I’m going to talk to you about how to be
a captivating storyteller human beings
are made of flesh blood and borne but
they’re also made of stories we all
enjoy listening to stories reading them
watching them but above all even though
we may not know it
we like creating and telling stories so
when you tell your friend secret you’re
telling a story when you share
information you’re telling a story
whether you complain or congratulate
it’s all Story one of my earliest
memories is of my mother telling me long
made-up story to last through each
Sunday afternoon my love of stories grew
as I grew up till I realized I probably
wanted to be a storyteller at that time
I thought all it took was having a good
story stories are powerful because they
help us connect with each other through
emotion and a shared experience and when
we connect we can make incredible things
happen we can see another person’s point
of view we can resolve conflict we can
laugh together we can explain something
to the other who did not understand
before when we connect we create a
universe of possibilities that did not
exist earlier I wanted to become a
storyteller because I wanted to be the
person that created the space to allow
understanding healing creativity
curiosity inspiration delight
but I learned soon enough that having a
good story or even a great story is
never enough
what you need to do is you need to know
your audience the better you know your
audience the easier it is to connect to
them to make them care so when you’re
telling a story go find out what
interests your audience what bores them
what scares them what do they know what
do they not know what makes them cry
what makes them laugh by the way the
hardest thing to do is to tell somebody
a funny story it is every speakers
nightmare that you’re going to stand on
stage and tell a joke and nobody is
going to laugh but even worse is when
you crack a joke at the point in your
story where you are really trying to be
very serious but you haven’t realized it
to give you an example it is only in
India that the phrase parsing out is
supposed to communicate the graduation
of students from schools and
universities everywhere else in the
world
passing out means fainting losing
consciousness so I can only imagine what
it would be like to use the phrase you
know what if we were to use this phrase
in an audience of non-indians what they
would think about schools and
universities in India which every with
regularity every batch has all these
people just passing out and mass you
know so we need to know our audience but
you also need to be invested in your
story you should want to tell it you
should be so much on fire
with the desire to tell it that you
can’t but tell it this allows you to
tell your story very freely because if
you were not so committed to telling
your story if you were not concentrated
on telling your story you would be
concentrated on yourself and if you
concentrated on yourself you’re gonna be
nervous you’re gonna be self-conscious
so be invested in your story say you
want to tell a story about a contest
called funny faces that’s happening at a
school after you start the introduction
and so the principal announced the funny
faces contest and Mona’s claps had 20
students participating
what would you say after that and Akshay
decided to make a squint eyed face and
Simran just decided to her lips into a
straight shape your story’s finished
nobody is listening you need to show
them the funny faces and the only way
you’re going to be able to show them the
funny faces is if you are so committed
to telling the story that you’d forget
to worry about what your face will
really look at when you make those funny
faces so the only way this story is
going forward is excited and signaled it
and so on another thing excuse me if I
can get a sing another thing about being
invested in your story is that you are
able to make eye contact with various if
not all the members of your audience
this is vital there are people sitting
here who have been expending time and
effort listening to you you have to
acknowledge that you need to thank them
for their gift of attention another
thing when they notice you’re looking
they listen a little bit better they
give you even more attention and guess
what your self-confidence is even more
pumped so eye contact now we know our
audience we are really invested in our
story and we’re going to tell it after
this
use all the resources at your command
what do you have you got voice you got
gestures you got facial expression and
silence silence is a tool too but first
let’s talk about voice gestures and
facial expression so you can alter the
tone of your voice you can alter the
pitch at which you speak you can make
accents you can speak at different
speeds and you can emphasize different
words in different sorts of speech let
me illustrate this by narrating to you
the story of Mina don’t be a little girl
there isn’t much to do just listen to
that Drona’s me now this Cappy a
lamppost so bright and tall and strong
that people will look up at me I look
down all day long they’ll say thank you
for brightening the dark and scary night
we wouldn’t dare to go outside if they
had not been lies oh that’s wonderful
said pop betting the pub pigeon poops on
you okay I’d be a happy fight
light and bright and strong flying the
highest in the sky string along I’ll
stick my tongue out at all the other
kites flying solo and people everywhere
it’s a wonderful said granny
but if then your string is cut you will
fall in battery you will be stuck in a
rut the next morning to sit in a set
it’s my bestest friends birthday
use your voice gestures facial
expressions and your story will come
alive now for silence silence is one of
the most potent weapons in your
storytelling arsenal I was teaching a
pop graduate course to a bunch of 22 and
23 year olds this was the first time I
met them we had our introductions and
then I started teaching mmm I tried to
stop teaching here’s what happens one
gentleman sitting right in front decided
to interrupt me every 20 seconds I met
him for a bit then I said you know could
you please maybe just use mine okay
sorry now six minutes down I haven’t
said a single sentence at which point I
said you know something you’re adult and
you might consider a little self-control
and maybe if you have these questions
boiling in your mind just write them
down and we’ll deal with them after
class but he didn’t stop interrupting
I tried several strategies nothing
worked
at last he and I came to an agreement he
agreed that the next time he interrupted
me he would put his finger on his lips
he’s what fingers move off lips you know
oh this guy I said okay I’m not gonna be
able to teach that’s I can ask you a
question yes ma’am
I don’t the youngest child in your
family what if I change the question are
you an only child none of my father
the whole class erupted he turned every
shade of red in every pore of skin that
was visible and I taught one hour and 35
minutes incomplete so use your weapons
when we have a great story when we know
our audience when we are invested in
telling our story and when we can use
our voice our facial expressions our
gestures and silence then we get a
chance to activate our audience telling
stories is about captivating your
audience it’s about capturing their
attention their hearts their minds till
the fifth clench enrage as you say
something or they are holding their
breath in suspense or they laughing till
the jaws are down there
sometimes there are moments when in the
middle of telling a story you stop being
a storyteller you stop being the person
separating the story from the listeners
in that moment you become the stories
and the listeners lose themselves in the
story in you I invite you to become a
captivating storyteller I invite you to
transcend yourself I invite you to
become the story thank you
[Applause]
a captivating storyteller human beings
are made of flesh blood and borne but
they’re also made of stories we all
enjoy listening to stories reading them
watching them but above all even though
we may not know it
we like creating and telling stories so
when you tell your friend secret you’re
telling a story when you share
information you’re telling a story
whether you complain or congratulate
it’s all Story one of my earliest
memories is of my mother telling me long
made-up story to last through each
Sunday afternoon my love of stories grew
as I grew up till I realized I probably
wanted to be a storyteller at that time
I thought all it took was having a good
story stories are powerful because they
help us connect with each other through
emotion and a shared experience and when
we connect we can make incredible things
happen we can see another person’s point
of view we can resolve conflict we can
laugh together we can explain something
to the other who did not understand
before when we connect we create a
universe of possibilities that did not
exist earlier I wanted to become a
storyteller because I wanted to be the
person that created the space to allow
understanding healing creativity
curiosity inspiration delight
but I learned soon enough that having a
good story or even a great story is
never enough
what you need to do is you need to know
your audience the better you know your
audience the easier it is to connect to
them to make them care so when you’re
telling a story go find out what
interests your audience what bores them
what scares them what do they know what
do they not know what makes them cry
what makes them laugh by the way the
hardest thing to do is to tell somebody
a funny story it is every speakers
nightmare that you’re going to stand on
stage and tell a joke and nobody is
going to laugh but even worse is when
you crack a joke at the point in your
story where you are really trying to be
very serious but you haven’t realized it
to give you an example it is only in
India that the phrase parsing out is
supposed to communicate the graduation
of students from schools and
universities everywhere else in the
world
passing out means fainting losing
consciousness so I can only imagine what
it would be like to use the phrase you
know what if we were to use this phrase
in an audience of non-indians what they
would think about schools and
universities in India which every with
regularity every batch has all these
people just passing out and mass you
know so we need to know our audience but
you also need to be invested in your
story you should want to tell it you
should be so much on fire
with the desire to tell it that you
can’t but tell it this allows you to
tell your story very freely because if
you were not so committed to telling
your story if you were not concentrated
on telling your story you would be
concentrated on yourself and if you
concentrated on yourself you’re gonna be
nervous you’re gonna be self-conscious
so be invested in your story say you
want to tell a story about a contest
called funny faces that’s happening at a
school after you start the introduction
and so the principal announced the funny
faces contest and Mona’s claps had 20
students participating
what would you say after that and Akshay
decided to make a squint eyed face and
Simran just decided to her lips into a
straight shape your story’s finished
nobody is listening you need to show
them the funny faces and the only way
you’re going to be able to show them the
funny faces is if you are so committed
to telling the story that you’d forget
to worry about what your face will
really look at when you make those funny
faces so the only way this story is
going forward is excited and signaled it
and so on another thing excuse me if I
can get a sing another thing about being
invested in your story is that you are
able to make eye contact with various if
not all the members of your audience
this is vital there are people sitting
here who have been expending time and
effort listening to you you have to
acknowledge that you need to thank them
for their gift of attention another
thing when they notice you’re looking
they listen a little bit better they
give you even more attention and guess
what your self-confidence is even more
pumped so eye contact now we know our
audience we are really invested in our
story and we’re going to tell it after
this
use all the resources at your command
what do you have you got voice you got
gestures you got facial expression and
silence silence is a tool too but first
let’s talk about voice gestures and
facial expression so you can alter the
tone of your voice you can alter the
pitch at which you speak you can make
accents you can speak at different
speeds and you can emphasize different
words in different sorts of speech let
me illustrate this by narrating to you
the story of Mina don’t be a little girl
there isn’t much to do just listen to
that Drona’s me now this Cappy a
lamppost so bright and tall and strong
that people will look up at me I look
down all day long they’ll say thank you
for brightening the dark and scary night
we wouldn’t dare to go outside if they
had not been lies oh that’s wonderful
said pop betting the pub pigeon poops on
you okay I’d be a happy fight
light and bright and strong flying the
highest in the sky string along I’ll
stick my tongue out at all the other
kites flying solo and people everywhere
it’s a wonderful said granny
but if then your string is cut you will
fall in battery you will be stuck in a
rut the next morning to sit in a set
it’s my bestest friends birthday
use your voice gestures facial
expressions and your story will come
alive now for silence silence is one of
the most potent weapons in your
storytelling arsenal I was teaching a
pop graduate course to a bunch of 22 and
23 year olds this was the first time I
met them we had our introductions and
then I started teaching mmm I tried to
stop teaching here’s what happens one
gentleman sitting right in front decided
to interrupt me every 20 seconds I met
him for a bit then I said you know could
you please maybe just use mine okay
sorry now six minutes down I haven’t
said a single sentence at which point I
said you know something you’re adult and
you might consider a little self-control
and maybe if you have these questions
boiling in your mind just write them
down and we’ll deal with them after
class but he didn’t stop interrupting
I tried several strategies nothing
worked
at last he and I came to an agreement he
agreed that the next time he interrupted
me he would put his finger on his lips
he’s what fingers move off lips you know
oh this guy I said okay I’m not gonna be
able to teach that’s I can ask you a
question yes ma’am
I don’t the youngest child in your
family what if I change the question are
you an only child none of my father
the whole class erupted he turned every
shade of red in every pore of skin that
was visible and I taught one hour and 35
minutes incomplete so use your weapons
when we have a great story when we know
our audience when we are invested in
telling our story and when we can use
our voice our facial expressions our
gestures and silence then we get a
chance to activate our audience telling
stories is about captivating your
audience it’s about capturing their
attention their hearts their minds till
the fifth clench enrage as you say
something or they are holding their
breath in suspense or they laughing till
the jaws are down there
sometimes there are moments when in the
middle of telling a story you stop being
a storyteller you stop being the person
separating the story from the listeners
in that moment you become the stories
and the listeners lose themselves in the
story in you I invite you to become a
captivating storyteller I invite you to
transcend yourself I invite you to
become the story thank you
[Applause]
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