Becoming a great storyteller only requires three steps
Step 1: Have a story
Step 2: Tell it often
Step 3: Keep the parts that work, dump the rest
Rinse & repeat.
Sure there are numerous devilish details and yes I appear to have somewhat simplified it. But as with writing a book (or taking a journey) it begins with the first step. In this instance having a story.
Usually its at this point I find our minds goes blank. What story?
Of course you have a story. In fact I bet you have tens of stories (maybe even 100s), but we’ll begin small. Think of THE story you find yourself telling often.
This could be about your first job. Worst boss. Best boss. Your first roommate. The best/worst first date or customer experience.
My own is when I got a Japanese customer mad enough to berate me in public!
One way to ensure you always have a story, is to begin to build a list of all the stories you already tell. And you do tell stories all the time, though you may not think of them that way. They may be vignettes, that one time when you searched for your glasses (or iPhone) even while it was on your head (or pocket). Here are likely some of the times you already tell stories
- When you meet a friend (or date) for a drink
- When you are at a party (event, tradeshow)
- Why you are late to a meeting (or with a deliverable)
- When you explain to your team why your idea rocks
- When you argue why something is not going to work, as its been tried before
- What you did over the Christmas/Thanksgiving break or on your vacation
Begin jotting these stories down – just a line (“how audio demo bombed at Apple”)
Even if you did this once a day, before you know it, you’ll have tens or even hundreds of stories.
And you’d have mastered step 1 (Have a story) of becoming a great storyteller!
