You know what I especially love about what storytelling accomplishes? It lights up our imaginations. You see, one of the abilities we humans have is the ability to “see” things in our minds: to imagine events, objects, the past, the future and ideas themselves.
Think about the root of that word: imagination. IMAGE: of our five primary senses, we process the world first through our eyes – through images.
Knowing this gives you a powerful advantage as a speaker. You can bring your ideas through life by illustrating through stories – stories which paint pictures in the minds of your audience.
You do this with descriptive language.
Describe, describe, describe! Take the audience to a time and a place and use just enough visuals so that they are there with you as you relive the story.
When you learn how to do this, you’re using the most effective technique in storytelling. Our imaginations are wired into us, and I believe that tapping into them engages audiences far more powerfully than any power-point slide deck you might use.