We’ve seen the advertisements – join the Police and get better work stories. It was a very effective ad campaign for the New Zealand Police.
Having stories about what we do at work, how we made a difference, saved the day, added value, or created a solution can make who we are and what we do more interesting and memorable.
Sharing these stories with our fellow members as part of our Weekly Presentations gives them stories to share about you with prospective referrals customers or partners.
Before we dive into how to include a story into your weekly presentation, lets quickly recap the other basics of our weekly presentation so they don’t get forgotten in our story telling.
The Basics
Like a great Sandwich, we need to have the basics like bread to make it work. Bread gives the Sandwich structure. Just having the filling makes it messy and hard to eat.
In BNI our Weekly Presentation basics are who you are, what you do, why you are good at it AND, the most important part and the most often left out part, the specific referral request.
Each week we need to tell our fellow members exactly who we want to be introduced to.
Facts Tell, Stories Sell
Our story is the filling in our Weekly Presentations, we might only have 20-40 seconds for it, but it still has its own structure.
Problem – what the problem was.
Structure – the start, middle and end of the story.
Emotion – this is the key; the problem is the least interesting part of the story. How did the client feel before and after?
Characterisation – the characters, the goodie (you), the baddie and the person with the problem.
Details – minimal details are needed here.
Solution – how it got resolved.
Like a good Sandwich, the right ingredients are key. A plain ham sandwich with the right mustard can be amazing but it’s never thrown together. Preparation and Practice are key to make you Weekly Presentation flow.
You are the Hero of the Story
How you saved the day, got the deal done, achieved the perfect result, added value, are all stories’ members will remember about you.
If they remember them, they can share them with referral prospects when promoting you.
