Speaker Series Webinar: “Powerful Storytelling”

• We tend to focus on numbers, but they are not memorable 
  • Numbers come with bias
• Humanize the story to make it more memorable so that your story influences both the rational and emotional sides of the brain
• Use personal experience and numbers to reduce confusion and bias 

Seinfeld is a television show about nothing but it captured the hearts of Americans because of its relatability to the “dailyness of life.”

Therefore, use smaller details to capture audiences!

Keep it simple

• Structure your story to maximize details in a short period of time
• Humans have an attention span of 8 or 9 seconds, similar to a goldfish

Here are some examples of moments you can use to evoke emotion in your story:

• When you experienced hope
• When you raised your voice
• Where you helped someone
• Where you laughed so hard
• When you were relieved
• An unexpected surprise
• A moment of hard work
• Where you were embarrassed
• Something you wish you could keep forever
• Something you would rather forget
• When you overcame a challenge

Fill in the blanks with your first, last, best, and worst experiences related to your patient experience that can help you connect your experience to your audience. The mini stories that come from this experience can be used together or as stand alone anecdotes.

• Put yourself into the shoes of your audience 
• If you know the background of someone, emphasize points in your story that could make it more interesting or engaging to them
• Ex: Someone who works for the FDA will want to know things about treatment, diagnosis, and recovery, rather than insurance issues. 

Think of creating your story like building a house. Fill in the pieces of your story using the imagery of the house below. Build from the Foundation up, eventually getting to the roof which is where you will get to the core of your story, hopefully prompting a response from the listener.

Example analogy: Find the umbrella and build the story underneath it

To refine your core message, try writing it in 6 words

Example: For Sale: baby shoes. Never Worn.

Focus on how you open your story and memorize it

You can open with:

• “Imagine if….”
• A dramatic question
• A jarring event or quote
• A funny statement

Here is another storytelling template you can use:

1. The Inciting Event
2. Unsure Future
3. AHA Moment
4. The Way Forward*

Example:

*not every story has a happy ending so being honest is ok, it helps people stay engaged and makes your story more impactful

1. Can your message be supported with one vivid story?
2. Make them come to life with emotion from these events
3. A good technique is to use present tense

• GBS, CIDP, and MMN patient stories tend to include similar descriptive language which can build awareness around these conditions

• Words to include in your story might be: tingling, misdiagnosis, loneliness, exceptional, rare until it happens to you, courage, new normal, change, isolating, hope recovery, empower, relapse, slowly, community, uncertainty, family pressure

Here are some tips to make a satisfying close:

• If you opened with a question, answer it at the close
• Link parts of the story together with your core message
• Invite your audience to be a part of your journey – call to action

1. Organize your story into 3 main parts (we are more likely to memorize messages in 3’s)
2. Each message should have one specific message, cut additional examples
3. Write out your presentation and incorporate power and power descriptions
4. Invite someone else to read it and make suggestions
5. Time your presentation

Authentic Speakers were considered to be 1.3x more trustworthy and 1.3x more persuasive

Take the VIA Values in Action Character Strengths quiz

Then use your top strengths to revise your story

Steer Away from using ChatGPT because:

• It eliminates the emotion by sounding like a cover letter
• Your tone, cadence, and experience are your strengths
• Does not help you lean into your voice

• Plan pauses into your story
• Pauses help eliminate filler words
• A slower pace makes you sound more confident
• Set a timer, record yourself, stay around 150 words/min

Your body language matters the most when talking to someone 

• 55% of communication is body language, 38% is voice/tone and, 7% is spoken words 
• Have good eye contact, stand up straight, and show you are engaged 

Exercise: stand in front of the mirror and do a power pose for two minutes before speaking, it will reset your brain and emotions

• You have a unique experience and story
• You are more than a data point

You can:

• Uniquely contribute to raising awareness about GBS, CIDP, MMN, and variants
• Educate the public and health care professionals about your condition and help with improving diagnosis and treatment
• Provide needed community to others facing the same diagnosis