One of the best ways to create a corporate training seminar that’s successful is to prepare a high-quality presentation. If you’re making one, you probably already know that you can use several methods to make your presentation engaging and memorable and grab the attention of your target audience. However, one of the things you might not have explored is storytelling.
Contrary to popular opinion, storytelling is not just for kids; it’s also a great way to pique the interest of adults and make them pay attention to you. Specifically, for corporate events, storytelling can help you build an emotional connection with your audience, ensure they’ll remember most of the things you say, and inspire them to do what you want them to do. If you’re ready to give it a try, here are some of the storytelling techniques you can use:
Choose a story your audience can relate to
You don’t want to talk about steak cooking techniques in front of vegetarian people. Similarly, you don’t want to discuss a topic that your audience can’t identify with. So, pick a story that’s not only relevant to your presentation topic but is also relatable to your target audience.
Focus on the struggle
Stories with boring plot lines don’t really grab attention like you want them to. It’s those with plenty of struggle that captivate audiences: Snow White gets thrown out of the castle, Belle switches places with her father to live with the Beast, Cinderella is forced to be a maid for her step family when her father passes, etc. With these in mind, make sure to add tension and drama to your story. You can use the “mountain” structure, which chronicles the ups and downs of the story until you get to the ending. You can also experiment with the “in medias res” technique, which means you’ll start your story right in the middle of all the action.
Have a happy ending in view
Most people who attend training seminars are not looking for an “indie film” experience; they just want to learn from the speakers and trainers. This is why it’s important to give your story a clear ending; it doesn’t necessarily have to be
“happy”, but it should at least be optimistic while communicating the positive message you want to impart.
If you have plenty of time, consider using the “false start” technique. This involves telling your story in such a way that the audience thinks they already know the outcome, then adding a few twists to outline how you (or the story’s hero) faced several challenges but still overcame them.
Make your audience the hero
Almost all good stories have a hero, so ensure yours does, too. Pick one that your audience can relate to, then set him off on a journey where they battle bad guys or simply overcome tight deadlines to impress clients (you get the idea). This
storytelling technique is called the “monomyth” and will surely appeal to most audiences.
Inspire people to take action
No matter how great your story is and how excellent your storytelling skills are, it would still be useless if you can’t inspire your audience to take action ASAP. Use the “sparklines” technique: show your audience a life that’s better than what they
have and inspire them to reach for that life.
Give these storytelling techniques a try and see how they’ll help you have a more engaging corporate presentation! If you’re still looking for a conference space for your event, get in touch with Oakwood Resort. We cater to businesses that are based in Fort Wayne, Warsaw, Elkhart, South Bend, Goshen and other areas who need a venue for their corporate retreat or corporate event.
