Storytelling: What It Is
Since humans were created, we’ve been telling stories. Remember the first story about Adam and Eve; oh that apple! From then on, stories have been shared across every mainstream religion, throughout centuries from the great philosophers, and in our modern day era with social media influencers who repurpose what’s been said years before as they grow a following of one million people.
Stories have been and will always be an intricate part of human civilizations. Stories were shared in drawings on ancient Egyptian tombs to spoken word poetry at Joe Biden’s presidential inauguration. Stories are like a time stamp telling the world where we are in that very moment in time, and with technology, indexed forever.
Most important, stories are how wisdom is passed down. Wisdom, the supreme tool to elevating human consciousness by connecting mind, spirit, and action.
The 8 Parts Of A Story
Every story has a story arch; a rise, fall, and re-birth or awakening that takes place in order for it to be memorable. From Hollywood best sellers to top public speakers, they all use the 8 parts of a story to help humans understand, relate, and be moved by the story to continue sharing it with others so the story does not die.
- Setting
- Character
- Plot
- Conflict
- Theme
- Point-of-view
- Tone
- Style
The Power Of Telling Your Story
Want to change the world? Start telling your story.
Learning how to communicate enriches the world, and it enriches your life and the lives around you as you learn the art of public speaking to tell your story. I’m living proof that you do not have to be famous to tell your story to become a speaker in an area you care deeply about, and one that your passion shines through keeping people awake and wanting more.
One of the most powerful stories I shared was my journey through trauma, Yep, I said it, trauma.
Trauma is one of those things society tells us we should not talk about. The stigma, shame, labels, and thoughts of what-if someone hears this and judges me. If you have that burning desire to share something with the world, you can either share it or go to the grave wondering what-if. For me, I am not someone who wants to leave this world going I shoulda coulda woulda, dam.
When I first started speaking about trauma it was in a time when there were few speakers on this topic outside of mainstream researchers in the field or therapists; it was also in a time when talking about mental health in pubic safety was strictly taboo and viewed as a sign of weakness. Knowing this, and knowing how many lives were suffering behind closed doors, I made the choice to get out there are speak on the topic of trauma, sharing my story as a survivor dealing with multiple traumas in my lifetime.
Preparing my presentation I thought about my audience. What did they need to hear? How receptive would they be? What walls did I need to break down and how could I do it to drive change?
Putting things together, I created a simple website for my trauma awareness program to let the world know about me, my story, and my desire to share healing with first responders to stop the stigma, suicides, and dysfunction behind closed doors. To my surprise, I was invited to speak on this topic at numerous places.
Arriving in Las Vegas, Nevada I was requested to deliver my presentation before the firefighters who responded to the country music shooting that killed over 50 people. This was at the one year anniversary and at a time when leaders were growing concerned that members might not be alright.
Sharing my presentation and story, I was blessed to make an impact on two groups delivering back to back sessions, two hours each. I also learned that I still had more healing to do when a firefighter asked me, “are you alright now?” The truth is, healing takes time and is a journey. There’s no quick fix to healing trauma as we learn the ancient truth that some of this is mindset, and another part is a spiritual evolution of self in order to transform into our highest version while we are on earth. In this instance, my story brought knowledge, resources, and hope to my fellow brothers and sisters in the fire service, and it also brought healing to me.
The Power Of Telling Your Story Is Truly Powerful
As a speaker, if you can change one life, not only did you change one life, you impacted that person’s family; their children; their coworkers; one story, one person at a time.
Scaling the power of your story can be done in time, as you learn more about speaking, writing books, creating social media content, and the needs of your audience.
From sharing your initial story to being a personal brand, the power of telling your story can also let you live your true purpose. For me that purpose is a speaker, healer, change maker, and human focused on bring people together through the common good in a world full of division, anxiety, and hate. As a leadership speaker, I strive to create more impact top-down, because leadership matters and it can change things at scale through sound human-centered policies that breakthrough the status quo and groupthink out there today that is not working. Beyond my talks on trauma and leadership, I also share stories in my other workshops on business growth, culture, and sales as I take real world examples to make presentations memorable and actionable.
Stories are powerful, and your story is more powerful than you know.
If you want help learning how to tell your story, contact me to explore how coaching can help you.
And if you want to get started sharing your story, take action by joining a local Toastmasters Club or delivering free talks to your old high school at a place where people know you, and the risk is super low.
I hope this helps you gain the confidence needed to get your story out in this world!
