about helping others. During the pandemic, businesses were too concerned about their finances and their own survival to spend any money on professional development.
So how did the startup pivot to focus more on potential clients?
The company founder decided to tell the story about why he established the company. He noticed that business owners were uncertain or confused about what safety protocols to follow. Staff were afraid for their health and safety during the pandemic and were reluctant to work. Customers who were fearful for their health stayed home.
The startup founder decided the company had an important role. It had a humanitarian cause to help these businesses stay in business. What it did was offer free education about how to keep employees and customers safe during the pandemic. The startup existed to help others first.
Later, when it established a relationship with the client, the startup had products and services for a fee to continue to help the client through its challenges during an unprecedented, difficult time. The humanitarian role came first.
Confidence and Delivery Over Perfection
Through trial and error, we learn what does and doesn’t work. One of the greatest examples of powerful storytelling that I’ve ever seen was a speech given by a woman who spoke English as a second language. Although she had practiced many times, the speech was far from perfect. But when she delivered that speech, her audience was riveted to her every word.
The speech was the story of her immigration to Canada and the struggles she faced. She had to learn a new way of life and cope with an entirely new language so she could find work here.
The speech was her assignment at a Toastmasters club meeting. When it was her turn to speak, she walked over to the center of the stage, faced the audience, and locked eyes with people in the room.
She admitted her English wasn’t perfect. Her accent made the sentences choppy and her verb tenses were often incorrect. But the strength in her voice cancelled the imperfections in her speech. The tone of her voice conveyed her feelings.
The audience could feel the moments when she had cried when she had felt overwhelmed. We could feel her triumph when she paused to emphasize great moments. Her confidence and her delivery were far more important than achieving perfection in her speech.
It’s been a few years, and I still remember how confidently she walked to the podium and began to speak. Although she had fears about speaking in a second language, that didn’t affect our impression of her. What people recalled was the strength in her storytelling.
Delivering Your Story in Easily Digestible Bites
Technology has taken storytelling to a global level. Influencers and brands are using platforms such as Tik Tok to tell their story in short, easily digestible bites. These video clips can be intriguing, and with the right music, catchy.
For some Tik Tok accounts, I’ve invested time watching all their video snippets, slowly piecing together an overarching story from all the vignettes. Each video can be humorous and reveal a short anecdote about a moment in the person’s life.
Two of the Instagram accounts are influencers who have grown up in two different cultures. In one instance, it’s an Asian American woman who tells people she’s American but people treat her as Asian. For another account, the influencer is half Asian, half Black, but people have difficulty accepting his duo culture.
These videos are an effective way to market their talents. They also tell a story about their identity. I can relate to their duo culture.
They’ve attended language classes to learn the language of their parents. But despite this effort, people question the authenticity of their accent and if they can really speak the language.
Each video is just one experience from a lifetime of experiences as the influencers share what it’s like to grow up in two cultures.
I can relate to their experiences and I’m always eager to see their next video. From comments, I can see some fans relate to growing up in two cultures while others are entertained by the humour in each mini story.
Commanding the Attention of the Room
The most powerful form of storytelling is also the most dramatic. Imagine yourself in an indoor theatre with hundreds of people seated in front, next to, and behind you. The lights dim and you see a woman walk across a stage large enough to fit an entire penthouse condo in it.
When she begins to talk, a PowerPoint slide is projected on the gigantic screen behind her. She introduces herself as Kindra Hall and her brand is storytelling.
In her presentation, she tells us how storytelling is one of the underrated skills in business. It’s the secret weapon of entrepreneurs for building an empire.
Her tips on storytelling make sense and are easily applicable. You’re jotting notes, making sure you remember all these valuable bits of information.
Her delivery is professional and powerful. You can tell she’s rehearsed her presentation many times, making her an enthralling presenter. But she’s also got something in her arsenal that the Toastmasters presenter and the Tik Tok influencers don’t.
It’s the physicality of her presence: the large screens, the projection of her talking points, the lighting, and the audience of hundreds. Both her presentation and the venue grab your attention. She commands the room with her storytelling. This to me is storytelling at its best.
The final proof of the impact of her presentation is how she was able to sell without selling. When I heard about her book, I went to buy it.
Summary
Storytelling can be powerful and compelling. A story can motivate people to join your cause, buy into your company, or follow your brand. Just as important as the words in the presentation is the delivery. The confidence you project and the way you deliver your story is what will make it stand out in the listener’s mind.
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5 Tips to Stand Out at a Job Interview
Whether you are up against one or several candidates for the same job, standing out from the competition will give you the critical advantage. Zoom has replaced in-person job interviews, eliminating some traditional interview challenges, and presenting new ones. Ambitious candidates should consider these 5 tips to stay ahead of these changes and ace that interview.
1. Be Well Prepared for Zoom
A job interview on Zoom requires a different kind of preparation than an in-person interview. First, have what you need within your reach so you don’t have to stand up in the middle of your interview. Items to place within reach include a cup of water (in case your voice gets hoarse), a notepad and pen to take notes, a copy of your resume, and anything else you think you may need.
Do a test of yourself in a Zoom meeting. If possible, get your own Zoom account so you can use that meeting room as needed. Check for potential technical issues.
How is the lighting? Do you need to move yourself closer to a window or turn on a lamp? If the interview is in the morning, I do the lighting test in the morning so I’ll have the same lighting conditions. I also check the weather forecast. If it’s likely to be cloudy on my interview day, then I try to do a test on a cloudy day.
Look at how you appear on camera. If the camera is too far from you, you will look small on screen. If you are looking down at the camera, the audience will have a less flattering view of your chin folding up. Remedy this issue by placing the laptop higher up on another surface.
If the laptop camera is tilted too far back, the screen will show the top of your head and the ceiling of your room. Readjust your camera as needed to give the interviewer the best view of you.
Here’s a bonus tip: on the day of your interview, remember to look at the camera when you speak. It’s tempting to look at the people on the screen, but you will appear as if you are looking down! Looking directly at the camera will give you direct eye contact with the interviewer.
Wear the clothes you will wear to your interview. Certain colors looks different on camera. Pink, for example, appears red. Floral patterns against a virtual background will make parts of you disappear like you’ve been cut apart with scissors. Solid colors seem to work best if you’re using a virtual background.
Lastly, check your sound. Is your microphone working? Should you wear headphones to block out background noise? Doing these technical checks before your interview will make you look more prepared and professional on your interview day.
2. Share Stories to Bring Your Resume to Life
The day of your interview, they may start with that ubiquitous question: “Tell me about yourself,” or “Tell us about your experience with….” The purpose is to give them an overview about you, warm you up for the interview, and summarize some points from your resume.
If you’re up against several candidates, talking about your experiences and skills won’t make you stand out. Your interviewer will be hearing other candidates talk about their skills and eventually all these skills descriptions will blur together. If you want to stand out, don’t just talk about your resume.
Share a story.
Research the company ahead of time and find out what its mission and vision is. Understand what is important to the company, and pick anecdotes from your professional life that fit the company culture to share during the interview.
If you want to show how innovative you are, for example, don’t just talk about your skill. Share a story that demonstrates your creativity. How did your innovation result in a better project for the client?
If your skill is proficiency with a computer program, tell a story about what you did with the program. People don’t remember facts such as a listing of your experiences. People remember stories. Stories stick.
Did an interesting or funny moment occur while you were implementing the computer program? Talk about the moment as if you’re sharing a moment with a friend.
You will sound impressive talking about your achievements but showing your personal side will make you stand out. You can share how you improved the efficiency of your company by 15% with the new system that you implemented. But talk about it like it’s a scene from a novel, not a dry news story.
It’s the stories that people remember. These personalized stories are also a way for the interviewer to get to know you better as a person. You want them to see you as more than a skilled employee who lives to work.
3. Create an Emotional Impression
People don’t necessarily remember the details of what you talked about, but they will remember how you made them feel.
Ideally, you want them to associate you with happiness. I like to tell stories or jokes about my work experiences. They aren’t the type of joke with a punch line. They are more like jokes about awkward experiences that people can relate to, such as the challenges of navigating your way around a foreign city.
I treat certain moments of my interview like having coffee with friends or associates. When you use humor, people will remember how they felt. They will remember laughing and feeling at ease with you.
Tell a joke only if it fits the situation, and only if it sounds natural to you. If your jokes tend to be met with silence, jokes may not be the way to go. Also, tell jokes if you have a good feel of the situation.
Does the company culture seem to be casual and easygoing? Does the interviewer seem like someone who would appreciate your humour?
The joke should emerge naturally from the situation and not feel forced. I keep my humor professional yet casual, and if I have a hard time reading the other person, I tend to err on the side of caution and not share as much humour.
Creating an emotional impression is your goal.
At the end of one interview, the interviewer commented, “We had a lot of laughs.” She was in a good mood and my words had given her a sense of my personality. How you make someone feel is as important, if not more important, than your skillset and work experiences.
4. Ask Challenging Questions
Near the end of the interview, they may ask you if you have any questions. I usually have about five questions prepared, in case one of them gets answered during the interview.
I like to ask questions that are memorable. Choose questions that require a bit of thinking and aren’t asked often. As part of my preparation, I search for lists of commonly asked questions for interviewers and choose ones that would be interesting to share.
For instance, I’ve asked the interviewer what they like about their role at the company. It’s personal, gets them thinking, and gives you some insight about their company culture. Also, this question isn’t likely to be answered during an interview.
If your interview is conducted by a panel, you can also apply this same question to each person.
You can also ask about your prospective job. For example, inquire about what they consider to be a mark of success for the position that you are applying for. This question also gives you some insight into company culture as well as their expectations of what you will be doing.
Avoid asking questions that show you didn’t do your research about the company. For example, asking them who their typical customers are when the answer is provided on one of their webpages.
Don’t forget to ask them about next steps. I find that well-organized companies are clear about next steps and may even outline this for you before the interview. If you know the timeline or how you will be notified, you reduce your stress.
5. Take Mental Notes
Take notes during the call, either physically with your pencil and paper, or mentally. Could you have improved on your answers during the interview? Is there something you could have shared about your work experience that you didn’t?
I’ve frozen or drawn a blank when asked a question during an interview. I’ve been asked a “Tell me about a time when” question and it wasn’t until the interview was over that I remembered a great answer. You’ll have a chance to address these loose ends after the interview.
I write a thank you letter to each interviewer after the call. To do this, I refer to the notes I took during the call.
If possible, acknowledge something that each interviewer said in your email. Expand on a point that you spoke about to give more information if you feel it strengthens your candidacy. Reflecting on your answers by expanding on them in an email shows you take initiative for self improvement.
Conclusion
How do you stand out in an interview when there are multiple candidates who are just as qualified as you are? The key is to share stories because people remember stories better than facts. You also want them to feel good about speaking with you. When the interview ends, it’s your unique stories and questions that will linger in their minds.
Photo credit: Andrea Piacquadio (feature image), Anna Shvets (second image), Mohammad Danish (thrid image)
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Vanya Wryter Consulting Services 