7 Storytelling Techniques Used by the Most Inspiring TED Presenters
All seven presenters were great storytellers. As someone with stage fright, it amazes me how well they were all able to express themselves vividly and appear to genuinely enjoy doing it. The first video by Richard Turere showed that even if you are presenting in a language you are not fluent in, it is still possible to deliver your message. He used pictures to illustrate and express his story. By incorporating images, it helps listeners to visualize the situation he is describing in words.
From all the presenters, I found Leslie Morgan Steiner, who talked about domestic violence, and Dananjaya Hettiarachchi, who talked about his life, to have caught my attention the most. Between these two speakers, I noticed that they used four similar storytelling techniques. Firstly, they both start the story with a physical prop to capture their audience’s attention. Secondly, they share their life experiences to connect with the audience. Hearing something familiar or relatable helps to keep the audience engaged as it is easier to imagine the story. Thirdly, they add humor to their narratives, which also maintains the audience’s attention and lightens the tone of the story. Lastly, they do not address the crowd directly but instead speak as if they are having a one-on-one conversation with you. Additionally, Leslie Morgan introduced an element of suspense and tension by gradually revealing plot twists in her story. They both executed the techniques very well that I was able to hear their message without feeling tired. After their presentation, I left feeling genuinely pleased to have had the opportunity to hear it.
My experience using story telling techniques
When I tell a story, I naturally incorporate personal experiences to connect with the listener. I find it’s the most effective way to convey the message without becoming dull and to capture the audience’s attention. If I sense that something might be difficult to explain or visualize, I use pictures to help them understand. However, I struggle with maintaining the audience’s engagement because I don’t address each individual directly.
I recognize that speaking as if I’m having a one-on-one conversation with each audience member is a challenging technique to master, especially for someone like me who experiences stage fright. My inclination is to simply say what I need to say and move on. However, I understand that mastering this skill requires a great deal of practice, as I also need to work on overcoming my stage fright.
Moving forward, I plan to incorporate humor into my storytelling to enhance audience engagement. I believe it’s a simple yet effective step towards capturing the audience’s attention.
Twine experience
Twine is a tool for telling interactive, nonlinear stories. It presents you with scenarios, and you choose actions or choices. Depending on your selection, the story changes accordingly. Creating a story myself was quite challenging. I’m not very creative when it comes to generating stories, but once I had a script, using the Twine tool to create the interface and make the story interactive was fun and satisfying.
While using Twine, it reminded me of a game called Detroit: Become Human, which is an interactive game where the choices you make affect the outcome. Some players choose the best option to try to get the best outcome, while others try to select choices they wouldn’t usually make in real life out of curiosity to see how they will affect the story.
I think a branched narrative like Twine allows learners to engage with the content, as their choices affect the outcome. It creates an opportunity for learners to think carefully and analyze situations. When I play games like this, I often try other options to explore different outcomes and perspectives. I reflect on the choices and consider whether the choice I made was better or not.
Here a link to my Twine:
https://maikacoleen.itch.io/twine
Hello Maika!
What a great blog post! 🙂 I was also very impressed by the three presenters you mentioned. As someone with English as a second language, I always find it more challenging to fully deliver my thoughts clearly in front of a huge crowd, as I get nervous and tend to lose my train of thought. Personal stories are easier, as I am basically an expert in my own story, know it best, and understand the feelings I had when it happened.
I thought your Twine story was very cool; you incorporated branches that connect to some options but not others. It was fun to go back and click different options to see where they lead.
I agree with your view of twine, and I am challenging when creating a multi -ending story. I also had no idea at the beginning, and wrote a boring story. But after writing a script, I created an attractive story. At the same time, the branches created by twine can allow readers to integrate into the story, and read the story carefully to choose the ending of their expectations.
Hey Maika!
I love your analysis on twine. I agree that I also try different choices I may not usually choose when using this type of branched story. I think the low risk yet mysterious aspect to these types of games allows me to choose differently than I usually would!
I like your Twine story, and totally agree with your ideas. However, i hope i can have a good experience in the story choice choosing, because its a little bit hard for me. For your blog, it looks perfect, and i also got some fresh idea in my mind that can help me improve my skills.