Storytelling is Social Glue

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This is most likely the final Gianna’s Gem post before I jet off to Sardinia for my husband’s 50th birthday celebration! I’m sure I’ll have plenty of great Gem material after all the celebratory events in Italy so stay tuned for that in July!

With 50th birthday toasts galore for us these next few weeks, the theme of “storytelling” is on my mind, and it is inherently part of being human, arguably more important as we grow older and wiser with valuable insights to share.

Storytelling is social glue. It’s a social “meme” that has been used for generations to pass along information in a way that people remember more than any other format. 

Storytelling has evolved to be more and more complex in modern times: From movies and TV, events and experiences, startup pitches at events like Tech Crunch Disrupt or Shark Tank, storytelling is a powerful skill and one that not many people do well…but should: It’s a superpower and I wish they taught it in school!

But fear not - today’s Gianna’s Gem is about Storytelling and events - what to do to captivate and engage your audience, and tips for how you and your speakers can prepare.

Ever wonder why TED talks always open with a story? There is a science to this.  Ever hear the story of the Elephant and the Rider?

The Elephant represents our emotional side – vast, powerful, and often driven by instinct. In comparison, the Rider, perched on the back of the elephant, symbolizes our rational mind – analytical, planning, but small relative to the enormous elephant.

There is a secret formula to engagement and that is: Imagine + Feel = Change


This is because the Left Brain gets fatigued by too much data. The Right Brain (aka the elephant) will always win out, so feed the right brain and you will be able to influence attendees.

If YOU are the Speaker, or coaching a speaker, here are strategies for crafting a more engaging presentation:

  • When Preparing your speech or presentation: Consider, where is my target audience now? Where do I want them to be after my presentation?  

  • Remember to never introduce yourself or give housekeeping notes. There is a cognitive hallowed ground in which to capture your audience’s attention and you want to create a “file-folder” for them to remember you by starting with something they’ll remember like a story.

  • Use metaphors: Anyone who knows me knows I favor metaphors and use them often to help convey ideas. Metaphors are awesome because they help the brain link an unfamiliar idea with something more familiar. When crafting metaphors, consider: sports, nature, animals, building, travel, transport, auto, music, games, pop culture, food for ideas that are relatable to all audiences.

  • Don’t Be the Hero - Be the Catalyst. Speakers do better with audiences when they’re more relatable and/or share the same goals or struggles as the audience. Many comedians know this secret. If you listen closely, they often begin with material that is self-depracating by design to warm the audience up to them!

  • Wrap Data in a Warm Blanket of Emotion: Remember the formula above to evoke emotion if you have to present data. For example - Use a headline to grab attention before presenting data. Or a phrase like “imagine you’re the world’s biggest/richest/smartest xxx”...to get people to feel/imagine before sharing data.

  • Consider using a prop to prove a point or grab attention. I recently had the famous swimmer, Diana Nyad speak at a corporate event and she was incredible. You’d think her story (festured recently on Netflix) would sell itself, but she went above and beyond to tell the story so vividly using all the tactics above, including bringing a bugle horn she played to elicit the visual of how early her father used to wake her up in the mornings to swim before dawn. It certainly grabbed our attention and evoked emotion to cement her story into our memories long after the event ended.

Remember - storytelling is the art of creating emotions that lead to memories that drive actions:

Emotion -> Memory -> Action

Storytelling is one of THE most important skilsl for anyone to have.  If you need support in honing your craft, reach out and I’ll help you kickstart your storytelling magic.