Storytelling – the one magic trick that works

My heart drops. I’m completely caught by surprise. Oh no. At 3:45 pm the MC says, ‘Don’t forget the theme for tonight’s Gala dinner is The Great Gatsby 1930s’.

And I realise I missed the original memo. I’m at the PSA Perth Convention and the gala is in a few hours! My soft gold dress carefully packed from Melbourne, is zero on point. I’m in a new city, pressed for time and even Amazon Prime can’t save the day.

And then I decide in the oldest human tradition to wing it.

 I wear the gold dress. I pretend if 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐺𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝐺𝑎𝑡𝑠𝑏𝑦 was written today, I’d add the exotic Indian character to the mix!

 But the one time in my life where I would NEVER, EVER, wing it is with any story or presentation I am making.

 With:

Every story

Every keynote

Every masterclass

I research, I research, and I research some more*. It does help that I am a research nerd! I draft, redraft, prepare, over-prepare, and prepare some more. I rehearse till it hurts. Every time.

But you would never know it. If it looks effortless on stage (and it does, modestly saying), that is why! And I know this is exactly what every professional speaker does.

Never fall for the myth of the natural born storyteller, or the presenter who claims to wing it. They are not being honest. Sorry, not sorry! Or they have forgotten the process that took them there. Behind every successful performance is a mountain of preparation taller than Mount Everest.

Don’t buy into the other misconception that overpreparing kills spontaneity—quite the opposite. Being thoroughly prepared frees you to be playful and spontaneous.

No matter how gifted, smart and quick-thinking you are, you will always do better and shine if you are well-prepared.

Being prepared means showing up differently for yourself and most importantly for your audience. On the day, no matter what happens, you know ‘you have got this’.

The work you put in screams, ‘I respect my audience’.

I know this is unsexy advice. It is not an easy, quick hack, instant fix, or fast cure. But it is the one magic trick that actually works!

If this sounds like the speaker you want to work with then let’s chat.

*In my research, I have detailed briefings with the event organiser, the client, their direct reports, and I always make sure I speak to at least 4 or 5 audience members. This allows me to get a range of perspectives and walk in my audience’s shoes.

**My team and I research the company, the industry, and the sector and look at global trends. Even if this is a keynote, I’ve delivered hundreds of times, I’ll still go through it again with a fine-tooth comb with this audience, this brief and the clients’ outcomes in mind.