Authenticity Matters More Than Expressiveness in Storytelling

What do you do if you aren’t a super “expressive” person? Can you still tell a story? This is a huge misconception that I need to clear up. The belief that if you’re not super animated, talk with your hands, or have an overly expressive face, you can’t tell a story is wrong. In fact, some of the stories that get the best response come from people who are typically pretty dry — maybe they’re the analytics person or the CFO. It’s so unexpected that the audience goes wild for it.

Here’s the thing to remember: telling stories enables you to tell them your way, with your personality. Storytelling isn’t acting. What makes stories effective is their authenticity, both in content and delivery. Your story will be better the more yourself you are. This is true whether you are calm, cool, and collected or over-the-top enthusiastic.

If you think stories in presentations are not something you can use because you’re not “whatever” enough, let that go. Share a story in the way only you can and prepare to be amazed at how well the audience will respond.