by: Ben Katz
We included Andrew Stanton on our "Best Public Speakers List" because of his clear and concise language, humor and personal anecdotes, body language and strong gestures.
Andrew Stanton is a filmmaker and screenwriter at Pixar, known for writing and directing Finding Nemo, Toy Story and Wall-E, among others. Stanton is credited with being a member of the Pixar team which dominated the Best Animated Films at the Oscars, bringing in 11 trophies from 2003-2020.
We reviewed Andrew’s TED Talk, "The Clues to a Great Story", which offers a look at his storytelling process, and delivers key insights for storytellers in any field. Throughout his TED Talk, he demonstrates several communication skills that enhance his message and engage the audience effectively. Stanton uses structured messaging, has a relaxed physical presence, incorporates engaging and surprising content, and shares moving personal anecdotes.
What are the main communication takeaways?
Clear and Concise Language - Stanton begins with a simple premise: “Storytelling is joke telling.” He uses examples like this with accessible language to explain complex concepts about storytelling. Instead of relying on jargon or overly complicated allusions, he keeps his words simple and direct. He also breaks his message down into three main components, or “Story Commandments.” Why? Because three is memorable! Make me care, Unifying Rule of 2+2, Use What you know. This helps us as an audience stay hooked to the story, because we have a strong sense of its overarching structure.
Humor and Personal Anecdotes - Stanton excels at integrating personal stories, including his own experiences with creating films and his family relationships to demonstrate the principles of good storytelling. This not only makes his points more relatable, but also serves to keep the audience emotionally connected. The human element in storytelling creates a sense of authenticity, making Stanton’s message resonate on a deeper level. He shares struggles of growing up, and the present challenges of parenting his own children to help us understand why his films are impactful.
Physical Presence and Strong Gestures - Stanton’s physical presence is an essential part of his communication. He moves around the stage, using hand gestures and facial expressions to emphasize key points and create visual interest. His enthusiasm is conveyed not just through words, but through his body, helping to animate his message and convey his passion for storytelling. His arms stay open, and he often gestures to his torso, indicating his own emotional involvement in his message.
How could he improve?
Stay Connected with the Audience - Stanton at times relies too heavily on the teleprompter to stay on his message. Whenever he needs to read along with his talk, the energy falls. It is critical to maintain strong eye contact with your audience so that they feel included and engaged in your story.
Use a Top-Down Structure - While Stanton does offer slides to organize and support the structure of his talk, at times we aren't able to find the "chunks" or "buckets" of his message inside of the larger structure. This makes it more difficult to stay engaged in his larger point. It would have been more useful to create a top-down structure to help the audience understand the main components of his message.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Great leaders and speakers start with Speak by Design. Learn the techniques and build the skills with us. Speak by Design University is the only leadership communication program in the world that gives you access to self-paced learning, group coaching and training and, most importantly, private one-on-one coaching.
Learn more and register at http://www.speakbydesign.com/join