Character development in Storytelling! 3 Techniques to make your story WAY more interesting

WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER THE MOST FROM YOUR FAVOURITE MOVIE? Is it what happened, or who it happened to? I'll bet it is a little bit of both. But I'll also bet that you have a more vivid memory of the who than the what. That is because every story whether it is in a novel, a movie, a cartoon or a speech needs characters. Every story needs actors—agents that do stuff. No characters, no story. It is as simple as that.

Very likely, during public speaking, the speaker (you) will be a character in the story. But other than you, there will be characters in your story that add to the richness of the story. Often it is these other characters that make the story really compelling… Interesting characters make for interesting stories. And they cannot be interesting if they are not developed.

This is why novelists spend a lot time thinking about, and executing character development in their stories. Without it, the literary work would not work!

No characters, no story. It is as simple as that... Interesting characters make for interesting stories.

But writing a 400-page novel is one thing, and telling a short but powerful story is another. For one, time is a big constraint. The novelist can dedicate dozens of pages packed with picturesque descriptions to paint an interesting portrait of their characters. They can do this because when the reader picked up that 400-page book, they entered an implicit commitment to dedicate their time and attention for the time it takes to read and enjoy the novel's story. Not so with speeches.

The implicit contract between an audience and a speaker is very different—usually involving much shorter time spans. Try spending 5 minutes describing a person's face in a speech like you could in a novel and you'd have no faces left in the audience by the time you were done. In other words, your audience is not sticking around long enough for a novel-length screed. You have to capture and keep their attention quickly and effectively.

So it is clear you need stories. And it is clear those stories need interesting characters. But it is not always clear how a speaker can develop story characters effectively and efficiently in a relatively short speech.

That is why, in this article I share with you 3 practical character development techniques that I use and teach my clients to help them make their stories more compelling and captivating. Let us begin.

Image by Rudy and Peter Skitterians from Pixabay

Character development technique #1 - The quick backstory

A lot can be covered with a backstory. Choose the backstory well, present it well and it can set up your character very effectively. For example, say you wanted to describe an important character in your story - your tough and scruffy uncle Greg, say. Well, you could describe uncle Greg as "tough and scruffy". But you could do better.

Let's say that uncle Greg had wrestled while in high school and spent the last ten years working as a seaman, where the wrestling didn't stop. Now that is a solid backstory and is much more effective than just saying he was "rough and scruffy". The audience instantly creates a portrait of this man in their imaginations which, as I covered in this article, is much more powerful than you just telling them what it is.

With this backstory, everything your uncle does now is in the light of his backstory. Was he mean? Well, think about what life was like working as a seaman. Was he boisterous and loud? Well, think about what life was like working as a seaman. What you have done masterfully is to trigger the audience's confirmation bias (which I covered in this article) and they start doing the work of character development for you. This is so effective when done well that it will amaze you when you try it.

Character development technique #2 - Physicality and Voice

How your character moves, stands, walks etc can be very telling of who they are. Even without words. You can use this to enrich your story. Imagine how uncle Greg would move. How would he laugh? How would he speak? Does he have an accent of some kind? Well, use those elements when you can.Not only will this will help distinguish him from the other characters in your story, but it will make your story more engaging and immersive as well.

For example, every time he speaks, you could adopt a certain posture, facial expression, volume or rhythm of speaking to non-verbally indicate uncle Greg.

Just for contrast, imagine Aunt Emilia. I will describe how I could use physicality to develop her character and you imagine what you think about her. OK here we go...

I elongate my neck vertically. I raise my chin slightly, I pull my shoulders back and make them appear a bit more narrow. I also drop them and elongate my limbs and begin to do a slow cat walk. And just for good measure, I speak in a musical lilt with an English accent.

Now, what can you guess about Aunt Emilia? I imagine you have built up a whole story in your mind. Good job. And thank you.

That is how powerful physicality can be in character development. And voice? Well, you know more than anyone else, how much (you think) you can tell about a person from their accent or overall manner of speaking. Are they smart, educated, childish, neurotic, stoned? So much information coming from just their voice. Combine this with physicality and you can convey reams of information within seconds.

In fact, this is one advantage the speaker/story performer has over the writer. It takes much longer to describe physicality than it does to just show it. And so, you, as a speaker can communicate very powerfully using this one skill.

This is one advantage the speaker/story performer has over the writer. It takes much longer to describe physicality than it does to just show it.

Character development technique #3 - Dialogue

This character development technique is one of the more sophisticated. It needs more writing skill than the other 2 and works best when combined with them. This technique involves conveying information about a character based on what they say. It works best when what is said is unexpected and either incredibly profound or incredibly stupid or mean. In other words, it works best in extremes.

For example, when speaking about the value of cultivating relationships in our personal and professional lives, I often tell the story of being a teenager going off to university in a different land. I talk about being sad about how I had already started to drift from my closest friends in secondary school. I was especially sad about being separated my best friend, Yemi, who had become like a brother. I was mourning this and lamenting to my mother.

"It's hard mom. Things are changing so fast. I will miss my friends and I will miss Yemi most of all." After listening patiently, my mom placed her hand on the back of my shoulder, and replied:

My son, 20 children cannot play together for 20 years.

Develop the character, develop the story, persuade with ease

As you start to apply these techniques to your storytelling, have fun. Mix and match but if this new to you, start slow. Try using one technique like physicality only for a while until you get comfortable with it. It can be as subtle or over-the-top as your speaking style and speaking context will allow.

Speaking of speaking context, you don't need a big stage to try this. You can use it in one-on-one storytelling or with small groups of friends or family you are familiar with. And then build up to more complex combinations in more formal settings. The more you speak and apply these techniques, the better you will become. Over time, you will find your audience completely enraptured and your power to persuade them with storytelling soar to new heights.

Until the next article, speak with skill.