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Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will die. Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn’t matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle; when the sun comes up, you’d better be running.

Your Storytelling Style Matters
While some speakers/trainers may use the above metaphor to make or emphasize a point, I use it to embrace the whole presentation. When I use this metaphor, I take my audience to an African jungle–slowly and clearly. Everyone’s eyes are attentive and loud laughter or deep breathing follows. My audience sits up when I say, “Our world is like a jungle. We are either running for food or from being food,” and from there I begin to work into other points in my speech that build on this metaphor.

Construct Your Key Points
Now that my audience is ready to learn how their world is a “jungle” I begin by taking the parable apart. Considering where this story is taking place and how this is the natural habitat of both the lion and the gazelle, I can encourage listeners to know their “jungle.” “After all,” I say, “if this is your natural environment you should know its safe spots and its hidden dangers.” This provides the perfect spot for audience participation to discuss what is happening in their industry or jungle, now and as they look to the future.

A View From a Gazelle’s Perspective
Another area of the parable I explore is the action of running itself. After all, the parable stresses the importance of this for both the lion and the gazelle. From this metaphor I am able to present my points on concentration and the need to not let your career run aimlessly without direction. I stress how the lion chooses one gazelle as the target, positions itself and begins running. The gazelle does the same, but focuses on the direction of safety and doesn’t dally with other distractions while it is being chased.

The chase also brings to mind other considerations, such as determination and the importance of changing course if necessary, but never giving up. I encourage my audience to see it from either the gazelle’s or the lion’s point of view.

Next, I point out that all chases must end and that it’s just as important to know when you have reached your goal. This opens a discussion on what signs might indicate that a personal goal has been reached.

At this point I have taken a simple chase scene and pulled quite a few talking points for my presentation, and there are still plenty of areas to explore. I consider how lions will sometimes hunt in packs and talk about the need for teamwork. I talk about knowing when you are safe and what to do with the time when you find you are not running, a time when you can be honing your skills and preparing for the next “run.”

The end result is a presentation rich with images that imprints the message or messages in audience members’ heads. And all that’s required to accomplish this is the right story or parable along with a plan to take it to the next level of creativity.

Vincent Muli Wa Kituku, PhD, is president of Kituku and Associates. He provides businesses with “spears” to motivate employees, serve customers and increase profits within a short time. He can be reached at (208) 376-8724,