Your company is about to host a big, important event, and you need a speaker whom everyone in the room will remember. Where do you look first? Facebook? The black hole that is Google search results? That guy on the street corner who is always yelling into his megaphone?
Before you start searching outside your company, pause for a moment and look around you. Who do you see? What have they experienced? What unique perspectives do they offer?
The ideal speaker for your event may be sitting just a few feet away. Your employees are individuals with fascinating stories to share, and they can connect with your audience in a real and profound way.
Define Your Objective
You don’t want someone to speak just for the sake of killing time. What do you hope to communicate with this speech? What do you want your audience to take away from the experience? Clarify your intention and desired outcome before searching for speakers.
Listen for a Good Story
Compelling stories can come from unexpected places. Ask around and start conversations with employees at all levels of your company – not just those in senior positions.
What do you know about your sales reps, your customer service team, your research and development organization? Who has a story that reflects your company’s mission and values? Whose narrative captures your attention and transports you into their world? Find the stories that strike an emotional chord, that keep you curious, and that make you want to know how it all turns out.
Amplify Their Voice
Some people are born storytellers. And some need a little more help figuring out what to say (and how not to freeze up from their fear of public speaking).
When you find an employee with a great story to tell, work with them to craft a tale that will captivate your audience. No one wants to sit through a dry, distant “brand story.” Make it personal, engaging, and suspenseful. Research shows that the best stories resonate with us on emotional level, immersing us in the experiences and feelings of others. How can you bring the story and its characters to life? How can you show, not tell? How can you tie the story to a bigger message or goal?
Use the Right Tools
Take an incredible story to the next level by making it multidimensional. Pair the speaker’s words with sophisticated audio and visual technology techniques, and transform the audience into participants in the story. We scoff at mind-numbing slideshows and dreary corporate videos. Instead, we partner with storytellers to create absorbing presentations that capture the imagination and get the heart racing.
Contact L37 for inspired media production strategy.