The world’s best storyteller…

The world’s best storyteller…

… is probably your

grandmother

Because she cared

Because she had

peace of mind

time and wisdom

or because you

thought she did

But most of all, with grandma it was never just a story. It was a life-lesson in disguise.

Grandma’s stories… well… all stories are about the order of the world and about someone’s place in it.

• Symbolic

• Seductive • Realistic • Informative • Allegoric

• Personal • Political

All stories are about emotion. All stories are about strategy. All stories have a point to prove.

All stories are about how we will live happily

ever after.

Making the story: Purpose & strategy

Making the story: Purpose & strategy

In our work, storytelling must deliver information & results

There are two ways to use storytelling in your work: 1. Work with actual facts but purposefully synthesize or re-arrange to show cause & effect or consequences. 2. Use parables or analogies. Tell a story with a similar cause-effect pattern & make the connection evident.

1. Find a conflict that resonates with your audience

2. Find a hero your audience will identify with

3. Find the end and work the plot backwards

Then, choose a

narrator.

Real heroes never tell their own story ;)

To conclude: Storytelling is the art of conveying facts so as to guide each and every listener towards one, specific interpretation.

Conveying the story: This is not about you.

To be a great public speaker, you need to… 1. Care deeply about your topic 2. Care deeply about your audience 3. Not care too deeply about yourself.

There are no boring topics.

There are lots of boring presenters though…

Boring presentations are a sign

of disrespect to the participants

Prepare. Pack and tie up everything together so that you deliver perfectly in any situation.

Keep them focused while you are speaking

Keep them thoughtful after you have finished.

Information – No TMI

Inspiring – not infantilizing

This is not about you.

It’s about them.

Be plain & simple. If the audience recalls your words rather than you, then you did a good job.

Rehearse No matter how good you

think you are, or how

many times you have

done this in the past.

Rehearse until you’ve said the story so many times the words mean nothing to you and you have to stretch them out to give them their meaning back.

Be focused on what you say so the audience focuses on what you say. Not on you. You have too essential tools to work with: one is your body, the other is your voice.

There is no perfect posture. You can keep fixing your flaws but at the end of the day…

just let your story guide your moves

• Color your voice

• Imitate sounds

• Moderate your volume

• Moderate your speed

• Don’t be afraid of pauses

• Don’t drag your voice to avoid them…

To sum up:

1. Storytelling: Stories are neither false nor real. Yet, if you want to build a story, i. find a conflict ii. find a hero iii. find the end & work the plot backwards iv. don’t let the narrator be the hero

2. Public speaking: Sharing is caring i. focus on the & and the audience, not yourself ii. prepare and rehearse iii. let your story guide your body iv. let the words guide your voice.

Thank you! Georgia-Zozeta Miliopoulou, Ph.D. Full Time Assistant Professor, Deree, ACG.

Now, it’s your turn to be a grandma!

In 10’ you and your team must come up with a 1’ long story, to persuade people in your audience that immigration can prove to be beneficial for all of the EU citizens.