I often get feedback like “You need to move on the stage” or “Your gestures need to be bigger” at Toastmasters. In the beginning of my Toastmasters years, those suggestions confused me. I understand the benefit of moving on the stage and being animated with big gestures, but if they don’t support my story, what’s the point?
If my words are strong and my story is captivating, I can stand still to tell my story.
I’ve always believed that. But as I kept getting the same feedback over and over, I started wondering if I might be totally wrong. Maybe I need to move on the stage from left to right without a reason. Maybe I need to exaggerate my body gestures.
Then I realized what I have been trying to achieve is storytelling while the suggestions that I’ve received from Toastmasters are for presentations. The delivery style is totally different from each other. Because presentations are designed to inform, they need bigger movements and exaggerations to keep audience’s attention.
On the other hand, storytelling doesn’t need any of that because when a story is captivating, it put our whole brain to work.
Which style are you pursuing for?
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