Galactic Activity 7

There are several types of stories which can be used in a business situation. The task is to deliver a particular type of story. See the expanded description for the different types of stories.
OR
Deliver a story that starts with a letter of the alphabet that you have been given. It needs to be a story about a person, animal, fruit, city or place

Activity 7 – Create a story

Duration: 3-4 mins
Applicable Streams: Personal Challenge, Inspiration/Motivation, Humour

Aim

In this activity you are aiming to:

Entertain your audience with a story, with or without humour.

Objectives

To do this, you will need to keep the following objectives in mind:

  1. Use the letter you have been given.
  2. Design a story based on your selection of a:
    • person,
    • animal,
    • fruit,
    • city or
    • place
      that starts with that letter, and clearly incorporate
      this into your speech.
  3. Tell a story with a beginning, a middle and an ending.

The Why…

Oftentimes when presenting we need to tell a story to demonstrate a point, or show our audience how something is applied in real life. Being able to tell and engaging story that has a beginning (providing context), a middle (the build up) and an end (the conclusion, moral or ‘point’ to the story), is a valuable skill that can be used in a variety of different settings.

This activity will build your skills in terms of:

  • using your creativity and imagination,
  • thinking on your feet, and
  • story-telling.

Where do I start?

Once you have been given the letter, quickly decide on a story that you are comfortable telling, that includes a person, animal, fruit, city or type of transportation that starts with that letter.

Decide on a structure

  • an opening (that will grab people’s attention)
  • a conclusion (that will deliver a punchline, moral, lesson or wow factor)

Start the story and be mindful of the time limits!

The How

Specific guidelines on how to tackle this activity.

You will be given a letter of the alphabet – and your task is to include a person, animal, fruit, city or type of transportation that starts with that letter – in a story about ‘what happened on the weekend’.

Variations:

  • 30 or 60 seconds notice, or
  • impromptu

Tips and traps

Tips:

  • Decide where you are taking this story (based on your structure) and stay on track.
  • Recognise the key elements of the story that need to be delivered so that the punchline ‘lands’.
  • Focus on Design, Delivery, Physiology.

Traps:

  • Rambling to fill in the time.
  • Using too much ‘filler’ (umm, arrrr).
  • Getting bogged down in the context and not leaving enough time for the punchline.
  • Not giving enough context so that the punchline doesn’t ‘land’.

 

Guidelines for Program Director:

This is a variation on an impromptu speech with a given topic. The Program Director or Chairperson gives a letter to the speaker to start crafting their speech.