When you tell a story, do you either remain glued down to one spot, or pace aimlessly?
Speaking is both content and delivery. By choreographing your story ‘script’ on the platform, the audience will remember what they saw when you said it.
After all, isn’t that what we, as speakers, want… to be remembered and repeated?
To involve your audience in what you are saying, it takes more than hearing your words. To experience your stories, they must be invited and placed into your scenes so they can re-live them with you.
Why do we choreograph a story script?
- to create a lasting picture of a scene: Create scenes with characters, dialogue, and actions in the listeners’ minds which they can easily visualize. Then at the end of your speech, when you refer to something you have already said, just call it back by gesturing to the spots where you spoke about it. Doing this will evoke emotion in your audience because they will be able to "see" in their minds the story you had talked about in that specific spot.(i.e.Do you recall the frustartion I felt when...?)
- to establish congruency between words and actions: (traveling or action words) They give you a valid reason to move: “I walked to my car and ...” “And I physically retreated in fear!” “1 saw the chair across the room and collapsed…” “I boldly took a few steps forward...”
- to create timelines/sequencing events: Because we read from left to right in our western culture, do this from the audience’s perspective- their right is their future, their left is their past; center stage is present for both speaker and audience. Split the platform to show different spots for the past, the present and the future
-“ If you could have seen me four months ago, you would have seen ...” PAST
- “Right at this moment, I...” “Now fast forward 3 years...” “And over the next 2 decades, I changed from being ...” PAST to PRESENT
- “In the future, I would like to move towards...” Gesture or move to FUTURE location
When re-living your stories, do not remain glued to one spot or wander aimlessly as your movements will be meaningless and distracting to the audience. Pay attention to choreographing your script; in other words, move with purpose and intention on the platform.
