3 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD TELL STORIES IN YOUR SPEECH

They say, “Add stories to your speech”.

I’m sure this is not the first time you heard that.

You may be asking yourself, “Why should I tell a story? It is a waste of time. I just want to give some information. Can’t I just get straight to the point?
It is much easier, more practical and straightforward, right? 

Yes, you may have a point there. However it depends on your speech purpose and the situation. Before you reject the idea of telling stories in your speech, ask yourself these questions; Do you like to watch Netflix? Do you love listening to your friends telling you what happened to them today? Do you enjoy reading the news and finding out what is happening in the world? Do you read a book?

Believe it or not, there are good reasons why you should tell stories in your speech. Please allow me to explain these reasons to you.

1) Stories Make Your Speech More Interesting

Admit it. We humans like to be entertained. With having to deal with everyday problems, sometimes we just need a break.

Picture this. Imagine that you are one of the audiences. Here you are listening to a speaker giving a speech. It has been a busy day for you but you are there to gain some knowledge from the talk. You are listening to the speaker. At first, everything makes sense to you. After a while, the speaker is explaining about facts, data and numbers. You are reading the slides and trying so hard to absorb the information. You brain is getting tired. You are bored to death. You wish you can leave right away.

Wait. Don’t go away yet.

What if the speaker starts telling a story?

I still remember attending a talk once on marketing. The speaker told us about his own personal experience when he was working as a salesman and how he made it to the top. He was funny and honest. We could not stop laughing listening to his stories. We enjoyed his speech so much that we did not realised he was talking for nearly an hour. His speech was not only entertaining but inspiring as well. 

You see, stories will stop your audience from falling asleep. Stories make your speech more appealing and more interesting. It is more exciting to listen to a speaker who tells stories instead of just explaining the facts. Stories add some spices to the speech. Stories let your audience visualise and use their imagination. Your audience will look forward to hear you speak. They will want to hear more from you.

And if you are a good storyteller, they might never leave their seats!

2)Stories Help You Connect With Your Audience

When a speaker tells a story, it opens up a path of understanding between the speaker and the audience. The best stories are usually from personal experience whether you experienced it yourself or you heard it from someone else. 

Either way, by telling stories which relate to the message of the speech, your audience will get to know you better. They will understand the points that you trying to make and why you strongly believe in it. This will show that you know what you are talking about.

Telling a story is an act of sharing which shall benefit everyone. You can share what you have learnt in life in stories. You can tell your audience what you have been through and help them to avoid the same mistakes that you did. Your stories tell them who you really are.

I’ll give you an example. Let say a speaker is giving a talk on the importance of losing weight. Generally, everybody knows why they should lose weight. They can read about it from the health magazines or surf the internet. So if the speaker only tells them the fact, the audience may not feel the need to listen to the speaker. But will it make any difference if the speaker shares some stories of real people who managed to lose weight and about their incredible journey towards better health?

Stories allow you to have a real connection with your audience. Stories provide your audience with answers, give them hope and teach them valuable lessons they shall never forget.

3) Stories Make Your Speech Unforgettable

“When you love, sometimes you are the catcher and sometimes you are the caught”

“Real man love for a lifetime, not for a moment”

If you are wondering, these words were spoken by Randy Harvey, Toastmasters Public Speaking World Champion, 2004. His speech title was “Lessons from fat dad”

This is one of the speeches that I will always remember. Randy told his audience stories of how his dad taught him the lesson of love. The stories brought tears to my eyes and it made me feel great inside. Stories are so powerful that it can touch our hearts and make us understand what being human is all about.

We humans love to listen to stories. Stories trigger emotions which allow us to get in touch with our feelings. Stories make us happy, angry, sad or excited. Stories teach us about people’s journey, their struggles and how they had to face obstacles and challenges in life.

Therefore, speeches with stories lead to better communication between you and your audience. When you tell stories of great things you or others have achieved in life, your audience will be motivated and inspired. They will remember your stories. They will never forget your speech. They will remember how it makes them feel. Your speech will be unforgettable.

There you have it; three strong reasons why you should add stories in your speech.

Stories will help your speech presentation to be more effective and have more impact. A story is like a bridge that connects one side to the other. Adding stories to your speech is as if you are removing the heavy cloud, leaving you with a clear blue sky. A quote by Christina Baldwin says it all;

“Words are how we think; Stories are how we link.”

Everybody has a story to tell. No doubt about that. So tell your stories in your speech because without stories, your speech will be less meaningful in the memory of your audience. Share your stories with your audience, make them listen, make them understand and make them remember.

Written by: Intan Salwana Anis

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