the master on story-telling

I periodically rave about This American Life on this blog. It's the best radio programme ever. And I say that despite my love for BBC Radio 4. And here's a video of him talking about story-telling. It's fantastic. And there's more here. via Presentation Zen.

The basic thought here; make sure you have both a good anecdote (sequence of events) and a good, meaningful 'moment of reflection' is perfect presentation advice.

Comments

[neil]

Have you listened to the recent TAL podcast on quiz shows? Particularly good. I was so gripped I had to stand in the street for an extra ten minutes to hear the end of the strange, moving story about the Irish guy who went on Who Wants to be a Millionaire.

[Christos]

I remember a teacher in School saying in order to make a good presentation you need
Preperation
Audience
Method
Purpose
Enthusiasm
Rehearsal
Structure...

So you need PAMPERS!

that;'s anoter interesting video really interesting Indeed!!

[Mrs Belmot]

This advice also applies for dinner parties. Fail to prepare (a good anecdote) and prepare to FAIL (as a raconteur around the dinner table).

A LOT more importantly, I've been using my CAD skills for good and have created an ONLINE birthday card for Russell! Look at this:
http://senduit.com/7b2b4d

In case you're watching in black and white, the icing on the cake is pink, the drink is a pint of Vimto and the platter contains either sausage rolls OR profiteroles, depending on what you like best.

That's the BEAUTY of Web You: it's EVERYTHING to everyone.

I know it's not your birthday today so DON'T bother to correct me, but everyone likes to get cards before the big day to relieve the nerves when the postman arrives.

Ha ha! Don't check inside for a 'fiver' - or you'll DEFINITELY be disappointed. Ha ha!

[russell]

For a perfect example of anecdote + moment of reflection go here:

http://www.cultureby.com/trilogy/2007/03/overheard_in_ne.html

[Ian M]

A time to reflect, and to make sense, is also important for people to remember things in their long term memory. Generating engagement without provoking reflection may not be enough to make it from short to long term memory. How many ads tell a story that demands a moment of reflection? (started me thinking here... http://brandseeksidea.blogspot.com/2007/03/long-term-memory-time-to-reflect.html)