Jun
30
Storytelling Tip: How to find your stories
“I don’t have any good stories,” is a common reply I hear when I tell people I’m in the story business. I’ve never met a person who didn’t have a good story others could benefit from hearing. Your life is a series of stories. Every incident you are part of or you witness can be a story. The key is to choose ones that are interesting.
Start paying attention to small incidents happening around you every day. Did you see someone do a kind action for a coworker or a stranger? Did you embarrass yourself in public? Did something scary happen? Did you get an “aha” flash of insight about your life? Any time you stop and take notice of what’s happening – that’s an indicator you are in the midst of a good story. Use a little jotter notebook or your smart phone to remind yourself. Jot a few sentences down to remind yourself so you can go back later and craft your story.
Collect your stories first, then find the meaning in them. Over the years, working with my clients, I’ve found it’s much more difficult to find a story to make a specific point than it is to find stories first. Your best stories will help inform you of the points you need to make in your presentations. Over and over, I’ve found that personal and business stories help clarify my clients’ messages.
Here is something that happened to me not too long ago:
I was driving home from visiting my mother late Sunday afternoon. I was traveling south on Route 95 toward Washington, DC. The speed limit is 65 miles per hour and this day, everyone was driving fast at 70-75. As I entered the ramp onto the outer loop of the Capital Beltway, the traffic came to a dead stop. I slammed on my brakes and shuddered with relief that I didn’t hit the car ahead of me. Then I glanced in my rear view mirror and knew instantly that I was dead. A car was coming straight at me at full speed. I had no place to go. At the last instant, the driver veered into the next lane and missed me by inches. As she slowed and came up next to me, I could see she was upset. She raised her hands in an apology and mouthed, “I’m sorry.” I grinned back at her and gave her a thumbs-up that all was good.
This story informs me that I’ve made progress in my journey to transform myself into a positive person. In my early life, I would have been angry with the woman for scaring me. Now I am thrilled that I was only scared and not hurt. I could use this story in a presentation to illustrate how to shift from negative to positive thinking.
You don’t need to have a blockbuster story that could be an Oscar winning movie script. A small story about an everyday event that touches a universal chord can make a huge difference in your presentation. It will make your audience sit up, listen and feel connected to you and your message.
Start finding your stories.