Tuesday, September 21, 2010

STORYTELLING... The SUPER Skill (Episode 1)

When you learn English as a second language, they tell you there are 4 skills, right?
  • Reading
  • Writing
  • Listening
  • Speaking
And that’s pretty good to get you going. But as you advance, there is a 5th skill that comes in pretty handy.

Storytelling.

Why? For one thing, storytelling is the ability to tell stories. But it’s a little more than that. After all, language is communication. And in terms of communication, storytelling is the ability to tell something… anything in way that is organized, clear and maybe even a little interesting.
So what's anything? How about a situation, incident, anecdote, experience, idea, possibility, proposal, problem, solution. The point is... if you want to get passed talking about the weather for social situations or answering "yes", "no" or "check with Tom" when discussing work matters, you're going to need this extra skill.

But you don’t have to be William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens or Steven Spielberg to know how to tell a story. It’s simply a question of managing three basic elements:
  • Basic Story Structure

  • Fundamental Story Elements

  • Key Storytelling Language

That's why, storytelling is great for professionals using English to do any of the following:

  • Business Presentations

  • Sales

  • International Marketing

  • Social Media Communication

  • Applying for a Job

And the best part is that storytelling is a skill that helps any English User speak in short, effective and meaningful phrases. So it's actually easier than whatever you've done up to now when you wanted to tell or explain something important.

How's that for a happy ending?

So, coming up next... here on PLS English Users: How any user of English as a Second Language can apply Story Structure to organize information in a much more compelling way.

Stay tuned...

4 comments:

  1. This is a really excellent concept that is often overlooked.

    It is why ESL simulations that are based on a narrative structure succeed so well.

    Unfortunately, there are not a lot of interactive ESL simulations around?

    Would really like them for mobile phones so students could practice even text message simulations to participate in stories.

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  2. Hey there, Anonymous!

    If you're interested, we're developing a similiar product. Send us an e-mail to:

    plsenglishuser@gmail.com

    And we discuss it further.

    Take care!

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  3. I strongly agree on this... I believe Storytelling is completely neccessary in communication.. It is a very important skill for English students to develop.... so, just go for it guys! You will find an interesting way of talking that will help you to give great presentations!

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  4. Absolutely, Yamila... great for presentations, and equally great for small talk, negotiations, meetings and many situations in business where you need to "take" your listener on a journey in order to achieve your goals. After all, nobody remembers "bullet points", but most people remember a compelling story.

    ReplyDelete