Walt Disney was a brilliant story teller. Here are 5 communication lessons that you can learn from watching him in this video.
Lie #1: Just let your work speak for itself
Disney could have followed this adage, but instead he takes us behind the scenes to see why Walt Disney animation is the best animation in the world. After seeing this making of video I will never look at a Disney animation the same way—this is one of the ways he “keeps the magic alive”.
Lie #2: Don’t be negative about others
Just listen to the way Walt talks about the ‘old style of backgrounds’. With a few words he makes every other piece of animation feel second rate and old. Steve Jobs uses the same trick by labeling all non-Apple computers as “PCs”. This subtle framing allows the story teller to make a hero and a villain without saying so many words.
Lie #3: Keep it short
Walt Disney has no problem taking 8 minutes to tell his story—it’s engaging the whole time. The important thing isn’t that you keep it short, it’s that you ought to keep it engaging. Most people aren’t good story tellers because they don’t practice. So telling people to keep it short is really just another way of saying ‘you’ll only be engaging for a short time’.
Lie #4: Cut to the chase
The phrase itself comes from movies with chase scenes—this lie is saying that you ought to cut straight to the exciting part. Walt takes his time, he welcomes you to his office, shows you a blue print, let’s you see the ‘old way’ of animating, shows you the machinery, and only then shows you what the end product looks like. He doesn’t cut to the chase. He brings the viewer in and lets them be part of the chase.
Lie #5: Show, don’t tell
You’ve probably heard this colloquialism in a high school English class. The art of narration is very powerful, because it allows you to both show and tell. When you just show you allow the recipient to interpret what they see. If you show and tell you give the recipient a lens that they can look through. It helps to get the point you want across.
Conclusion
Good storytelling is powerful. Walt Disney used it to add ‘magic’ to animated films and theme parks. I love watching genius presenters like Walt Disney and Steve Jobs—they take everyday things like computers, movies, and phones and they add magic through story telling.
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