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SIM Fairfield/Westchester Chapter

January 21, 2010 | www.bates-communications.com

Bates Communications Storytelling: Developing and Presenting Powerful Presentations with Suzanne Bates, President, CEO

How to Start Your Powerful Presentation Story Collection

By Suzanne Bates, Author, Speak Like a CEO (McGraw Hill 2005)

Stories are a powerful tool in leadership because they make your speeches and presentations compelling and memorable. A story well written and told is a precision tool in communication. You get your audience’s attention, keep them interested, explain complex ideas and concepts, put context around data, and you appear far more comfortable and confident on stage.

When you tell a story you are having a conversation with your audience. It eliminates the need for a lot of dull, lifeless PowerPoint slides. As a leader you can use stories not only to paint a picture or explain a concept, but also to highlight actions, values and behaviors you want to drive down through your organization.

Why tell stories? People love to listen to them. And when people remember a story, they remember the point. Would you rather watch a speaker slog through the data, present the facts, or relate a story that brings it alive?

What Makes a Good Story?

If you think about good books or movies, there are elements to every great story.

One of the most important is conflict. You need a problem and a solution. Your audience will be interested in any story where there is tension and resolution.

You also need to set the scene, create characters, and use short hand descriptive that take your audience there. Remember you’re writing for the ear. A “guy in the back of the room,” might be, “a linebacker of a guy sporting tattoos on both arms.” Instead of “I was driving my car,” you might say, “I was wheeling around in my bright green Volkswagen convertible.”

A good story also has to have emotion. It can be funny, sad, serious or touching, but when you touch people emotionally as well as intellectually the story is powerful and memorable. You do this by describing or better yet, showing your feelings when you tell a story, and giving the audience time to experience them with you.

A good storyteller will let a story unfold so that the audience starts to think ahead – your audience might “get” what is going to happen before the point is made. That’s a good thing – something we refer to as “respecting the wisdom of the audience.” Of course, you still need to make your point succinctly and clearly, and then, relate it to the audience’s situation.

Remember, you can find these stories not only in your work life but in your personal life, too. Never share anything too personal --- you don’t ever want to say something that would be embarrassing or awkward for others. This doesn’t mean you can’t laugh at yourself. Self-deprecating humor is the best kind. In business, you should rarely if ever discuss politics, religion, sex, race, or other inappropriate topics.

One good place to start looking for stories that say something about you is to look back to childhood and your young adult years. Recall the stories you have always told – these are

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the situations and events that shaped you. Remember your early years in business – those are filled with great lessons. They provide audiences with insight about you and the opportunity to learn about you. When they know what you’re made of they relate to you and respect you as a leader, and it’s easier to build trust. Trust is essential for leadership. The more you tell stories, the more you will see what a powerful force they are in communication.

Where to search for stories:

Personal challenges, difficult decisions, choices, hurdles, obstacles, athletic contests, wins and losses

Startling events, major changes, new experiences, anything that you had to work hard to achieve

Embarrassments, awkward situations, dumb ideas, lost opportunities, failed attempts, turnarounds, last-minute saves

Inspiring people, remarkable achievements, memorable events






Travel stories, interesting people you meet, places you’ve been, discoveries, the unexpected

Exercise: Prompting Questions

To Help You and Your Partner Develop a Story

Get a partner to ask you these questions, or ask them of yourself, and talk into a tape recorder, as a first step before writing your story. Keep going until you hit on a significant moment, realization, conversation, or outcome. Don’t leap to conclusions too soon about what the story is about. Allow the details of the story to tell you why it was important, and what the lesson is:

Set the scene: who, what, when and where What happened first? Describe the key characters. What happened? And what happened after that? And after that? What else? Why was that significant? Who said what to whom? Exact words, or as close as you can come. Why was it significant? What was the painful, difficult or challenging part of this?’ What was the significant moment? Why do you recall it now? Why did it matter? What did you learn? How do you apply that?






Story Notes

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Story Structure

A story is a snapshot, or freeze frame; a moment in time, that has significance beyond the event itself and provides an opportunity to take a lesson from it. Your story must make one point, and have clear focus.

This means:

One moment One conversation One point

When structuring your story, set the scene with a few essential details. When did it happen, where, who were the characters, quick descriptions.

Next, when you arrive at the main scene, expand the moment; describe the action; convey the actual conversations of the characters. Your storytelling when done artfully should allow the audience to begin to grasp the point, even before you reveal it.

Make the point by sharing your big lesson or epiphany.

Then take it to a universal lesson that will resonate for this particular audience. Think about how this experience relates to a challenge, value or principle that is important to them.

Here is a diagram of the structure:






The Set Up The Scene The Point Universal Theme

Who Action Lesson Application What Conversation Epiphany to the Audience’s When Moment or Point SituationWhere

More Tips from Suzanne on Writing Great Stories

Original stories are best. People want to hear something new, not something canned. Your own stories are powerful and reveal a lot about you as a leader and a person.

Stories don’t have to be about you. They can be about people you know, events you’ve witnessed, things you’ve observed. You should not be the hero of your own stories unless the primary point is to relate something you felt, understood or learned.

You can make yourself the central figure if you speak with humility or use self-deprecating humor. Don’t make yourself the hero without a light touch.

Humor is a great way to break the ice and it sets up learning. Always look for ways to incorporate appropriate humor in your stories. The best sources of humor are common problems, challenges or pain that your audience has faced.

A story should include enough detail to make it real, but not so much that it bogs it down. Write it out and edit to be sure the story takes people there without dragging on and on.






Every story should make a point. It may be a riot at a party but if it doesn’t drive home a business point, leave it at home.

Remember to include emotion. “Show” the emotion on stage. If it’s funny, make a face, and wait for the laugh. If it’s sad, pause, and look at the audience. Acting it out is a subtle but powerful way to take your audience with you. This is what gifted storytellers do.

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Suzanne Bates, CSP, President & CEO, Bates Communications, Inc.

Suzanne Bates is an executive coach, author, Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), former award-winning television news anchor, and CEO of Bates Communications, Inc. She launched the firm in 2000 after a successful career in major market television. Today, Bates Communications has a team of seasoned consultants who improve their clients' businesses by transforming leaders into powerful communicators who get business results. The firm offers strategic communications consulting, executive coaching, workshops, and keynote speeches. Clients include Dow Chemical, Merck, Fidelity, Mellon/Bank of NY, Habitat for Humanity, John

Hancock, VF Outdoor, Raytheon, EMC, Deloitte, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, The North Face, and Stop and Shop.

Suzanne is author of Speak Like a CEO: Secrets for Commanding Attention and Getting Results (McGraw Hill), which became a bestseller on amazon.com in 2005. The book has also been published in Chinese, Russian and Indonesian.

Her second book, Motivate Like a CEO: Communicate Your Strategic Vision and Inspire People to Act! , was published in January 2009, also with McGraw Hill. Within weeks of its release, the book became a #1 bestseller in books on communication skills, and a business bestseller on amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com. The book has received accolades from highly regarded business authors such as Ken Blanchard (The One Minute Manager), Marshall Goldsmith (What Got You Here Won't Get You There), and Charles H. Green (The Trusted Advisor). Her other products include the Speak Like a CEO Toolkit, the Speak Like a CEO Home Study Course, and a course on How to Make a Name in Business.

For 20 years, Suzanne was an acclaimed on-air personality with major market television stations WBZ-TV Boston, WCAU-TV Philadelphia and WFLA-TV Tampa-St. Petersburg. She won an AP News Award and over her career, interviewed thousands of political leaders, CEOs, authors and celebrities. As a nationally recognized expert in business communications and leadership, Suzanne has appeared in hundreds of publications including the New York Times, Forbes Magazine, Business Week, Investors' Business Daily, the New York Post, and CNNMoney.com. Suzanne has also appeared as a guest expert on Fox Business Morning, New England Cable News, CBS Radio, and dozens of other television and radio programs. She routinely publishes articles on leadership and communication in her organization's monthly newsletter, The Voice of Leadership, and on her blog: ThePowerSpeakerBlog.com

Suzanne pioneered an executive coaching program model focused on leadership and communication. The program includes proprietary tools including the 40-Point Leadership Communications Assessment and 360 Feedback Questionnaire, which guides the professional development of leaders. This coaching model has been used with high potential leaders who must master the ability to communicate effectively in order to move their organizations forward.

Suzanne also developed the Quick Prep Method, the Audience Agenda System, and other tools that are taught in the firm’s boot camps and workshops. She has developed more than a dozen workshops including The 7 Elements of Executive Presence, Powerful Presentation Skills, Leading Great Meetings, Your Communication Style, and How to Give Great Media Interviews.

Suzanne is an active member of many organizations. She is currently President-Elect of the New England Chapter of the National Speakers Association, a member of the CEO Club of Boston College, and a member of the Women's Presidents Organization. She is past president of the Massachusetts Women's Political Caucus. Suzanne earned a B.S. in Radio-TV Journalism from the University of Illinois. She lives in Wellesley, Mass. with her husband and daughter.


http://www.ThePowerSpeakerBlog.com/





Speak Like a CEO Boot Camp ™

Speak Like a CEO Boot Camp™ is for executives, professionals, business owners and entrepreneurs who know the importance of being a powerful speaker. You’ll learn the secrets of successful speakers who've built their businesses and achieved their career goals.

Your consultants and staff are fantastic and I was energized all of the time. I was well rewarded. I cannot thank you all enough for the tools you gave me." - Peter Comeau, President, RECCO

At Speak Like a CEO Boot Camp™, you will learn how to:

Analyze exactly what each audience wants to know with our simple Audience Agenda System Prepare an a presentation in as little as 30 minutes with our Quick Prep Method Videotape and analyze your speaking style, and learn to be comfortable and authentic Develop your "visibility strategy" to help you grow your business and increase profits Tell stories, speak conversationally and engage your audiences

This intensive 2-day program will help you grow your reputation in your industry, stand out from your competition, and achieve your business goals.

"Boot Camp was one of the best trainings I've been to in a very long time. I felt very 'taken care of' and that my success was important to you." - Heidi Daniels, Executive Director, JDRF New England

You'll walk away from Boot Camp with the skills and strategies to:

Walk into every presentation feeling confident Command the room with powerful presence Avoid "last minute" helter-skelter preparation Get an accurate read of audience interests Tell a story, not just recite the numbers Get off the slides and speak extemporaneously Find your own authentic, natural style Project polished executive presence

"Speak Like a CEO Boot Camp will be a tremendous help to me as I focus on preparing communications and talks/speeches for the next year." - Lisa McAree, President, The McAree Companies

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