Does it ever feel strange to refer to a presentation as simply, a “speech?”
Perhaps that’s because we’ve moved from an oral past in which the word “speech” sufficed into a multi-media future in which it doesn’t quite sum up all that happens during a presentation. In our post on Wednesday, we traced the history of storytelling from the spoken word, to the written word, to a new exciting age of narrative.
In an article on Wired, author of The Art of Immersion, Frank Rose wrote that under the influence of the internet, “a new type of narrative is emerging, one that’s told through many media at once in a way that’s nonlinear, participatory and above all, immersive.” Let’s break down the components Rose outlines to understand how storytelling has changed in today’s world.
Multi-media
When you work, how many forms of communication are at your fingertips? These days we are practically inundated with different ways to share stories. Phones, computers, television, movies, novels, songs, social media, photography, and the list goes on. We can’t escape stories even if we wanted to. Like it or not, we live in a multi-media world. It has become standard to process information more quickly via many channels. That said, presentations and stories these days need to employ multiple channels to engage an audience living in a multi-media world. The compelling narrative of today makes use of traditional storytelling techniques as well as innovative technology.
Nonlinear
Traditionally we liked stories to flow in a straight line, from beginning to end. However, we now see a large number of stories which jump around, shaking off the linear format. Think about most movies by Quentin Tarantino or TV shows like Lost or This is Us. Even reading on the internet has become nonlinear. We jump around via hyperlinks, so that our path to the end of anything we read is not steady or predictable. Because we are growing accustomed to stories that don’t move predictably through time along an expected route, this opens the doors for more creative presentations. The old story line of introduction, preview, body, review, conclusion is more open to interpretation than it has ever been before.
Participatory
Audience members of today want to participate. We long to carve out a role for ourselves. Think of how fans dress in costume to visit Hogwarts at Universal Studios or to go see the latest movie in the Star Wars franchise. This is what Rose refers to as the blurring between reality and fiction. We’ve grown up now on the genre of “reality television.” This entertainment phenomenon ushered in a form of storytelling that wasn’t quite fact but also wasn’t quite fiction. We even take words created for fictional worlds and use them to describe our own, very real, lives. In this way, we demonstrate our desire to become part of the narratives being told. Speakers of today must realize they are talking to audience members who want to be cast in the narrative of the presentation.
Immersive
The narrative of today is immersive. It is sometimes referred to as “deep media . . . meaning that you can use it to drill down as deeply as you like about anything you want to know about.” It has multiple layers. What used to be just a story in a book, now becomes a franchise with video games, movies, spinoff stories, online communities, fan tours, and merchandise. These days, “getting lost in a story” means something quite different. We don’t shut the outside world out to concentrate on a story. Instead, we buy into a narrative experience. Today’s storytellers and presenters have to think beyond the plot into the world they are creating. For an audience used to deep media, how can we create immersive, experiential presentations?
The story is still a beloved form of human communication. But we are expanding it’s borders to include many forms of media. Storytellers of today are coloring outside of the lines with nonlinear plot development. And audience members are participating and immersing themselves in the narrative like never before. It’s an exciting time to be a storyteller. Where will “Once upon a time…” take us next?
Ethos3 can help you create compelling narratives and stunning visuals for your next presentation. Get in touch with us now.
