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Great orators, like Martin Luther King, John F. Kennedy and Winston Churchill had the unique ability to capture one’s mind and heart. It was more than their words. It was also their conviction. Intonation. Volume. Attitude. And body language.

We continue our dialogue with Doug Stevenson, who has been helping folks deliver dynamite speeches for years.

Doug is the creator of “The Story Theater Method” and “The 21-Step How to Write and Deliver a Dynamite Speech System.”

Jeff Blackman: What’s the impact of a “great” speech?

Doug Stevenson: It’s an experience. First and foremost is the message. A great speech has an inspiring message that makes the listener feel better about themselves and the world around them. It gives them hope and some tools to work with. But equally important is the way the message is conveyed. Emotion is the fast lane to the brain. If the speaker doesn’t connect emotionally with their audience, it’s just words.

JB: That emotional connection often happens when a “speaker” becomes a “storyteller.” How does that transformation happen?

DS: Here are the nine steps of story structure:

1. Set the Scene: Create the context within which the story takes place.

2. Introduce the characters: Describe the main characters so your listener can see and relate to them.

3. Begin the journey: What’s the goal or the task to be accomplished?

4. Encounter the obstacle: Something or someone gets in your way or impedes your progress. What is it?

5. Overcome the obstacle: Describe in vivid detail HOW you overcame the obstacle. Organize the progression of thoughts, decisions, reactions and actions in a linear fashion.

6. Resolve the story: Let us know how things worked out.

7. Make the point: What’s the point or the lesson learned? Be concise, one point for each story. Try to make your point with a Phrase That Pays.

8. Ask the question: Ask a “YOU” question that engages and involves your listener, i.e., “How about you?”

9. Restate the Phrase That Pays or the point.

JB: While those stories can be entertaining, how can they also motivate or inspire action?

DS: The word “motivation” comes from the Latin word “Motivus”, which means “to move.” When we’re moved by something we’ve experienced, we’re referring to a stirring of emotion. To motivate someone you must make them feel the power of your ideas and concepts emotionally. It’s not enough for them to think your ideas are provocative. Success takes place when they’re moved to action. Most speakers at a very core level, want to help other people. It’s a calling. A calling that comes from some deeper place than ego or the desire to get rich or the need to be appreciated. It comes from a desire to fulfill our soul’s purpose.

Performing at my highest level of excellence now includes challenging people to rise to their highest level of excellence. I’ve got to make them uncomfortable with being “average.” I want them to fulfill their soul’s purpose. I’ve become a hybrid speaker, coach, teacher, wisdom-sharer and friend.

When Martin Luther King delivered his “I Have A Dream” speech, he dug into the depths of his soul for his words. And then delivered them with passion and fervor.

He provided a vision of a more desirable future. He left the “how-to” to be determined by others. He knew the “how to” was not his job. His job was to motivate.

JB: How are the skills of a talented, charismatic orator like King, applicable to any “speaker” who’s simply trying to impact their customers, team or community?

DS: The best leaders challenge their employees, direct reports or audience members to think and act. They take ideas and principles, develop them in new and creative ways and deliver them with passion. Successful speakers are successful leaders. If leaders are to become more successful, they must also learn how to be “motivational” speakers.

In his book, “The Leadership Engine”, Noel Tichy writes about “a teachable point of view.” He defines this as “both a sign that a person has clear ideas and values and a tool that enables him or her to communicate those ideas and values to others.” A point of view is how you see a situation or the solution to a problem or dilemma. Creating a teachable point of view requires you determine what you believe, and also how you want to deliver those beliefs.

Andy Grove of Intel Corporation, author of “Only The Paranoid Survive” said, “I’m an engineer and a manager, but I have always had an urge to teach, to share with others what I’ve figured out for myself.”

JB: So at its simplest level... great speakers are great teachers?

DS: It’s not enough to throw a bunch of radical ideas into the atmosphere and expect they’ll change people’s mindsets. Speakers and leaders have to be good and convincing teachers to change mindsets and create action. That means less presentation time is devoted to reciting lists and more time is spent drilling down into the deeper meaning of a few ideas.

For an idea or concept to become actionable, it must be taught, not simply spoken. This is where many speakers and leaders fail their audiences. They create PowerPoint slides with an overdose of bullet-points, and recite the text of slide after slide, in a monotonous and numbing fashion. To think this will work is delusional. And lazy!

People don’t change their minds by listening. They change through persuasion. They must be won over. Convinced. That requires a creative approach to speaking and teaching. To become a dynamite teacher and speaker, be sure to visit storytheater.net or dougstevenson.com.

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Jeff Blackman is a speaker, author, success coach, broadcaster and lawyer who lives part-time on Marco Island. His clients call him a “business-growth specialist.” Send an e-mail to jeff@jeffblackman.com or go to www.jeffblackman.com to subscribe to his free e-letter.