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How to Tell a Story - Shaper Training, Dec 8
1. SHARE YOUR WHY, WIN SUPPORTERS, AND INSPIRE ACTION
Presented by Andrew Shirman
HOW TO TELL A STORY
2. Quick Intro
• Grew up in Illinois, studied in
Boston
• Taught two years in the
countryside of Yunnan
• Started Education In Sight and
Mantra
• Have spoken for TedX, Harvard,
Qinghua, Beida, and the World
Philanthropy Forum
• Have raised over $1,000,000
3. Quick Group Intro
Take 20 seconds to introduce yourself…
• What’s your name?
• Where are you from?
• What do you do in Beijing?
• What made you interested in joining the session today?
4. Opening
“A single death is a tragedy, a million deaths is a statistic”
“He who has a why can endure any how”
5. Today’s Goal
Learners will be able to identify the key components to a good story, and will be
able to tell a compelling story that inspires others to take action
6. Our Path to Amazing Stories
1. The Shape of Stories
2. Rules to Live By
3. Filling in the Details
4. Bringing it Together
8. Practicing Shapes
5 Minutes
With a partner, take an example of a story you both know, and together map the shape of that story.
After 5 minutes, we’ll do a short group share.
Examples: PIXAR and Disney films, Marvel movies, folk tales, television shows/episodes, famous
novels, Shawshank Redemption, Frozen, etc.
9. Step 1: Giving Your Story Shape
5-10 Minutes
Independently take the ‘cause’ you want to tell a story around, and start to give it a narrative arc. Feel
free to use the questions below to help pick out a single narrative to begin telling your story:
• When did you realize this activity was meaningful to
you?
• How did you get started on this passion?
• What’s the most important thing you learned while
participating in this?
• What happened recently with this passion that made
you smile? Be surprised? Be excited?
• What is something about this endeavour that pushed
you to the absolute edge?
• How are you different now compared to when you
started this activity?
• What was your lowest point while performing this
endeavour?
• How was someone else effected by your work in this
passion/activity/your decisions?
10. Step 2: Rules to Live By
(5 minutes)
• Good stories have high stakes
• It should have a beginning, a
middle, and an end
• It should have a point, not a
punchline
• Keep it short (1-4 minutes
MAX)
11. Step 3: Fill in the
Details (5 minutes)
• The more personal, the more
universal
• The best details are short, vivid,
and specific
• Use the senses: sights, smells,
touches, tastes, and sounds
13. Step 4: Bringing It All Together
10 Minutes
With a partner, start practicing your story. Tell it at least twice. Once to get it out. Twice to start
honing.
Rules:
Story Tellers – Don’t worry about getting it right the first time you tell it
Story Listeners – Pay attention to where a story loses momentum or you lose attention, take note.
If you have feedback, Share the positives first, and share areas for change second
14. Closing
• A good story gets better with repetition, LOTS of repetition.
• Watch your audience for cues.
• For entrepreneurs, don’t stop at one story. Have an arsenal.