How can you tell when the story you’re telling is too long?
A tough question perhaps.
The answer is – when you feel like it’s too long.
Ask your gut. More often than not it will tell you when you are rambling. And some guts can speak pretty loudly, too!
The problem comes when you don’t listen or don’t want to listen to your gut feeling.
We generally know when our story is missing the point, when we have lost our audience. And if you can’t know, you really are a lousy speaker, or just don’t care.
A good speaker will have a repertoire of stories to get their point across in the event one or more story is not working.
Related: Good Storytelling Talks WITH Not TO an Audience
Make sure your story has a point.
A good rule of thumb:
If you have tell your audience the point of your story, you didn’t do a very good job of telling the story.
The point should be obvious.
A speaker should never have to say, “I am really excited to be here.” Excitement should be evident in the actions of the speaker.
The point of your story should be obvious as well.
Need help getting your story just right for your next gig?
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