Lead with intrigue

Every time I talk to people about speaking and storytelling there is one word that I love to use. I love to use it both because it's accurate, but also because we don't get to use it much in day-to-day conversation.

That word is....INTRIGUE!

You don't have to be a infamous spy or thriller writer to use it, but you don't often hear it in polite conversation. But it describes what every public speaker should be striving for in their talks. Create intrigue! Make the people you're talking to want to hear how your story ends. Even if you are just having a status meeting try to find some little bit of information to hold back. Make people lean forward in their chairs. Even if it's just something as basic as, "At the end of the meeting I'm going to share some lessons the team learned over the past week." Is that a who-dun-it worthy of Alfred Hitchcock, no, but it doesn't have to be. If you're doing a main stage talk at a conference you can build in more drama, but always try to give people a reason to stay to the end.

#training #communication #storytelling #itmspeakers

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