“Stories are amazing and powerful because they can resonate with people depending on their needs and experiences and speak truths we need to hear in that moment in time.” – Sue Monk Kidd
Are you selective about the stories you choose to tell?
Do you avoid sharing experiences where you struggled, felt foolish or maybe appeared too boastful?
Perhaps, you simply can’t imagine anyone would be interested?
We all have stories to tell, yet storytelling is a skill to be learned and practiced. Watch the video as I share 3 secrets to unleash the power that lives within your story. Learn how your story can be used to impact and change many lives.
Stories are one of the most powerful tools you can use to engage and connect with your audience. Like a movie, a well-crafted story paints a picture and creates an emotional connection.
During a recent Facebook Live, the editor and founder of Creative Consulting Services, Deborah Ferdinand shared that all stories have a beginning, a middle and an end. Let’s use this same three-step structure to engage and enroll your audience.
Beginning- “Your mess is like my mess.”
Dr. Venus Opal Reese, calls this section your MESS. This is when you describe to the audience a time when life became messy. A time when nothing seemed to be working and you most likely felt out of control. As you tell this section of your story, I encourage you to be vulnerable, share your mistakes, poor choices, thoughts, disappointments, hurts and fears. Audience members will relate as they connect your experience to their personal struggles, imperfections and moments when they also felt vulnerable.
Middle- “Enough is enough!”
In this section of your story, you decide that something needs to change. A conscious choice is made to give up the struggle and suffering associated with being a victim. You are now stepping into the transformation and beginning to look at your life from a whole new perspective. The content of your story now focuses on the insights and lessons you’ve learned through your experience. This allows the audience to see your courage and strengths, while also allowing them to identify with your character and the person you are becoming. Audience members who have experienced similar struggles will be left feeling you intimately understand their pain, disappointments and challenges. A new level of intimacy and trust is beginning to develop.
End- “If you did it, then you can show me how!”
You have now moved from a place of adversity and are in the process of becoming the Hero in your life. Your authentic storytelling has allowed the audience to experience your fall from grace as well as the courage necessary to pick yourself up and rise again! Those who identify with your journey will consider working with you because they trust that your skills, talents and life experiences have given you the knowledge to help them solve their problems. You have effectively edified yourself with grace, authenticity and honesty
We all have powerful stories. I invite you to select a story where your life became messy. Take the time to discover and articulate your courageous move from victim to hero. Consider how you could use this story to impact, influence and inspire your audience?