Anyone who tells a story owns an audience. Be it at the dinner table at a gathering, a lunchtime conversation with your colleague, or a presenter on stage.

Even the movies and drama you watch are stories themselves. So what’s the power behind a story?

Power of a story

Do not underestimate how much a story can influence you…

Stories are a powerful way of organizing and sharing individual experience and ideas. A carefully told story allows you to understand things better by putting things in context. You can then use your imagination and thought to put together a picture of the people, objects, places and events happening in the story. While doing so, your mind is working to explore and co-create shared realities with the storyteller, and drawing your own conclusions.

The power of a story is that strong – being able to communicate in imagery, capture emotions and to tap into your empathy.

The more we understand the power of a story, the more we are able to:

• Shape the stories that shape our lives, whether as an individual, or as part of a group.
• Build connections with others by valuing and sharing our stories with each other.
• Participate more actively in those real-life stories in which we are significant characters.
• Use our own stories and experiences to benefit and influence others.

Our Lives are made up of interconnected stories

Each of us has our own stories to tell, and our stories interconnect with others – whether through common characters, places, time points or even emotions. By sharing our stories, we invite each other into our worlds, which help to enhance our interconnectedness, shared awareness, and possibilities for fruitful interaction.

Stories are everywhere. As we learn the stories of people, cultures, plants, animals, objects, places and all the other things around us, we become aware that we’re woven into a vast contextual sea of stories. We learn the roles we play in the lives of other people and things, and the roles they play in our lives. It’s like we’re all part of one giant, intricately complex story that pulses with people and things intimately involved in the mutual unfolding of their lives.

How to be a good storyteller

· Know your story and your audience – to pick out the important parts of the story that relates to your audience especially.

· Speak with animation and emotion. Make your story ‘come alive’ – and work your audience’s emotions and imaginations.

· Mind your language – Choose words appropriately to convey the message or even suggest possibilities.

· Appropriate silences and pauses during the telling of a story – it helps to enhance the audience’s understanding of the story, and also to build anticipation in them.

So what are you waiting for? Go on, tell us a story!

Yours Sincerely,

Definition: Persuasion

Source: www. Dictionary.com

There are more ways than one to lead (a person) to your own standpoint. And the ability to do so – is in many ways, important and crucial in everyday.

Imagine the following scenarios with different scales of persuasion:

1. You are meeting your friend for a movie. He/she has rather different likings for movies. How to you make him/her listen to you and watch the movie you like instead?

2. You are at a meeting discussing about an event with your colleagues. Based on your previous experience, how do you convince the rest of them to abandon a bad idea (which they assume works)?

3. You meet with a client for the first time. How do you urge him to buy the product from you, and not anyone else? How do you make them think they’re getting the better end of the deal, while being in control at the same time?

The art of persuasion is subliminal – the principles, methods and tricks are simple and easy too. When used appropriately, it can empower you tremendously. People say “Yes” to you, take you as a friend, follow your lead and respect you.

There are a few pointers in a successful persuasion:

Body Language and Eye Contact

Always look into the eye when you talk to the person and observe his/her body language. Without realizing it ourselves, we give out signals to others, whether we are receptive to their suggestions and whether we are enjoying the conversation or not.

Conversational Hypnosis

Speak in the trance voice – take note of the emphasis, tonality, rhythm and smoothness of your voice when you talk. Carefully select words to use to steer the person in your direction.

The Influence of a Story

Stories are a great way of sharing (and influencing) people, through the experiences of yourself and others. A good storyteller is able to invoke emotions in the listener, and suggest possible course of action for the future, to their own advantage.

With the right persuasion techniques and power, you can relate yourself well to others. Such communication skills helps to reduce misunderstandings, build relationships, and of course to get people to agree with what you want (and get what you want!)

Yours Sincerely,