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1. Telling a false or untrue story, or someone else’s story that you tell as your own, thus instilling audience’s doubt, deception and denial of you as a credible authority on the topic.
2. Taking a long time to get into the body or conflict of the story and losing them before you even get into your story.
3. Telling a story with too many characters, events, scenes creating audience’s boredom, lack of interest and losing them in the details… ‘Condense to Connect’ … condense time, scenes, events, dialogue to make it shorter and clearer for your audience and hold their interest… state only what is necessary to drive your point home.
4. Telling a story with no inkling of a message, keeping the audience wondering why you are telling this story, what’s in it for them, and consequently, losing them.
5. Telling a story in narration sounding like a report and not create a balance between narration and dialogue ( characters' actual words spoken) missing a natural opportunity for uncovering humour! Telling the audience your thoughts aloud on the situation at the time endears them to you.
6. Telling a story with no emotional change in a character and his/her life… listeners must hear and see a positive emotional shift in a character for them to want to take action themselves; demonstrate non-verbal body language in re-living those shifts because of the positive results experinced in their life.
7. Telling a story and never touching base with your audience by interjecting rhetorical questions with pauses for them to ponder on their own life situations, obstacles, struggles., as in: "Can you relate to that? or How do you think I felt at that moment? How would you have reacted?"
8. Telling a story and leaving unanswered questions in the minds of the audience causing them to remain stuck at that point in your story and not move on with you.
9. Telling a story without creating different physical scenes on the platform confusing the audience re where and when an event took place.
Well, dear speaking colleague, of the above nine no-no’s in Storytelling, which essentials do you still need to adopt and nurture to become a masterful storyteller? Can you think of other no-no’s that you see speakers use and therefore create a disconnection with their audiences?
Until later, Successful Speaking to you!
Off to FL shortly! Offering a workshop in Naples at Toastmaster Academy on Nov. 20, 2019 
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