I used to be a terrible storyteller.
Then in high school, my best friend Jeff Howell listened to me tell a story that was truly hilarious.
He sat there, deadpan, and said, “boy, that story could have been a lot funnier.”
He was right.
I could palpably feel the lack of connection with my audience, all of whom were friends willing to listen and laugh along.
They were unmoved.
It simply didn’t land.
Jeff said, “Look, bring the energy. Match your energy to the story. It doesn’t matter what the story is… you have to deliver it with enthusiasm!”
Later, I understood that Jeff wasn’t speaking about monotonically shouting at my audience. That’s not what people are looking for, but a variable display – a dynamic accordion – of vitality that drives the story forward, pauses for a breath, and then leaps again.
Sometimes by inches, sometimes by miles.
Your audience is looking a variable display of emotion and drive, a dynamic accordion of vitality, that drives the story forward, pauses for a breath, and then leaps again.
That, I have learned, is the delivery method that works.
I practice this most often with spoken stories, emulating Jim Dale, that brilliant narrator of the Harry Potter series, to the best of my ability.
But you can even modulate your delivery right here on the written page.
Line breaks, punctuation, imagery… there are a number of devices you can bring to any story, whether it is written, oral, video, or on-stage.
Practice dynamism. Use the accordion.
Your audience will thank you.