When I introduce myself as a speaker at a conference or in a webinar I normally say something like ‘I have the privilege of working alongside L&D leaders and their teams shaping learning strategy and building the capability of L&D teams, helping them to respond to and consolidate shifts.’ I’ll do this using a slide that features my photo, awards and the logos of some of the organisations that I’ve worked with. At least it’s not long!
At Learning Technologies UK conference last week I tried something different – introducing myself and establishing rapport using a connection story. The first challenge was to identify an appropriate story – something that showed the audience that I understood their world, was relatable for them, and relevant to the topic. I wrote a first draft, audio recorded it and sent it to my storytelling coach. Based on his feedback I refined it further.
I was a lot happier with the final version, which I’ve shared below.
The key things I learned were:
- to speak less formally and use plainer language
- include emotion, discussing how I felt, particularly at the turning or key point in the story
- include visual details
2 comments
Joitske Hulsebosch
Hi Michelle I read your story before but I must say it is so much better in video!
A lesson for me in difference text and speech.
Michelle Ockers
I notice the difference between the spoken and written word all the time when I review the transcripts of my podcast. I always create a guest quote from each podcast episode to put onto artwork to promote the episode. I learnt early on that some editing is required to convert what the guest said to a more concise communication of their point. I also learnt to always check the quote with the guest before publishing it – just in case I’ve misunderstood what they said or they would like to refine it further.