Where Do I Even Begin?

Professional Speaker-Professional Development-Positive Attitude

In last week’s blog, we talked about storytelling and how impactful it can be, whether you’re talking to an audience of 1 or 1,000.  But how do you find your stories?  Where do you even begin?

With a universal truth – that’s where!

A universal truth is a feeling or action or emotion that just about everyone has experienced and can identify with.  Think about anger, love, jealousy, and things like that.  Some of the topics that can help you get started are:

  • Sibling rivalry
  • An embarrassing situation
  • What you studied in school
  • First job or promotion
  • A bad customer service experience
  • An interesting trip or business meeting

You get the idea.  The above examples are very relatable because most people have had a new car, a first job, etc.

I heard of this great example:

Sallie Krawcheck is the former CEO of Citigroup’s Global Wealth Management division. Through her speeches, she connects with people by telling a story that anyone can identify with.  She talks about feeling like an outcast at her all-girls school as a teenager – with glasses, braces, and corrective shoes – and how that prepared her for the challenges of her professional life. She once said: “there was nothing they could do to me at Salomon Brothers in the ’80s that was worse than the seventh grade.”

Get the idea?

Remember, each story must have a beginning, a middle and an end.  A good formula to follow is to have a LIKEABLE HERO who ENCOUNTERS ROADBLOCKS and EMERGES TRANSFORMED.

You can also apply that to your own life, here’s a suggestion that will help you take that first step:

First, write down your struggle or your challenge:

Second, write your success – how did you overcome your challenge and bounce back:

Play around with these ideas, suggestions and formulas and see what you come up with.  Next week I’ll share some info on how to make your story come to life when you actually tell it out loud.  You will have your listeners sitting on the edge of their seats!

Categories: Positive Attitude Professional Development Professional Speaker
Tags: , , ,

Everyone Has a Story – What’s Yours???

Professional Speaker-Positive Attitude-Professional Development

The best way to get something you want, or to make someone understand what you need, is to tell a story.

Did you know that people are 20 times more likely to remember a fact if it is presented as part of a story?  That means that all those charts and graphs and numbers in your presentation can actually be interesting if they are wrapped up in a good story – especially one that is attached to an emotion.

Of course it has to be relevant to your audience and your message.  So talking about your Aunt Suzie’s cat won’t have an effect on your audience unless you make it clear why you are telling it.  Your audience will always be thinking: What’s in it for me (WIFM).

There’s a good reason why stories are so important:

PEOPLE REMEMBER THEM!!!

And you can use stories for so many different reasons:

  • To motivate your team to work together
  • To encourage your children not to give up
  • To comfort a friend who has suffered a loss

So what’s stopping you?  Put on those specks and start writing.  Look at that blank page and see what words begin to pour out.  Those white pages will soon fill up with words and phrases and sentences that will make your story come to life.  And those are the same stories that can help someone else believe in themselves once again and learn to laugh a little sooner.

Next week I’ll offer some suggestions on how to find your stories and how to make them impactful.  Hint: it has to do with Universal Truth.  HUH???  Stay tuned!

Categories: Positive Attitude Professional Development Professional Speaker
Tags: , , ,

Sorry Mom

Professional Speaker-Personal Development-Positive Attitude

It took me into my gray hair years to finally realize what it means to have a good relationship. It wasn’t an easy lesson to learn, but today I build new memories by living in the moment and trying to enjoy being in the present.

You see, when I was much younger, I’d visit my mother in a nursing home.  Today they have much fancier names, like senior retirement centers, but you know what I mean.  Every time I’d visit her, before I even walked in the door, I’d be thinking about when I had to leave.  I’d greet my Mom with:

“Hi Mom, I have to leave at 3:00 so I can get to my next appointment on time.”

OR

“Hi Mon, I have to leave at 4:00 so I can avoid the traffic.”

Throughout my visit, I’d keep one eye on the clock, making sure I wasn’t late for whatever was happening next. For whatever seemed so important at the time.

Now, 17 years later, I can’t visit my Mom anymore.  She’s no longer here for us to share a laugh or a hug or even something as simple as watching her favorite TV show together.  I can no longer feel her sitting next to me.  And as I think back to our visits when I was always in such a hurry – I can’t even remember what was so important that I didn’t take the time to truly BE with her.

That was a hard lesson to learn.  And because of that, today I am more aware of being in the present.  More aware of enjoying the time I have with the people I love.  Making time to have real conversations; to ask questions – and really listen to the answers.

It’s a whole new ballgame for me.  I work hard at being in the present each and every day.  And on those days when I fall back into my old habits, I get up the next morning and try again.

Categories: Personal Development Positive Attitude Professional Speaker
Tags: , , , ,

If You Had Only One Wish…

Professional Speaker-Personal Development-Positive Attitude

Have you heard of this?  An Australian nurse, Bronnie Ware, recorded the top five regrets people had during the last 12 weeks of their life.

She actually recorded their final wishes and found that some of the same thoughts kept coming up over and over again.  When I read this study, it really made an impact on me.  So much of an impact that I’d like to share it with you.  After each wish, I’ve shared some of my thoughts:

  • I wish I had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me. It’s natural to want the people we love to be proud of us, but sometimes we lose ourselves in the process.  Take a minute and ask yourself what makes you happy.  What brings a smile to your face?  Then go after it with a vengeance.  Make sure you are one of the people you are trying to make happy.
  • I wish I didn’t work so hard.  How many times have you heard the phrase: no one writes on their tombstone that they wish they spent more time at the office?  Try every day to balance your personal and professional life.  Some days it will work, and on those days when it doesn’t, get up the next morning and try again.
  • I wish I had the courage to express my feelings.  Sometimes we learn to keep anger and sadness to ourselves.  We bury any thoughts that are difficult or scary. Although it may be hard to do, try to be honest with others and especially yourself.
  • I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.  In this day of Facebook and instant everything, it’s easier than ever to reconnect and stay in touch with friends.  Then life gets in the way – responsibilities at work, with our family, and overall stress creeps into our pours.  So how do we find the time to stay in touch with friends?  One call at a time, one email at a time, one text at a time.  Just to let them know you are thinking of them.
  • I wish I had let myself be happier. This last one breaks my heart.  How sad it must be to get in the way of your own happiness.  Being happy is a choice, and you have the power to make that choice each and every day. We all encounter challenges during our life.  When that happens, be “curious” and see it as an opportunity to move forward to your next adventure.

Reading this list has helped me become more aware of my own life, and it also helped me better understand the older people that surround me.  I now smile a little more and complain a little less.  I hope that by sharing this, it will do the same for you.

If you’d like to learn more about Bronnie Ware and her study of the 5 Regrets, check out her blog at: http://www.bronnieware.com/blog/regrets-of-the-dying.

Categories: Personal Development Positive Attitude Professional Development Professional Speaker
Tags: , , ,

Subscribe via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Categories

Archives