Show don’t tell.
Mark Twain said something to the effect, “Don’t tell me the lady screamed. Bring her on stage and let her scream for me.”
Not every speaker can get away with it and perhaps not every talk will lend itself to bringing drama to your talk.
When you tell a story – act the part. When you bring in elements to your talk – personify them, give them legs and a voice.
Instead of saying, “As I looked down at my pc screen moments before starting my talk the computer died for no apparent reason.”
How about, “I stood behind the podium for a moment, triple checked that my pc and clicker were in sync when suddenly my PC for no good reason grabbed the power cord, strangled itself in an attempt to get to gloryland sooner than it was being called.” All while acting out the scene.
Related: 8 Highly Effective Habits of Cruise Ship Lecturers – Index
We gave the computer CPR, I opted for compressing the touch pad while asking the tech support to give it mouth-to-mouth. He declined. So, we switched roles. With appropriate actions.
Show your listeners. Don’t tell them and you will have a more lively as well as entertaining talk. And all the while you will not be compromising the integrity of the content.
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