How do you tell a story of a movement, of an organization, of a team, or even of your own life? Telling an inclusive collaborative story means being able to gather many stories, and often many storytellers, into one cohesive journey. And the gathering is a journey in itself. There are many variables to consider…
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1. Revive Your Adventures. To shake up those old stories, go back in time and look around. Get quiet, and wander back into those key moments of your existing story, and see what relevance they have. Think about the challenge you’re facing now, and what power lives in those moments. Maybe there’s a new insight there, or you need to toss that moment out and find another that serves your greater story.
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A lot of us are finding ourselves in the Innermost Cave these days, as philosopher Joseph Campbell would say. Deep in the cave. Millennium-Falcon-tractor-beam-to-Death-Star kind of times. The place of not knowing. I hear it in every meeting: “These are unprecedented times.” But while unprecedented can help us nod in agreement about the multi-pronged enormity…
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Have you ever looked out at an audience, whether of 1,000 or just one key person, and feel like you’ve lost them – but don’t know why? Perhaps, you have had a powerful experience that you feel can help guide your team, or your future, but you don’t know exactly how to share it. Or…
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“Should I dive?” Biggsy asked, with uncertainty. I met Biggsy a couple of decades ago, as we sat on suitcases on the top of an old school bus, winding down from the green mountains of Nepal into the dry yellow flats of India. Quickly we become friends, bonded by the wonder and confusion of a…
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We love to project our dreams on to successful entrepreneurs. Look how successful they are! Oh, the private jet! Oh the big stage. The IPO. Boy they’ve got it made. But while we focus on the heights in a transformative story, whether told in a TED Talk, a dinner table conversation, or the recent top…
READ MOREPark Howell is a great interviewer and I enjoyed being on this Business of Story Podcast, as we explored how to tell effective brand and leadership stories. This episode is a deep dive into brand and leadership storytelling, including lots of stories, insights and storytelling tech talk. Also, check out the rest of Park Howell’s…
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“You should write a book.” Five of the most troubling words in the English language. Every word is charged! You. Meaning, not the person speaking, but me, a guy who prefers to talk, and has never written more than a short story. Should. Meaning, the conditional, one of my least favorite words. Not “Thou Shalt.”…
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“We must walk consciously only part way toward our goal, and then leap in the dark to our success.” – Henry David Thoreau Sometimes we have to leap. And sometimes we have to sit still. And more and more, I find, the power of life is knowing the difference. I had a powerful reminder recently…
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Okay, you’ve likely seen the speech. And it will be retold many times and in many ways in the years to come. Here’s how Oprah landed the key six steps to retellable storytelling. It goes like this: 1. Reclaim the past. Oprah’s bold start, not with a “thank you” or an “it’s an honor to…
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