Many people don’t think they have any stories to share, and I don’t believe that’s true, sometimes you just need some help to find them, and that’s the purpose of this cheat sheet. I want to fast track you to story success.
Stories are so powerful, and flexible, they can be used in different ways for different audiences. They get people leaning in to your talk, or marketing message, connecting emotionally, and remembering you and your business. One of my guests shared how one story generated $100 million for one of his clients!
So, let’s start uncovering yours!
One of the distinctions shared by great speakers and comedians, is that they make their comedy sets or speeches sound natural, almost as if the thought or story they share, just occurred to them. On the other hand, one of the most obvious signs that you’re not comfortable as a speaker is if you’re doing one of these three things:
1. Reading from your script
2. Reading from your PowerPoint slides
3. Recalling your talk from learnt memory.
To express yourself honestly, authentically, and in the most engaging way, you have to be you, and if you want to perform naturally, you need to remember the experience first…and that means rehearsing.
This guide will help you perform 100% better than if you were to read your speech or learnt it from memory.
Ok, let’s go.
So, there are lots of reasons to do a TEDx talk, but if you are going to do it, you want to maximise your chances of getting the results you want, and that’s why I put this cheat sheet together. I want it to give you the questions to think about at every stage of the process, so that you avoid the mistakes I made, and you have a short cut to success.It draws on my experiences of doing a TEDx talk, and what I’ve learned from my TED guests Ryan Hildebrandt, Orlaith Carmody and Terri Trespicio, and I take you through the five steps you’ll need to go through on the way to a great TEDx talk.
Whilst no-one can guarantee you millions of views and queues of people lining up to offer you book deals and event bookings after your TEDx, this cheat sheet, will give you a massive leg up!
Let’s Get Cracking!
If you’re an entrepreneur, corporate leader, service professional, coach or expert looking to generate more income through speaking, then you probably already know that it’s critical that you captivate, and connect with your audience, so that they feel compelled to take the action you want.
This is where the following template can help. Use it to structure your content to create the emotional connection, then use it again to create the mini-stories to knock down the audiences doubts and objections.
I’ve reached Director level in my corporate career, spoken internationally, got people to laugh all over the UK, created copy that sells, and have written a play that makes hard-nosed men cry! To say that learning to use story-telling and humour to influence and persuade audiences changed everything for me would be an understatement.
I’ve since made it my mission to share the lessons I’ve learned, so that you can become a sensational speaker more quickly and grow your career, brand or business.
As a speaker or content marketer, if you can use the hero’s journey story structure, in conjunction with one of the basic story plots to reflect where your audience are in their lives or business, combined with a universal theme or themes, and weave motifs and symbols to support the theme throughout… you will make your stuff more powerful, memorable, emotionally engaging and relatable…and who knows you maybe it could make you a 100 million dollars… or a 100 million friends… which might actually be more valuable.
You can check out The Speaking Club podcast episodes 005, 007, 009 and 034 for more on this.
Get this freebie for an overview on all these tools so you have a quick ‘go to’ reference point in the future.
This podcast is for aspiring, new and experienced speakers alike. Sarah draws on her comedy, performance, writing and business experience, and the talents and skills of guests to help you increase the power and impact of your public speaking
