Empathy

Empathy is the holy grail that is sought by storytellers. Most of us try to achieve that sense of empathy in the first sentence or two.  How about:
“When I was five years old I was afraid of thunder…”
or
“When I was fifteen years old I was accepted into Harvard…”
We can all remember back to our childhood [...]

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Where to start an anecdote

You start it at the beginning. Okay, where is the beginning.
The beginning is close to the start of the action. So let’s quickly de-construct a simple anecdote.
My grandson was asked by an elderly relative to programme a ring tone into her cell phone. For a joke he programmed in Tarzan’s jungle call. She tested the [...]

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Why use anecdote?

One of my problems as a speaker is that I try to cram too much information into one speech. Partly it’s because I want to share a lot about my topic. Partly it’s because I’m afraid of running out of material and having nothing left to say.
You’d think I might practice what I preach. What [...]

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Stories and Anecdotes

When people ask the difference between an anecdote and a story, the quick answer is that an anecdote is shorter than a story.
That is often, but not always, true. We’ve all heard speakers who can spin one anecdote out over twenty minutes and we’ve heard stories that are complete in 5 – 7 minutes.
My dictionary [...]

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Personal Anecdote 3

I was putting together an anecdote that took place in the early days of my teaching career. I had a decision to make about one of my students, a seven-year-old who had already amassed a poor reputation. My decision would probably affect his whole life. Should I follow all the strong evidence and treat him [...]

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Anecdotes in a Speech (2)

I was putting together a speech on the topic of honesty and it reminded me of a boss I had years ago. Let’s call him Ivan. Ivan was the most honest person I’ve ever known. I was in his office one day when his phone rang. Quickly he said, “Don’t go. It’ll just be City [...]

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Anecdotes in a Speech

(The first in a series)
“Yes,” she said, “I’d like to use anecdotes in my speech like he does, but nothing interesting ever happens in my life.”
Oh really? There might be a hermit somewhere who has absolutely nothing interesting happening in his life but for most of us, with families, jobs, hobbies, shopping, church, and/or school [...]

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