Today, I attended a Women at Microsoft event where Mario Juarez shared tips for storytelling. Below, I share my key takeaways:

• Your approach and technique are important
• You must win your audience over
• Your job is to build a bridge of meaning and add value to your audience’s life
• It boils down to empathy

When it comes to storytelling, it becomes less about you and more about them.

Mario shares 6 tips below:

1. Define the impact: What are you trying to tell a story about? Why are you telling it?
2. Know your audience: What do they care about it (hint: it’s not you so leave your ego at the door)
3. Focus on experiences: What are your defining experiences that make you who you are today? How can these experience relate to other people?
4. Simplify it: How can you take your story and get it down to 6 words? (e.g. “For Sale. Baby Shoes. Never Worn.”)
5. Paint a picture: How can you make your story come to life with sensory language?
6. Get real: How are you delivering your story or presentation naturally?