by Doug Stevenson

Created on: February 15, 2007   Last Updated: April 13, 2007

As the waiters cleared the dessert plates from the banquet tables, Joanne, the VP of Sales, stepped to the podium and began the annual meeting. The CEO, Jeff Carlson, could feel the heat building under his collar. He wiped his sweaty palms on the linen napkin and took another sip of water to wet his cottonmouth lips.

Joanne welcomed everyone with charm and candor. She got a few laughs with a short story about the Region Three delivery truck that was impounded for parking illegally. Then came the moment when she introduced Jeff.

As he moved toward the podium, he felt time stand still. The room was dark except for the spotlight, which felt to Jeff like a heat lamp beaming on his face. He glanced down at his notes, made a funny comment about the driver of the truck, and then, with hands shaking almost uncontrollably, launched into his speech.

Afterward, as his mental acuity returned to normal, he asked his wife how he did. He really didn't know. It was as if he wasn't there during the speech, at least not as the confident and secure CEO that he knew himself to be.

Jeff knew instinctively that something was missing when he spoke in front of a group. After observing the confidence and poise of the guest speaker that followed him, he finally put a name to it: his power. In every other aspect of his life, he was a confident and powerful man. But when he stepped in front of a room full of people to speak, he lost connection to that power.

Does that happen to you? Do you feel the same level of confidence and power while giving a speech as you do while running your company or department? If not, it's time to learn an important skill that will make sure you retain your power on the platform: strategic storytelling.

Storytelling is a powerful leadership tool. It puts you in touch with your authentic power so you can motivate and inspire your audience. Professional speakers have learned how to turn storytelling into an art form. They know they can both connect with their audience and deliver vital messages using the power of storytelling.

Stories are the perfect form of communication working on many levels. Because they are inherently visual and stimulate the imagination, stories cause the non-linear right brain to get engaged; because the sequence of the story is linear, they cause the left linear brain to get engaged. Stories are emotional as well as educational, thus connecting the head and the heart. They are well received by auditory, visual, and kinesthetic learners because

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