
Storytelling superstars know that the most powerful word in your story is the last word you leave your audience with.
This final word holds infinite power and I refer to it as a ‘zing word’ — a word bursting with potential and excitement. Imagine metaphorically touching a zing word and experiencing the fizz of champagne.🥂 Words like hope, earth, joy.
Comedians understand this concept well; they deliver their funniest punchlines on a zing word, guaranteeing laughs.
To borrow from jazz composer Duke Ellington’s hit from the 1930s, ‘It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that ZING’.
This is very important – the zing word cannot be any business jargon. I’m saying a hard no to business buzzwords. No matter how good the rest of your story is, ending on a business cliche destroys your story.
Using a zing word or placing it as the concluding word of your story amplifies its impact.⚡One of my clients ended with: ‘That day I got the gift of feedback‘. Two crucial words here: gift and feedback. Gift is the zing word.
So, I suggested changing the ending to finish on the zing.
Compare these two ending:
That day I got the gift of feedback.
Vs
That day feedback was my gift. Zing, Zing, Zing!
Not every story has a zing word that can be conveniently placed at the end. Be careful not to sound like Yoda from Star Wars in your pursuit of a zing finish! It can feel corny.
But even in the darkest of stories, you can conclude with a word that instills hope in your audience.
With your next story, challenge yourself to end with a zing word. It will make your story fizz like a glass of perfectly chilled champagne.
What are some of your favourite zing words? Please comment I love hearing from you. One of mine is love. ❤️

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