Storytelling - Words, Song and Dance

When you are getting ready to deliver a workshop, a lecture or a presentation, what do you spend the most time preparing?

Chances are you spend the most time preparing what you are going to say. In fact, apart from your slides and handouts, which are just notes to enhance or supplement what you are going to say, many of us spend 100% of our time on this aspect of our presentations.

Yet a huge percentage of our message and our impact comes from not WHAT we say, but HOW we say it - our body language, and our tone.

Great storytellers practice their delivery in detail:
* where and how long to pause
* words to stress
* phrases or elements that are whispered, shouted, or just said
* when it is appropriate to add physical movements or acting to draw the audience in
* when to use facial expressions to enhance the story

Not only that, but a story teller is acutely aware of their audience and uses feedback to modify their story telling. So why not think like a storyteller for your next presentation and spend a little more time on HOW you deliver it, as well as WHAT you will say?