Time to Tell Us a Story

In any interview, the more you can include stories and examples that people can relate to, the more effective your points are likely to be.They will make your message much more quotable. Rather than telling us that your customers appreciate a particular product feature, you could tell us about a particular person you were talking to, and how in specific terms they benefited. It’s about putting yourself in readers or viewers’ shoes. Rather than saying ‘the economy is developing very fast in China’, a point anyone could make, perhaps you can say “The pace of change in China is extraordinarily rapid at the moment – I’ve just come back from a trip to Shanghai, and there’s a huge difference compared to my last visit five years ago, you should see ..,” then go on to paint a picture of what you observed with your own eyes. Personal stories like this are more quotable, and they also boost your credibility as someone who really does know what they are talking about, as opposed to someone who just sits behind their desk all day and pretends to know. More difficult during the pandemic, we appreciate, but you get the point. (Adapted from the book The M-Factor by Tom Maddocks)