William Lee, left, and Rick Patrick, right, of the performance group, “Talkingstick” (Photo: Helena Kibicka)This post is part of my ongoing effort to glean useful career skills from attending more arts and cultural events.
William Lee and Rick Patrick are the co-creators of “Talkingstick,” a performance series that is part of the increasingly popular storytelling movement where people stand up before a live audience and tell stories. I know Master Lee (his stage name) and Mr. Patrick because we play poker together, and I’ve noticed something interesting about them: As experienced storytellers, they are so familiar with spotting exaggeration and lies that they can quickly identify a bluff in a poker game.
It is well established that being a good storyteller is a useful skill in careers (and not just for journalists and poker players). We need to tell stories all the time — to position ourselves in the job market, to pitch a new business idea to investors, to explain why a failure was actually a success, and so on.
I recently attended a “Talkingstick” show and sat down with Master Lee and Mr. Patrick to learn some of the techniques they use to tell good stories. Here’s what I learned:
1. Keep it simple. The brain gets overwhelmed when trying to process too much information.
2. Openings and closings are very important. When Master Lee and Mr. Patrick organize their shows, they make sure to begin and end the evenings with their strongest material since this is often what stays with the listener. That is the same reason skilled public speakers often memorize the beginning and ending of a speech but allow themselves to improvise more in the middle.
3. Be mindful of your story’s spine. If your story has six parts, all six parts must be essential. Beware of tangents: if something goes too far astray, you will probably lose your audience’s attention.
4. Make sure not to alienate your audience. When speaking about delicate subjects or things that have the potential to offend, carefully plan your approach. Mr. Patrick tells a story about a pedophile priest in his hometown, but he has crafted the story in a way that draws listeners in before he reveals the sensitive details. “When I was 15, something happened in my hometown that you don’t mention,” he begins. Later he draws the audience in further by adding, “You all know you had one in your hometown, too.”
5. Tell the truth. According to Mr. Patrick and Master Lee, if you are not telling the truth, listeners will know. Even stand-up comics — who are permitted exaggeration — perform best when their material stems from the truth. Failure to make comfortable eye contact (usually by looking away or looking too long) or providing too much information are two common tip-offs that someone is not telling the truth. These might come in handy for calling someone’s bluff at the poker table. But in business, things can be a little more subtle. “A certain amount of lying is ingrained in the business world,” Mr. Patrick said. “We’ve all heard ‘everything is fine’ right before the company’s demise.” In those instances, it’s a good idea to look for an excess of jargon. Remember, good stories can be told in simple language.
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