Storytelling: Revealing Yourself

The second reason most business leaders resist including stories in their business speeches is that they want to keep private things private. They hear the word 'story' and think they have to let the audience behind their privacy screen.

While stories must be your own--that is, from your own life and experiences--they do not require that you breach your wall of privacy. That is up to you, and is definitely not necessary. I can help you tell personal stories with the power to motivate and inspire and still keep your privacy intact.

Terri Nimmons speaks to corporate audiences about developing their personal brand and yet never told her own story about how personal branding helped her career and business. When I began to mentor and coach her with her speaking skills, she resisted the idea of talking about herself. Once she understood the value of doing that she wrote a report: where she was, who was speaking and what she did next to embark on the road to personal branding. It was better than nothing, but still missed the mark.

Then she made the connection between how personal brand helped her overcome a critical personal challenge that affected her business. By deciding to reveal a private matter in the context of showing how valuable personal brand proved to be, she crafted a story that uplifts the audience and gives them the power to imagine doing the same, no matter the details of their own private matter.

This is true courage and truly puts the audience first. This is inspiration and motivation. This is the archetype of the story that tells who she is as an individual and of the future story.

Share your experiences about telling your stories through our comment link below. The next post will teach you how to write stories for your business speeches quickly. Subscribe to this blog so you don't miss it.

Comments

[James]

Susan,

Great post. I personally love using stories because it shows the audience that you're human and helps you connect better with them. I think the two real dangers are as follows:

1. Telling too many stories and not providing the audience with any useful info.

2. Revealing too much "personal" information about yourself that can adversly affect the audience's opinion of you.

James
blog.jvf.com

[Terri]

Susan - Thanks for your coaching and for giving me my voice. My client audience members said they found my opening story authentic, compelling and engaging. Your method helped me not only craft the story and link it to my topic;I learned things about my own life and perspective. Thanks! Terri Nimmons, Principa, Stone Lake Leadership Group