Why storytelling should be part of the way we communicate

If we’re all made of stories, then why don’t we make sure we keep telling them? If we’re all shaped by our experiences, why don’t we share them with those around us?

When we watch a piece of theatre or film, we seem to identify with the characters portrayed, their lives, their worries, their victories and their adventures. We want to be some of them, we hope to be some of them and we’re already some of them. So, what makes us connect? Yes, the answer is that person’s journey, which you experience as a story. So the big question is: Do we experience our own lives as story? Are we aware of our own story telling potential?

A story is not about merely communicating everything you know or feel. It’s about expressing what’s relevant and important at that point in time. One must also be true to the story, believe in it before telling it and live it after you’ve told it. A story once put out there is not just your story anymore. It becomes their story as well and only when they own it, do they start repeating it to people they meet and work with. When a story from the workplace goes home, and when a story from home comes to the workplace, that’s when story telling is happening as a way of life.

“We need stories to translate facts to experience & transform experience to emotion”

Being a story teller is a frame of mind. It’s about wearing a lens that pauses time as you experience something. You gather information and process it as a narrative as opposed to bullet points or facts. This narrative then gets communicated with emotion to engage, connect and inspire action.

If you are interested in doing a workshop to collect stories from your life and be able to tell them in engaging ways, do contact me by taking a look at our storytelling training workshop.