Chapter 34 Five Ways Citing Stories to Enhance Your Presentations

In the book "The Art of Literacy of Writing" by Rudolph Fritz, there is such a sentence: "Only a story can be truly readable." In the book "The Art of Accessible Writing" by Rudolph Frech, there is such a sentence: "Only the story can be truly readable and readable." Rudolf Frech used "Time Magazine" and "Reader's Digest" , he said, in the two top-selling magazines, every article was pure narrative, lavishly laced with anecdotes.From this, Rudolph Friedrich concluded that public speaking has the same principle as the two magazines, and has the power to control the attention of the audience.

The Rev. Norman Vincent Peale's speeches have been heard by countless people on radio and television.In his speeches, he likes to cite examples as materials to support his arguments.He told an interviewer for Speech Quarterly: "Using real examples is the best method I know. It can make a point clear, interesting, and more convincing. Usually I always use several examples at the same time to illustrate the point." Prove every point." Readers of my books will quickly discover that I also like to summarize the main points with interesting things.The laws in a book are listed on only one and a half pages, and the remaining two hundred pages are full of stories and illustrations, which show people how to use these laws.I think this is especially important for young friends who like to listen to stories.

So how to use stories in speeches to achieve better results?There are five ways to sum it up: humanize, personalize, detail, dramatize and visualize. If your speech is always about the thing or the idea itself, the other person will get bored.But when you talk about people, people are bound to be curious.Every day, across the land of America, across the backyard fence, or at the coffee table and dinner table, millions of people are talking—what are they talking about? More than 90% of the topics are people.This one said what Mrs. So-and-so did, the other said I saw someone do something or someone made a "windfall", and so on.

I have met and given speeches with many elementary school children in the United States and Canada, and I have found that in order to interest them, you must tell stories that relate to people.Whenever I talk about more general and abstract concepts, the children can't sit still: either they are fidgeting, shaking in their seats, making faces at their neighbors, or throwing something in the other row seat. Once, I gave a speech on the topic of "The Way to Success" and told them how American businessmen achieved success.Most of them just list a long list of abstract things, talk about hard work, perseverance or high ambition.

So I cut them off: "None of us want to be preached to. No one likes it. Remember, it has to entertain and amuse us, or we won't pay attention to what you say. Also remember , the most interesting things in the world are nothing more than those elegant, witty anecdotes. So please tell the story of two people you know, and tell us why one succeeded and the other failed. We will be very happy To hear a story like this, and at the same time, to gain a lot from it.” There was a student in this class who always found it difficult to raise his own interest or interest the audience.But this evening, he used the suggestion of "human nature stories" to tell us the story of two classmates in college.A person is cautious and penny-pinching, such as buying shirts, he must buy shirts in different stores in the city, and make a watch to show which one is the most durable and wearable for the longest time. Make the most of every dollar invested.After graduating from the engineering school, he regarded himself as aloof and was unwilling to start from the grassroots like other graduates.So three years later at the class reunion, he's still drawing his shirt laundry table, still waiting for that special good job to come.As a result, he waited for nothing.A quarter of a century has passed since then, and the man has remained in a small position full of resentment and dissatisfaction.

Then our students told the story of another classmate: Now this classmate has surpassed the original expectations of himself.He is very easy to get along with, everyone likes him.Although he has lofty ambitions and aspires to achieve a great career, he started as a draftsman down-to-earth.However, he is always looking for opportunities.The New York World's Fair was in the planning stages at the time, and he knew there was a need for engineering talent there, so he resigned from his job in Philadelphia and moved to New York.He partnered with others, and immediately started the business of contracting projects, contracting the business of many telephone companies, and finally he was hired by the "Exposition" with a high salary.

What I have written here is only a brief outline of what the speaker said.There are also many amusing and human details in his own telling, which make his lecture interesting.He went on and on and on--the man usually couldn't find anything to give a three-minute speech--and this time, when he finished, he was surprised to find that it took ten minutes.Because the speech was so exciting, everyone seemed to think it was too short, leaving more to say.This is his first speech victory. Everyone can get some insights from this case.Lectures that are bland in themselves can be fascinating if they contain interesting stories about humanity.The speaker should raise only a few points and then use specific examples as illustrations.A speech structured in this way is sure to grab the attention of the audience.

If possible, these stories should talk about struggle, and the process of winning through struggle.We all have a very strong interest in struggle.There is an old saying that "all men love men", but in fact all men love fights.People love nothing more than two men fighting for the same woman, read any novel, short story, or watch any movie - you'll see when all the barriers are removed , the audience immediately began reaching for their hats and coats as soon as the hero finally snatched the heroine.In five minutes the cleaning women would be cleaning the theater and chattering away.This fully proves that what I said is true.

Almost all novels in magazines are based on this method.Those writers who first do everything possible to make the reader like the hero or heroine in the story, let them pursue their dreams, but make the dreams seem unattainable, and then describe how the hero or heroine struggles and finally succeeds. The story of how a person struggles hard in a harsh environment and wins in the end is always the most exciting and attracts people's interest the most.A magazine editor told me that anyone's truly personal life is interesting.If someone has struggled and struggled -- and who hasn't -- just tell his story exactly, and people will be interested.There is no doubt about it.

Of course, the richest source of this kind of human interest material is exactly one's own life background.Don't hold back from speaking about your experiences because you feel you shouldn't be talking about yourself.Audiences hate it only when a person talks about himself with hostility and arrogance.Otherwise, the audience is very interested in the personal story told by the speaker.Don't lose sight of the fact that personal experience is the most effective and reliable way to grab attention. If someone is to be mentioned when telling a story, no matter what, it is best to say his name.Even in order to respect the privacy of others, it is best to invent a pseudonym.Even if you use an impersonal name like "Mr. Smith" or "Joe Brown," it will bring the story to life more than "this person" or "a person."Surnames Personal names have the function of authenticating and revealing the individual, as Rudolph Frech pointed out: "Nothing adds more truth to a story than a name. Nothing is more false than a name. Consider , if the protagonist in the story has no name or surname, what will happen?"

As long as you use specific names and personal pronouns in your speech, you can assume that your speech has a high degree of audibility, because it already has the valuable element of human touch. You probably already know this, but you may also wonder: How do I know if I have enough detail in my speech?There is a way to test it.Prepare your speech using the five essential elements of a journalist writing a news story: when, where, who, what happened, and why it happened.If you prepare according to these five elements, your examples will have a detailed description and will naturally come to life.Let me cite an interesting fact about myself to illustrate.This anecdote once appeared in Reader's Digest: For two years after leaving college, I was a salesman for Ironclad, traveling all over South Dakota.Relying on a delivery truck to complete my journey.One day, I was in Redfield, and it was two hours before I could catch a southbound train, and I had a two-hour wait.Since it is not my area of ​​responsibility, there is no way to use this time for sales promotion.On the other hand, I was going to attend the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York in less than a year, so I decided to use my spare time to practice my lines.I wandered aimlessly across the yard and began to rehearse a scene from Shakespeare's Macbeth - throwing out my arms and shouting very dramatically, "Is that what I see a dagger? Its handle is Towards me. Come, let me hold you: I cannot hold you, but I still see you!" When I was immersed in my performance, four police officers suddenly rushed towards me and asked me why I was threatening women.I was astonished as I would not have been if they accused me of robbing a train.They told me that there was a housewife who was watching me from behind the curtain in the kitchen 30 meters away.She had never seen such behavior before, so she called the police.They arrived just in time to hear me whimpering and howling about daggers. I told them I was "rehearsing Shakespeare".But they didn't believe me, and they didn't let me go until I showed the Iron Armor company's order book. This is a very interesting story. When you read it, please pay attention to how this funny story embodies the five elements. Naturally, too many details are worse than no details.Everyone has been annoyed by lengthy, superficial and irrelevant details at one time or another.Note that I have succinctly described every element in my account of my near-arrest in Redfield, South Dakota.If the speech is full of messy trivial matters, the audience will inevitably become impatient and distract attention, obliterating many of your remarks.The worst thing that can happen to a person's speech is to fail to grab the attention of the audience. Suppose you wanted to give an example of how you used the principles of interpersonal relationships to successfully appease a customer, and you might start like this: "A guy walked into my office the other day. He was very angry because the washing machine we had delivered to his house the week before wasn't working. I said to him we're going to do everything we can to make up for our mistakes. After a while , he calmed down and seemed satisfied that we were fully committed to getting this done." One advantage of this little incident was that it was detailed.But it lacks the name, the specific process, and most importantly, the actual dialogue that would bring this thing to life.Let's try to add oil and vinegar to it: Last Tuesday, my office door was slammed open.I looked up and saw Charles Brixand, furious.He is one of our regular customers.Before he could sit him down, he said, "Ed, this is the last thing you do: You send a truck right away and get me that washing machine out of the basement." I asked him what was the matter, and he was so angry that he could hardly answer clearly. "It doesn't work at all," he yelled, "clothes are all tangled up, my wife hates it, it annoys it." I asked him to sit down and explain better. "I don't have time to sit down, I'm already late for work! I don't think I will come here to buy household appliances anyway. You believe me, I won't do it again." At this point, he stretched out his hand, and It was hitting the table, and it was hitting my wife's photo. "Listen, Charlie," I said, "you sit down and tell me all about it, and I promise to do anything you want me to do, okay?" He was able to talk about things calmly and clearly. Of course, it is not always necessary to add dialogue to the speech.You should see, however, that the dialogue in the excerpt above has a lot of drama.If the speaker can imitate and express the original tone of voice, the dialogue will be more effective.Moreover, the dialogue is a conversation in everyday life, which makes the speech more authentic and believable.It makes you sound like a real human being, speaking across the table, not an old pedant reading a paper in front of well-educated fellows, or a great speaker yelling into a microphone. Psychologists tell us that more than 85% of knowledge is received by us through visual impressions.This undoubtedly explains why television has become a medium of advertising and entertainment, and the reason why it has achieved very good results.Public speaking, too, is an aural art as well as a visual one. Use details to enrich your presentation, and the best way to do this is to include visuals in it.Maybe you've spent hours telling me how to swing a golf club and I might be getting bored.But if you stand up and show what to do when you hit the ball down the fairway, I'll give you my full attention.Likewise, if you used arms and shoulders to describe the drifting of the radio, I would definitely pay more attention to your ghost stories. I remember a presentation in a class made up of people from industry, and the visual detail in it was a rare masterpiece.The speakers mimicked the gestures and antics of inspectors and efficiency experts inspecting damaged machinery, and it was far more hilarious than anything I had ever seen on television.These visual details make it hard for us to forget that lecture—at least I can't forget it no matter how hard I try, and I believe that other students will still talk about it to this day. Please listen to the following passage of British historian Macaulay's condemnation of Charles I.Note that Macaulay not only uses pictures, but also uses strong contrasts such as brick and mortar to form parallel sentences.Strong contrasts have always attracted our interest: "We accuse him of breaking his coronation vows, while others say he kept his marriage vows! We accuse him of abandoning his people to the tyranny of a hot-tempered bishop." Strike mercilessly, and yet someone defends him by saying that he held his young son on his lap and kissed him! We accused him of violating the terms of the Petition of Rights after promising to abide by it, and we were told, He was in the habit of praying at six o'clock in the morning! On these considerations, together with his Van Dyck dress, his handsome face, and his pointed beard, he owes his popularity to our age."