The Invisible Skill Behind Every Memorable Speech/Keynote/Presentation: Inventional Thinking and the Power of Story Shaping

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Most people think of a great talk as something that’s discovered. Kinda like a diamond in the rough, buried deep within a life experience or tucked inside a personal story just waiting to be shared. It’s something that you search for, thinking that if you don’t find the sweet elixir of life you won’t have anything to contribute. 

But the truth? The best talks aren't found. They're built.

And they’re built using a skill that almost no one talks about: inventional thinking.

If you’ve never heard that term before, you’re not alone. But invention, in the classical rhetorical sense, is the most essential, most invisible, and most misunderstood part of creating a powerful talk.

What Is Invention in Rhetoric?

Invention (from the Latin inventio) is one of the five canons of classical rhetoric, and it doesn’t mean “to make something up.” It means to take the “stuff” around you and make something different. Think of the great inventors. They took the technology available to them and built something new. That’s invention and it’s the creative engine behind any good talk. It’s where you ask:

• What do I actually want the audience to believe, feel, or do?

• What kinds of stories, arguments, or evidence will help move them?

• How do I take the chaos of what I could say and shape it into what I should say?

  
  

Invention is the process of turning raw material, all the things that could be used in your talk like your experiences, insights, and ideas. Taking all that stuff and turning them into something intentional. Purposeful. Focused.

Without invention, you’re just telling stories. With invention, you’re shaping them into something that moves people.

Storytelling Is Common. Story Shaping Is Rare.

I’ve coached TEDx speakers, global keynoters, and leaders from six continents (still holding out hope for Antarctica). And one of the most common myths I run into is the belief that “if I just tell my story, the audience will get it.”

But storytelling isn’t enough.

Storytelling is often about recounting. What happened. What you felt. What it meant to you.

Story shaping, on the other hand, is rhetorical. It’s about how the audience is meant to hear it. It’s the act of taking those raw stories and shaping them with intent so they resonate, persuade, and move someone else to see the world differently.

Let me put it this way:

Storytelling is the memory of what happened.Story shaping is the architecture of meaning.

And that architecture? That’s invention at work.

A Talk Is Not a Diary Entry

Here’s where people get stuck: they think building a talk is just a matter of picking the most interesting thing that’s ever happened to them and talking about it. But a great talk is never just a confessional. It’s a building dedication.

That means you don’t start with “what’s my story?” You start with: “where am I trying to take the audience?”

Then, and only then, do you work backwards. You shape the story to guide them toward that destination in three ways: emotionally, intellectually, and imaginatively.

Invention in Action: A Simple Example

Say you want to give a talk about failure. You’ve had a big one. It changed you.

The average speaker tells the story like this:

“I failed. It was painful. But I learned a lot. Here’s what I learned.”

That’s storytelling.

But a speaker who uses invention, who shapes the message, asks:

“What kind of failure would be relatable to this audience? How do I show them something about themselves in the middle of my story? How can I make them feel stuck, then offer a shift?”

Maybe that means withholding the outcome for a bit longer. Maybe it means introducing a metaphor that crystallizes the throughline. Maybe it means skipping parts of the story that happened but don’t serve the message.

Invention doesn’t mean fabricating. It means filtering for effect.

Invention Is the Hidden Craft

When you see a talk go viral, or a room moved to silence, or a standing ovation at a keynote, it’s easy to think the speaker just “had it.” But I promise you: behind every standing ovation is a whiteboard covered in ideas, drafts in the trash, and a ruthless commitment to shaping the message.

The speech that looks effortless is always the product of invention.

And invention is NEVER improvised.

A Final Word for Speakers

If you’ve ever felt like you have something to say but don’t know how to say it, what you need isn’t more content.

What you need is invention.

Don’t just remember what happened. Shape what it means.Don’t chase a performance. Craft a perspective.Don’t just tell your story. Shape it to give someone else the shift they didn’t see coming.

Because when you start thinking like a builder, like an inventor, you don’t just make speeches.

You move people.