12 Days of Confidence
Day 12
Many people tell me they’re not natural storytellers. We get hung up on things like story structure. We worry that we’re not charismatic enough, or that our stories aren’t entertaining enough. We overthink how much to share – are we telling enough of the story, or are we, eeek (!) oversharing?
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No matter what you may think, however, I’m here to remind you that you are a storyteller. Storytelling is in our nature as humans. From the minute we have enough words in our vocabulary to do so, we seek to tell stories. Remember when you were a kid, and you’d come home from school and just start telling your parents about everything that happened? That was natural storytelling. Reporting the events, characters, setting and feelings of what is going on around you.
That’s all storytelling is. Let’s not overcomplicate it. Storytelling means getting beyond data and bullet points, but it is up to you how you do that. There are lots of options in terms of structure, content, style, duration and expression. Kids do it so well because generally they don’t filter or edit their content (tweak their slides!), they are uninhibited by ‘what people might think’. This is something to cling on to later in life!
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So here’s what I want you to remind yourself of today:
Don’t overthink it. Don’t panic about the “secrets to good stories”. Just speak about what you’ve been through, in a way that comes naturally to you. It’s your story, and only you can tell it. And you’ve been telling stories all your life.
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For more on stories and why they are vital in life and business check out this post.
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I’ll be back tomorrow to close out this 12 day journey. See you then!