Tell stories which revolve around a sympathetic character, build tension, offer sufficient detail, and have a satisfying resolution.
According to TED Talks: The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking there are five core tools that speakers use:
- Connection
- Narration
- Explanation
- Persuasion
- Revelation
I’ve used a few blog posts to talk about connection, and now we move on to narration, or story-telling. This chapter of the book, not surprisingly, makes its point mainly by telling stories. The examples are powerful but can’t be summarized in a blog post without destroying them. But Anderson does share the four basics of every story:
- Base it on a character your audience can empathize with.
- Build tension, whether through curiosity, social intrigue, or actual danger.
- Offer the right level of detail. Too little and the story is not vivid. Too much and it gets bogged down.
- End with a satisfying resolution, whether funny (see here), moving, or revealing.
A lot of sermon illustrations could be redeemed by following these simple steps.
More articles in the Preaching Lessons from TED Talks series.
Tell stories which revolve around a sympathetic character, build tension, offer sufficient detail, and have a satisfying resolution.