From the day you’re born to the day you die, storytelling plays a central role in how you learn, interpret the world, and share meaning with others. And if you’re a speaker who isn’t putting stories front and centre in your talks, you’re missing out. Here’s why.

Day in, day out, whether you’re at work, in social setting, at home, or out and about…when you meet colleagues, friends, family, or complete strangers…it’s unusual for stories not to pop into at least parts of what’s said. After all, they’re the bits that make conversations more engaging.

As the late author of the Discworld novels Sir Terry Prachett put it so well:

“People think that stories are shaped by people. In fact, it’s the other way around.”

Stories abound and are incessant. They can range from inquiries about “how your day went” to what ‘so and so’ said at a meeting, from your disbelief when someone cut you off on the motorway to how ‘that never used to happen when you were young’, and…on it goes. You get the drift. Of course you do, you’re part of these conversations – both in the leading and listening departments.

And yet, as an executive communication coach, you might be surprised by how many clients I encounter who’ll claim, typically with the straightest of faces and with an air of disappointment: “Oh, but I don’t think I know any stories” or variations of that theme.

But, here’s the thing. Having worked with many thousands of executives over the years, I’m happy to report that I’ve yet to find a single person where this assertion was true. Here’s the reality.

You, along with everyone else, have a litany of great stories rattling around in your brain. The trick is to dig the best of these out and apply enough polish to them so they can turn into gems.

And here’s something else you should know. The good news is your stories don’t have to be based on barn storming, extraordinary events in your life – which may not be in plentiful supply.

Rather, as I’ve mentioned in previous posts, look for nuggets from your ordinary day-to-day life and things that have happened to you over the years. You might be pleasantly surprised by how easily and well your audience can relate to these. And, better still, you’ll never have to make things up.

Incidentally, as a quick aside, steer away from the latter! Nine times out of ten they’ll fall short of what you could have done with a real story.

OK. So how, you might ask, can you locate stories with the potential to help your audiences get truly connected with your messages? And what does it take to breathe life into seemingly ordinary stories …turning them into material that’ll have your audiences sitting at the edges of their seats?

Good questions. And we tackle these and more in today’s expert interview when I had the opportunity to interview inspirational speaker, author and coach Fredrika Roberts (aka The Happiness Speaker) when she visited Dublin recently. Check out our chat when we look under the bonnet at why and how stories can help you to boost your emotional connection and resonance with any audience.

Awesome Storytelling Tips: The Secrets to Boosting Your Emotional Connection With Any Audience

Listen is as we discuss:

• How stories can reach places facts rarely will
• The secrets to bringing your ideas to life through stories
• Where to look for ingredients that’ll add zip to your tales
• What you can learn from master of creepy books Stephen King
• Why Rome wasn’t built in a day and it pays to limber up
• The perils of not feeling comfortable in your skin
• Why Darren LaCroix’s is a fan of CSI hit squads and you should too
• And more

Over to You

What, if any, challenges have you experienced when choosing or making the most of stories in your talks?

What lessons could you share from speakers you think have cracked the art of awesome storytelling?