The Science of Storytelling by Will Storr. A British author, journalist and former photographer, Will has been a contributing editor at Esquire and GQ Australia.
Will has been featured in The Guardian Weekend, The Telegraph Magazine, The Times Magazine, The Observer Magazine, and The Sunday Times. Will has been named New Journalist of the Year, Feature Writer of the Year and has won a National Press Club award for excellence.
Storytelling is the true cornerstone of a presenter. Since the launch of PowerPoint this narrative shifted to the digital era. In fact, too many presenters forgot about storytelling and spent too much time playing with fonts and bullets.
In order to recapture the audience, it is critical for anyone to understand the craft of storytelling. There have been a good set of references that can guide you to present effectively. Most ask you to move beyond fiddling with fonts and bullets.
Will is able to move this effort forward. So this book reveals the essence of storytelling as a science, focusing on a topic that not many others have attempted. So Will is going deep inside our minds to help us learn how to achieve via psychological research and neuroscience to deliver powerful stories.
Look at science to improve
This is a very interesting approach that many have not previously considered, there is indeed a science to the art of storytelling. Will ultimately shows how to move beyond infotainment but to strive to make a deep connection with our audiences and understand our role in delivering the story to everyone in the room.
Story versus sales pitch
This can be a confusing path for the everyday sales person. Will drives that stories are really about who we are versus saying what you must in order to achieve your quarterly sales targets. In this case the book can shape little of your sales pitch. So, if we focus on his science of storytelling, it will be a critical component of who we are as individuals. This moves us out of the presentation room and into a more personal delivery.
Learn a lost art
In conclusion, Storytelling very much today remains a lost art. I am constantly seeking out powerful storytellers who use Powerpoint only to compliment their narrative. So what is different that other well written books? By diving into the psychology and neurology of telling stories you learn how to really impact your story and ultimately your audience.