Think you have no stories to tell? You’re wrong

Speaking
Written By Liam Sandford
story

You have said it before — ‘I have no stories to tell’. It is a common feeling, especially when social media is full of people living their ‘best life’. The perception of storytelling is that extraordinary stories are best, but every day life is not usually what the world considers extraordinary.

It is like the standard for storytelling has been set by films. That is great for Hollywood but what about your presentation? The reality is that you have multiple stories to tell and they can even come from everyday moments.

It is how you capture your stories, how you tell them, and how relatable they are the audience that matters. Let’s dive into how you can tell great stories even when you feel like you have no story to tell.

Making stories from everyday moments

The majority of people have the same routine. They wake up, have breakfast, shower, travel to work, do their job, travel home, have dinner, watch TV etc. what happens in these every day moments are easy to relate to — it is something that everyone experiences. Telling stories about everyday moments makes your audience feel like you are telling their story. Good stories are not always extraordinary moments — you have some great stories in your locker.

Let’s take the hit TV show How I Met Your Mother. The main character, Ted Mosby, tells his kids the stories that led to him meeting their mother.

Each episode covers everyday moments in Ted’s life, such as going to the bar with friends, having parents come to visit for the weekend, and working for a boss who has terrible ideas. Ted tells his kids 9 seasons worth of stories based on everyday moments. What makes the show great is not that the stories are extravagant and funny, but that they are easily relatable. Most people know what it is like to go to the bar with friends or have their parents visit for the weekend — they are telling the audience their story, and you can too.

The first and last

How memorable was your first day of a new job? Or the first time you drove a car? The chances are you can capture these events easier than you can the 10th time or the 100th time you did each of them.

The first time you do something is often memorable, and it will likely be memorable for your audience too. It makes for a good story to tell if you can relate it to your topic. It makes it easy to tell the audience their story.

The same goes for the last time, mainly because it is more recent and memorable, but it also showcases the change from the beginning. Maybe you are sharing the journey from where you started to now and the first and last times can easily showcase that.

How did it make you feel?

The key to telling stories that resonate is to be vulnerable by showing who you are. If you share this with the audience, you will be more relatable. This can be daunting as a concept but there is a simpler solution to incorporating how you felt into your story. It might also trigger some story ideas.

Use the senses.

When it comes to the senses, description is your friend. The story is you went to a friend’s house, and they were baking cookies. As you approached the front door you could smell the cinnamon and freshly baked cookie dough wafting through the kitchen window. Your mouth watered in anticipation of the warmth and crumbly nature of your favorite treat. Now that is a different story to you just having cookies at a friend’s house.

Actionable takeaways

  • When you tell stories don’t try to find extraordinary events. Use everyday moments to make it easier for the audience to relate to your story — let them see themselves in your story.

  • Think about the first and last experiences that everyone has. How did it go for you? This will be a story people resonate with.

  • Use the senses. This is the easiest type of description story you can tell and is a great step to showing the audience how you felt in the moment — something that makes you easy to resonate with.

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Liam Sandford
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