I was lucky to grow up in a large family with a lot of cousins. When we were small children visiting my grandparents, my grandmother reigned over “Orange Hour” at 9:00 pm.
At 9:00 pm on the dot, my grandmother would get comfortable in her chair, and all of the grandchildren would sit on the floor in a cluster around her. We would wait breathlessly for the clock to chime nine times for the hour.
Grandmother would then begin to slowly peel oranges. She would pass out the orange sections to every grandchild as she sat in her chair and told us stories.
No grandchild ever wanted to be late to Orange Hour! It was our special time with our Grandmother.
But of course, what made Orange Hour so special wasn’t the oranges. It was the storytelling. Grandmother had the knack of it, and would keep me and all my cousins wholly absorbed till Orange Hour ended and we were all sent to bed.
The Secret of Storytelling
In business presentations and meetings, storytelling can also be highly effective. Stories help people connect with our message and remember what we say.
How can we get that knack my grandmother had? What makes some people great storytellers and others ho-hum? The secret can be outlined with the acronym PACE.
P – Purpose
We must know the purpose to the story we are telling. Generally, a story has one of three purposes: 1) to entertain, 2) to educate, or 3) to persuade. Knowing our purpose – what we are trying to achieve by telling our story – helps us determine how the story unfolds.
Most of the time in business, the purpose of our stories will be to educate or to persuade. We may want to do one of those in an entertaining way, but the main purpose is usually not mere entertainment.
Going back to Orange Hour: My grandmother’s true Purpose was not just to entertain us, but to persuade us to go to bed without complaint!
A – Attention
Imagine walking into a movie five minutes late. For a while, you would probably feel a bit confused or out of sync with the movie. The same thing happens when we are telling a story. It is imperative that we get the attention of our audience from the very beginning, so that they are with us as we progress through our story.
We can do this in any number of ways. Simply saying “Let me tell you a story,” can be a surprisingly powerful way to begin. We all learn at a young age that storytime is interesting. Pause for just a moment after saying it, to make sure everyone is with you – then begin.
Another way to get people’s attention is to have a great opening line. It is no coincidence that in the “Peanuts” cartoons, Snoopy always began his stories with “It was a dark and stormy night…” The imagery is powerful, and draws people in.
When I was a child, all we had to see was Grandmother gathering up several oranges, and she had our Attention!
C – Capture
Even during a very short story, audience members’ minds can wander. It is the storyteller’s job to capture those minds and draw them back in. We can do this using our voice and our physical presence.
Our voices are powerful tools for telling stories. We can speak softly at times and loudly at others. We can speak slowly or rapidly. We can speak in a high- or low-pitched tone. Variation in these three vocal qualities not only saves us from a flat, monotonous delivery – it can be very effective at drawing our audience back in. The next time you are trying to make an important point in a story, try slowing down and speaking very softly. Watch your audience actually lean in to you!
Our physical presence can also be used as a tool. If we are in front of an audience, we need to make eye contact with each individual person. For large audiences, we need to make eye contact with multiple people in each section of the room. This may mean moving around the room.
We also want to use effective gesturing to help energize our story. Gesturing is not merely movement, but intentional movement that serves to emphasize or illustrate our words. Gestures are like the bold, italic, and underline effects of speech!
My grandmother used her voice in a wonderful way to keep us engaged. She also used the activity of doling out sections of orange to Capture our minds, keeping us involved and focused on her.
E – Ending
A great story requires a great ending. The last novel I read was 795 pages long, written by an extremely successful author who has consistently been one of my favorites. I read all 795 pages with rapt attention, wondering how the author was going to tie everything together and resolve the plot.
Unfortunately, I am still wondering.
In my opinion, the novel just ended – like The Sopranos! Remember how upset the fan base of that television show was when the series ended by just going to a black screen? I felt the same way – almost angry that I had read 795 pages.
Do not do that with your stories! Have a powerful ending. Don’t leave your audience guessing, or disappointed – unless they are just disappointed that the story is over!
Tie your story cleanly and directly to what you are trying to achieve. What were you educating your audience on? What were you persuading your audience to do? Be specific and be clear when you tie your story to your purpose.
For instance, the Ending to my grandmother’s stories at Orange Hour always somehow tied into what we kids were going to do tomorrow, and getting to sleep so we would be ready for it. The woman was a storytelling genius!
PACE is the Key!
Keeping this PACE model in mind will enhance your storytelling and help you keep your audience engaged. Practice focusing on Purpose, Attention, Capture, and Ending to craft and tell stories that will effectively get your message across and make a lasting impression.
Baker Communications offers leading edge sales training solutions for sales makers and sales managers that will help you address the goals and achieve the outcomes addressed in this article. For more information about how your organization can achieve immediate and lasting behavior change that will uncover new opportunities, drive revenue, and boost your bottom line, click here.
