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Everyone has it in them to be an effective storyteller. In this simple exercise, you will create a short story that illustrates how you came to be who you are, and what your ideal future looks like. Then you will lay the foundations for building your own personal story bank.
Learning Objectives
You will be able to:
- develop a core personal story
- improve your descriptive skills
- apply your storytelling skills in practice
- create your own personal story bank
Part 1: Crafting Your Story
The aim of this part of the exercise is to create a story that promotes you, your values, your strengths and experiences. The story should also reveal where you want to be, in order to actually achieve these objectives (for example, you may want to be moving up the career ladder, or you might have a strategic vision you want to share with your line manager and other colleagues).
To create your story, describe:
- who you are now - your position in the organization
- how you got there - the path you took (previous jobs/roles/teams/organizations)
- any conflicts or obstacles you faced along the way
- how you overcame these
- where you want to be in the future - your ideal scenario
When creating your story, bear in mind:
- Your audience: who are you talking to (your boss/colleagues/peers/team members/customers)?
- Uniqueness: can the same story be told by anyone, or only by you?
- Brevity: keep it short and sweet (around three minutes is ideal).
- Tone: it should be casual and informal.
- Descriptive: paint a vivid picture, and stimulate people's senses.
- Your goal: what are you trying to achieve (persuade/motivate/inspire)?
Part 2: Creating Your Story Bank
Creating an inventory of personal stories will enable you to call upon your storytelling skills in any situation. To begin building your bank, think about the stories you already tell about yourself, or that others tell about you. Use the simple structure below for each one (repeat as necessary) and fill in the gaps.
If you're not sure where to begin, think about the following types of stories as a start point:
- 'Who I am' - who you are, what you stand for, your values, how you got where you are today.
- 'How we're different' - stories about you or your organization and what sets you apart from the competition.
- 'Vision' - sharing hopes, dreams, objectives and goals for you and your organization - your ideal future.
Stories You Tell
Title:
Situation:
Complications/obstacles:
Outcome:
Stories Others Tell About You
Title:
Situation:
Complications/obstacles:
Outcome:
