How to Captivate with Stories and Stagecraft
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I\\u2019m walking off the stage after giving a Keynote at a Southern California university. A few of the audience members make their way over to me.\\xa0
\\u201cKymberlee,\\u201d one of them says, \\u201cYour presentation was so captivating! I was glued to your every word.\\u201d
I worked very hard on this particular Talk, so getting this feedback feels amazing! And as I\\u2019m driving away from the event, I start thinking about what exactly made it so captivating.
Was it the stories I told? Or how I moved on stage? Or something else?
The analytical side of my brain kicks in and starts trying to reverse-engineer the Talk that earned me such a glowing review. And I realize that I made several critical choices that, joined together, form a blueprint for being captivating on stage.
So today on the Storytelling School Podcast, you\\u2019ll learn strategies to help you dial into your own captivation skills so you too can experience your audience\\u2019s unwavering attention. You\\u2019ll also discover:
What mistake do many speakers and storytellers make when beginning their presentation? How can you stop your audience in their tracks right away? How do you use visuals to enhance (and not take away from) your audience\\u2019s experience? What\\u2019s one captivation technique that many speakers and storytellers aren\\u2019t taught? And how do you \\u201cearn the right to deliver the next section\\u201d of your Talk to your audience?
What you will learn in this episode:
- How to use storytelling to maintain your audience\\u2019s attention throughout your Talk
- How different delivery techniques and vocal variety can keep your audience engaged
- How to keep your audience engaged through the use of exercises
A little about me:
Hi there. I\\u2019m Kymberlee.
As a Speaking Strategist and founder of Storytelling School, I\\u2019ve had the pleasure of working with over 500 speakers, business leaders, and entrepreneurs worldwide for over a decade. No matter if those folks were getting ready to take the TED or TEDx stage or preparing for a high-stakes presentation with everything on the line, my specialty is High Stakes Short Form Communication. I\\u2019ve seen what works when influencing change and what doesn\\u2019t. It turns out storytelling is one of the most powerful tools you can have in your arsenal. That\\u2019s why I\\u2019m building a movement of master storytellers to affect change in the world on a global scale to help people tell real stories that have influence and impact. With effective storytelling, you change people\\u2019s lives.
Since competition for potential client attention is fierce, a story can make the difference between being memorable or irrelevant. You\\u2019ll find me sharing my matcha tea mishap to discuss perfectionism, my quest for Bruce Lee and Hello Kitty art to explore kindness, or the six months of live blade training I underwent to illustrate presence. I spend my days showing the power of using stories to help cement ideas and bring lessons to life and teaching my clients to do the same.
If you think business owners can\\u2019t tell stories or don\\u2019t have stories to share with their clients, staff, donors, followers, or investors, I invite you to reconsider your perspective. There\\u2019s no better place than in business to tell your stories so audiences, no matter how big or small, can understand how you think and what you value.
Now it\\u2019s your turn... If you\\u2019re ready to become a master storyteller and effect change in our world, you\\u2019ve come to the right place.
Links and Resources:
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