A blind old man was sitting by the roadside, begging for money. Next to him on cardboard he had written, “I am blind. Please help me with some money.” Poor man! None of the passersby stopped to give him any money. A beautiful girl passed by and saw the cardboard. She turned it around, wrote some words on it and left. That was when a miracle started happening. Almost everyone who passed by began to donate a dollar or two to him. That same evening, the girl came by again. The man asked her, “My dear, what exactly did you write on my cardboard?” The girl smiled and said, “I said what you said but in a different way. I wrote, ‘This is such a beautiful day, but I cannot see it.’”

“I’m blind, please help me” was telling the truth, while “This is such a beautiful day, but I cannot see it,” tells a story. A truth is logical but emotionless. A story, on the other hand, is warm enough to touch any heart. You see, storytelling is a very powerful and convincing way of communicating. Indeed, a good storyteller can lead an audience through an emotional journey, laughing and crying along, and close the deal. Let me invite you to pick up three tips to be a good storyteller.

We will first take a look at the story content preparation, then how to tell a story that moves people and, finally, the preparation of a story’s props.

Three simple steps are all you need to tell a good story:

Step 1: Lay out and create a beautiful scenario. For example, “A bright and beautiful sunny day.”

Step 2: An unexpected twist to the scenario. Everyone has a beautiful picture emerging in their mind, and suddenly there comes the image of an old blind man begging at the roadside. He can neither see the bright, sunny sky, nor can he see the vigorous crowd around him. The image is so contrasting that the audience might start feeling gloomy with a hint of sympathy toward the old man.

Step 3: A happy ending. Influenced by what the girl had written on the cardboard, people started to give money to the old man. The old man was delighted and thanked the girl.

Now that your story content is ready, we will learn how to tell a story well. First, speak with your heart to the extent you are moved by your own story. Second, speak dynamically. When you master the way that you handle your intonation, the volume and pitch of your voice, and the flow of emotion, you will bring your audience into the scene as if they are the leading characters themselves. Third, speak with your body. Body language can enhance the flow of the story and capture the attention of your clients. Finally, speak with your eyes. Look into the eyes of your clients as you speak. As you pause, your eye contact during a moment of silence is bound to leave a deep impact on your clients emotionally.

Last, we will look into the preparation of your storytelling props. Props are the evidence of your story that leave no room for your clients to be skeptical about its authenticity. Props can be anything from a photo of a person, a medical bill or even a thank-you note from a client whom you have helped through the claims process.

So, what kind of stories shall we tell in a sales cycle to touch the hearts of our customers? There is only one answer and that is genuine stories. All you need to do is to share the details of an incident truthfully. You can share every detail, such as the time and place where the incident took place or other details that matter, and be mindful to keep the leading character anonymous.

“How many stories shall I prepare?” you may ask. Well, you only need ONE good story. Get one story ready for each type of insurance. Before you have your own story to tell, you can always borrow someone else’s story, and make sure to tell it better than anyone else.

Esther Hu connects with her clients through impactful storytelling. Hu acquired more than 700 clients over the past 11 years, and she especially credits her success to her ability to touch clients’ hearts’ with memorable stories.