How Can Storytelling and Analogies Be Used to Effectively Engage with an Audience? Presentation Review 12: Jennifer DePascale

Do you struggle with fear, doubt and worry in your public speaking? Do you find it difficult to connect with your audience and deliver presentations that leave a lasting, positive, unforgettable impact? If yes, then let's dive in the world of public speaking and presentation skills with your host, Eric Edmeads. Welcome to the Unforgettable Podcast with guest host David Wood.

My name is David T.S. wood with my co host, Eric Edmeads. Eric, we're back to the speaker reviews. And what I love about this one here is it's so easy, I find, with speakers and trainers to get on stage and assume that the audience knows what you're talking about or speak in their own language. And she does a really good job where she says something and she corrects herself and she makes sure that everyone in the room understands what. Because she used the term that not everyone would know and she explains it. And that's such a nuance that I love.

Yeah. That it's a valuable thing. I think we've talked about that maybe in episode one or two, that really connecting with the audience, for example, not using American sports metaphors when you're speaking in Europe or defining what's going on. And that's a very important skill to have.

Yeah. Or adding. You know, I remember when I talked in India, just, you know, bringing cricket and the cricket captain's name into my hook into the opening, and the place went nuts. I almost got a standing ovation just because I understood their culture. Right. So it's so important.

Good move.

So let's sit back and enjoy Jennifer, and we'll chat about it afterwards.

So I just saw a meme this afternoon that said, I'm not really a control freak, but could you do it my way? Hi, everyone. My name is Jen and I'm a recovering control freak. And I think Eric just planted those two random mic drops in front of me on purpose. So I was in the delivery room starting to have some contractions, And I didn't know how to handle it. I was trying to push down the pain. I was trying to control it. I was trying to manage it, and it wouldn't go away. I was breathing, I was concentrating, I was pushing. I was doing everything I could to make the pain go away, but this kind of pain was different. You can't push it down. You can't make it go away. You have to face it and you have to own it. So a nurse comes in and she asked me a question. She said, on a scale of 1 to 10, how bad is it? And I thought I have no idea. I've never given birth before. I don't have anything to relate to this. This is brand new for me. All I have is my own experience. And I just. I just kept pushing. I just kept trying to make it go away. I just kept trying to control it until I gave up. And I had them call the anesthesiologist and bring the epidural. It was time to numb it because I couldn't do it anymore. Fast forward. I'm in the labor room again for the fourth time, and the same thing. I was up all night. I was tired. The contractions were coming, and nothing I could do was working to control them. This time, the nurse came in and asked the same question. She said, on a scale of 1 to 10, how bad is the pain? And at this point, I'm annoyed. You know, four children, you guys keep asking this question, and I still don't know because do you ever really know what a 10 is? Can it always get worse? Even though I've had babies now and I have an idea, but it can always get worse. And I said, I don't know. I'm a three. And she stopped and she looked me in the eye and she said, girl, you're like a nine. A nine.a nine. A9. It got me thinking. How many times in my life had I thought I was at one level on the pain scale? But maybe it was really somewhere else. How was I so disconnected from my body that I didn't understand how to read it? Maybe when I was in middle school and my brother used to tease me and he was vicious. He called me fat probably every day, and it hurt. Middle school's tough. We're trying to figure out who we are. We're trying to find our way. Maybe those comments weren't so much a two. Maybe they were more like a seven. And when my parents just told me to brush it off and not think about it and not worry about it, maybe that wasn't a four. Maybe that was an eight. And when I was in sixth grade and this boy signed my yearbook and he said, have a good summer, Jen. P.S. slim fast works. And for those of you who don't understand what SlimFast is, it's a. It's a diet drink for a sixth grader to lose weight. Maybe the pain of that. Maybe it wasn't a three like I thought it was. Maybe it was an eight. What that nurse did for me that day was she gave me a reference point. Because whenever we're in any kind of pain, all we Ever know is our experience. That's all we have. And in that moment, she gave me something to compare it to, to see my pain, to hear it, to feel it. What all of you have done this week at Speaker Academy, those of you who opened your hearts and you shared vulnerable stories. Vicki, when you told us about your stutter shaft, when you told us about your body issues, that was so relatable for me. I might need the name of your therapist. Every time you share your story with someone else, you give them a reference point. They can connect to their pain and they can feel where they're at, and it gives them light, it gives them awareness to let them know where they are and where they have to go. Thank you, Jennifer. I really love how you are comfortable with your pauses and how they really enhance your speech. It gave us a chance where I'm almost, like, hanging on to hear what your next word is. And so it was really engaging. Good job.

Thank you, Jennifer. You're one of the few people I have a history with, but there's a number of things I want to talk about something very small. First. It's very easy for speakers to assume they say things, but when you use the slim, fast analogy, then explained it, it was so clever because a lot of people wouldn't. And then people are trying to catch up with what you just said, and especially in a multilingual audience. So I really like that, and it's very, very subtle, but I. I really enjoy those things. But what I really loved is how clever this was. Most people would go straight to the pain, straight to their story. But for you to lead your physical pain, especially through birth, because every man and every woman in the world has had that experience, typically. Right. Because if they've had children and then lead it to something as important as a brother, making fun of you and making fun of your weight, it's such a clever journey, and I really enjoyed that. And then the last thing you do, I just want to talk about how you connected with the audience there, and you use someone's name and you. And you. You made them the star of this story as well. I thought that was very special, too. Thanks.

Thank you.

How did it feel?

Good.

It did feel good, didn't it? I really want to commend you on handling it. You know, I think people probably have at least an idea of. Of how frightening it must be if I drop a mic on somebody, you guys, Is it not? How did you like that, Tony? No problem. No problem. All right, so. But the thing is, you might Think about that from the perspective of how it impacts that person. But what many of you haven't thought about is how it impacts the person who's sitting on bat, on deck, who's sitting, waiting. It is tough when that happens. And you handle that really well, unfazed, walked in and utilized it. You utilized it like the control freak. That was awesome. And then, then you went in and delivered a powerful, well delivered, well constructed, easy to listen to, and of course, poignant message. It was very, very good. Thanks very much.

Thank you.

You know what? I, again, what she did so well is this connection with the audience. And I think, you know, the old adage of putting the lights up high and looking across people's heads and, you know, pretending everyone's night, all that stuff is such a nonsense, right? Because it really is a real conversation, like you and I having right now is about a real connection. And that's the same on the stage. And some people mix that one up.

Right? Yeah, yeah. There's no question. She, she also did something. I think everybody that we've reviewed is doing this, but I really like the way she made the message, and that is that. I guess my metaphor for it is if you've ever been driving along in a car, no, gps, phone's dead, and you're a little lost, and immediately what you're starting to look around for is any familiar thing, any thing that lets you know that you might be on track. And what I think she showed us with this story is that sometimes our stories are that signpost for somebody who's feeling lost. You know, somebody's out there and they're feeling lost in their business, or they're feeling lost in their family, they're feeling lost in their relationship. And then they hear a story like that and they go, oh, oh, I'm not lost. I'm just on a side road, you know, and there's a moral here and there's a lesson to be had. And I think she did that so very well and then made the point of that at the end.

Yeah. I remember hearing years ago, someone said to me, you know, when someone discovers and lives their purpose, when they find their voice, it will directly and indirectly allow 10,000 other people to find theirs. And I think that's what's really important about, you know, the speaker nation is that, you know, the ability to find and tell our story and share our story and the impact that your story will have as you, you know, you dust it off and you, you learn these skills and you share your stories with the world. We're really, really excited to hear them.

So that's it for today's episode of Unforgettable. Head on over to itunes or wherever you listen and subscribe to the show. One lucky listener every single week who posts a review on itunes will win a chance in the grand prize drawing to win a private $25,000 VIP day with Eric Edmeads himself. Be sure to head on over to unforgettable show and pick up a free copy of Eric's gift and join us on the next episode.

RA.