For Sale: Baby shoes, never worn. That’s the world’s shortest story for you. As the legend goes, Ernest Hemingway took a bet with his buddies at a bar that he could make them cry with a story of six words. If he succeeded then each guy had to given him ten bucks. And he did!
Are you a good storyteller? How often do you manage to communicate with an effective narrative?
Daniel Pink reminds us that “story” is an important sense to cultivate in the Conceptual Age.
Can you master it and therefore give yourself a huge advantage?
You can make yourself and your work more memorable if you tell good stories.
You can pack an emotional punch and connect more easily with others if you tell good stories.
You can unpack complex information and make data easy to understand for others if you tell good stories.
You can grow your influence, have greater impact and inspire more people if you tell good stories.
Here are some suggestions from Daniel Pink’s “A Whole New Mind” on how to cultivate your innate ability to tell good stories.
1.Write Mini-Sagas.
A mini-saga is exactly 50 words. No more. No less.
A Life
By Jane Rosenberg, Brighton, United Kingdom
Joey, third of five, left home at sixteen, travelled the country and wound up in Nottingham with a wife and kids. They do shifts, the kids play and ends never meet. Sometimes he’d give anything to walk away but he knows she’s only got a year and she doesn’t.
What did you think of that mini saga?
Want to give it a go? How much creativity can you pack into 50 words?
Read more short stories
ONE STORY publishes one great short story at a time.
50 Greatest Short Stories is a wonderful way to dip in and out of some of the greatest stories ever written. A few years ago I was part of a book club that read and discussed one story a week. I learnt to appreciate a wide repertoire of authors. I learnt so much by listening to other’s opinions about the stories.
Read Nancy Duarte’s blogs. I like this one in particular as she teaches you how to structure your presentation like a story. Also check out how to present to Senior Executives.
Play Photo Finish
Pick any photo or picture and tell yourself or your audience a story about it. Don’t just describe the obvious but unlock a captivating back story. Do this when you visit museums physically or virtually as well.
Over to you now:
How do you rate yourself as a storyteller on a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being the lowest and 10 the highest?
Who do you regard as the world’s best storytellers? What can you learn from them?
How can you incorporate more time in your daily routine to develop this muscle?