Use Storytelling to pitch better

The Elements of Persuasion, by Richard Maxwell and Robert Dickman, the last book I discoverd, almost by change.What a treat!

Its subtitle : Use STORYTELLING to Pitch better, sell faster & win more business.

I could hardly put it down, but it is a book to study, to experiment, to read again, and again.

I just finished to go through it the first time, and already learned a lot.

They define a Story by Facts wrapped in Emotion. The emotions that make your facts stick in mind, and make the story great and enduring.

The 5 elements of a story they discuss in detail and with many exemples are:

1. The Passion with witch you tell it.
2. The Hero, vulnerable yet courageous having a goal, giving the point the view for the listener to identify, the 'entry point' in the story.
3. The Antagonist or Obstacle he faces and has to overcome, to fight through the conflict wich keeps the audience in the story. Locking it into the memory, the fight releasing emotions.
4. The Awerness point, aha, turning point, that helps winning the fight. We all inspire a positive outcome.
5. The Transformation, change of the hero, through the conflict and awereness.

Who end up being a leader they ask? And they answer: usually those who can effectively telling the right story.  In business, collectivity, or home even, we all have stories to tell!

And that are only from the first pages... then the book takes the five elements one by one and go in depth and explain, teach, suggest. It is a book worth having! And I found in it also many suggestions applicable to my Toastmasters International, speakers club and its members.