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A few years
ago, I had an amazing experience. A regional conference was held in Raleigh,
NC that included seven stakes, thousands of people, and two Apostles of
Jesus Christ. Elder Richard G. Scott and President Thomas S. Monson were
in attendance, along with Area President Dale Miller. Because I was serving
as Young Men's president in my ward, I was invited to attend a four-hour
leadership meeting that involved these three speakers. There were over
1000 listeners in the audience. As the various speakers shared their messages,
each listener gave their full attention for hours, mostly without complaint.
All three
leaders gave inspiring talks designed to help us be more effective in
our leadership responsibilities. They both conveyed their messages with
power and inspiration. The highlight of the day for me, however, was during
the third hour of the conference. In order to understand why this talk
was close to my heart, you should know that I teach public speaking courses
for a living. As I listened to President Monson speak, I heard him follow
the model of public speaking that I try to ingrain into young, impressionable
minds that come through Fayetteville Technical Community College. To have
that kind of validation of my teaching style is truly a gift. A key characteristic
of President Monson's speaking style, and one reason that he is a favorite
speaker for many church members is his use of stories to convey important
messages.
Because telling
stories during talks in church is a fairly common practice, I think that
sharing pointers for using stories in our talks might be a good idea.
First I'll talk about why stories are good, and then I'll give some tips
for using stories effectively.
Stories: What do
they have to offer?
Before
we discuss how to use stories in talks, we need to talk about why stories
are good to use in talks. Some people do not appreciate the sharing of
personal experiences. One member of the church who attended the regional
conference commented that he "expected more from the next President
of the church." Why not quote scripture and expound on important
doctrines? Nothing is wrong with the old "brimstone" method,
but studies have shown that putting ideas into a context that people can
relate to makes it easier for them to understand the content of the message
(Gregory, 2002). Also, people are more willing to listen when the speaker
tells a story than simply standing up and spitting out information.
Church is
not the only place where people are realizing this, either. The Harvard
Business Review (1998) reported that 3-M and other companies use stories
to communicate strategic plans to top officials. 3-M even teaches it's
executives how to tell stories. What is the reasoning behind this trend?
Stories are easier to remember, they show relationships more effectively
than the traditional bullet-point list, and you can tell when the point
has been made.
Sacrament
meeting is not a business meeting at 3-M, but the same concepts apply.
If the point you are trying to communicate is important, then help your
audience to remember it. So, five rules follow for those who want to incorporate
stories into their next talk.
© John
W. Edwards, II 2002
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5 Great Storytelling Tips > Page 1,
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