The Art of Storytelling: Your Life as a Tapestry of Stories

Strategies and Techniques to Share Your Story

Updated?November?4, 2021. First published January 8, 2016

by Hugh Anthony, PhD

One day you will tell your story about how you overcame what you went through; it?will become someone else’s survival guide.?You might ask yourself — What is my story that is worth being told? I’m here to remind you there is a story. You do have one or two! From your childhood to where you are today, there are experiences along your life’s journey that form a tapestry to your story. Whether you choose to share them or not, be reminded your life is a mosaic of experiences. Just reflect on one of your experiences — a challenging or life-changing moment — think of the lessons you learnt.

The tapestry of our stories emerges from our collective experiences, events, adventures and activities, with family, friends, colleagues or someone you just met. Collectively, they help to form the tapestry of your story and give context to your perspective. Just take a moment….?reflect…..emergently…. there is a story.

“…your story is unique. No one in this universe has lived your life. You are the only “you” in the world. So, tell your authentic story. That is how you really earn trust from your audience…”

Lorena Acosta

I have learnt how important it is to share stories. Stories are about truth-telling from your heart, mind, body and soul. It is about being honest, transparent, authentic and being vulnerable.?Do you remember your favourite story??Was it shared by your parents, grandparents or perhaps by a favourite uncle or aunt, a friend, a colleague, your childhood friend or a speaker? Your recollection of that story might be a powerful lesson learnt — a nugget for life, a memorable moment, thought shared or an idea.

Your story has life lessons, triumphs, struggles, resilience and inspiration. You can share your story and empower people who can connect with you emotionally. You might be asking yourself —?how do I emotionally connect my story with my audience? You must write your story from your lens of lived experiences and encounters. That will help provide a blueprint to shape what you share and give it context to make it captivating. Stories help to inform, educate, build awareness and stimulate the imagination. We all have this life skill. We tell stories every day.

“Inside each of us is a natural-born storyteller just waiting to be released.”

Robin Moore

Storytelling is an essential aspect of life from a cultural, social, and spiritual perspective. Sharing your story with your audience through storytelling helps to connect them to its essence. You have the opportunity to take your audience on a journey that is emotional, experiential, empathetic, engaging and memorable. It is a shared experience of difference or similarity. Your storytelling is a cultural tour of your life and an understanding of your experiences — because they can relate anecdotally to lived experiences and emotions about our humanity —?love, joy, happiness, kindness, sadness, pain, failures, successes, dreams and adventures.

Your audience will remember your stories, not necessarily your statistics. They will remember the ideas you shared through the narratives gleaned and realize that sharing your story can help others. It can also liberate you and give you the freedom to be empowered and also inspire others. Storytelling is an art form that is an interactive dialogue between the teller and their audience. You engage with your audience in an interwoven tapestry of words, sounds, visuals, imagination, emotional and sensory narrative. It is a simple yet powerful life skill to have and harness. Here are?three strategies?to help you share your story with your audience:

1. The Why Matters?— You want your audience to know?why?your story matters by giving it context. It can help them relate to it and develop an appreciation of its relevance. Will it challenge your audience? Will it let them understand what the essence of your presentation is? Is it about what success entails or failures you have encountered, the lessons, and what your triumphs are?
2. The How Matters?—?Your audience came to interact with you. They came to share their time to listen, be engaged in your storytelling presentation, and how you make them understand your story is essential. The how matters to your storytelling. It is your gift to your audience. Make it personal; the audience is in attendance to hear from you. Being authentic is of importance to the how. Through sharing your vulnerabilities and triumphs aid in connecting with your audience.
3. The WOW Factor?— By understanding the?Why?and?How?you get — WOW. Create the WOW in your story. That is what your audience will remember long after your storytelling presentation is over. They may not always remember what you said and how you said it. What truly matters most to your audience is the?WOW Factor?— how did you make them feel? That will be the audience takeaway. Did you connect with them emotionally, spiritually or culturally? Were they empowered to do what mattered? That’s?the WOW factor!

Those elements make your story memorable, powerful, and unforgettable. Whatever platform you choose to share your story with your audience is essential. So consider that. Once you share with your audience, someone may just be inspired or helped. The power of your story can resonate with your audience, given that at times the only takeaway they may have, is not what you said -?It is how you shared the story and how it made them feel.

“We are all storytellers. We all live in a network of stories. There isn’t a stronger connection between people than storytelling.”

Jimmy Neil Smith

Your storytelling should begin by having an?understanding of your audience,?first and foremost to have a more direct, easier and effective manner to connect with your audience as highlighted in a related article:?The Audience of One: Three Key Strategies to Connect.?Think about the message you want to share, what matters to your audience and the mosaic to relate your story. How do you begin telling your story to an audience? To help you become a better storyteller and public speaker, let me share the?SpeakSIMPLE? Technique?that I have used to connect with my audiences over the past two decades.

The SpeakSIMPLE? Technique

The essence of this technique is to help you speak your story in a simple, yet engaging way. As individuals our lives are a tapestry of interwoven stories, be it from a cultural or situated experience. Storytelling is at the heart of whom we are as human beings, existing in a collective — familial, social, professional groups or organizations — no matter what space you are telling your story or presenting.

The SpeakSIMPLE? Technique?emerges from six simple steps to assist you in developing your dialogue for your audience that is guided by a question, and from the perspective that public speaking and storytelling are essential life skills. Here goes, when you are telling your story or doing your public speaking presentation:

What is the?Single?Important?Motivational?Point for a?Listening?Ear?

• Single?— What is the?single?idea that you want to share with your audience. This forms the narrative for your story or presentation to your audience. You begin by building a structure around this idea for your storytelling or public speaking presentation.
• Important?— idea. How important is the idea you have identified? Will it inspire or is it interesting? Once you have an understanding of your audience, then you will choose the former — inspiration. Your idea is of interest to you, however, how important is it to set an inspiring pathway for your storytelling journey or public speaking presentation? The importance of the idea will strengthen the scenes (think of a play or even a movie) of your story. View how your audience would think of thoughts from our common humanity — love, joy, pain, loss, and happiness. This forms the beginning of the tapestry of your story.
• Motivational?— Will your story or presentation resonate with your audience? Yes, it will, once it is motivational. Your story or presentation should give your audience a reason to reflect on their actions, thoughts, desires and even their behaviours. The essence of the WOW in your storytelling and public speaking presentation continues from here. The trust you will build is critical, even though the truth hurts, however, it helps redefine our audience’s motives and motivation. So, should your story and your public speaking presentation.
• Point?— The point of your story is personal. How does it matter to you in connecting with your audience? Your idea that you have identified should build on the point that garners the audience’s attention. This is where your interwoven tapestry happens. The point of your story is to bring awareness or inspiration that elicits change, challenges the?status quo?or, at least, questions it, provokes thought and candour in the individual’s life in your audience; or their businesses. The point of your story is what builds the excitement —?the fever pitch?— for you and your audience. This point is where the resonance of the?WOW factor?emerges.
• Listening?— The individual in your audience listens for three reasons — to accept, build trust and to reject (that is why it is important to know your audience — their interests, demographics, knowledge and experience). Listening to what your audience is interested in is key to your storytelling. Share with them why they should listen to your story, why it is important for them (the three key elements — the why, the how, the WOW!!). When you think of listening to your audience and your audience listening to you, begin with the end in mind.
• Ear?— There is a probability that individuals in your audience will have two ears. However, as the listener, they might lend you one ear for your storytelling. If that’s the case you are off to a good start. In our digitally-connected world, attention spans are at a premium, and as a storyteller a public speaker, you are reminded that you have spent your life listening either formally or informally. To get both ears of your listener in your audience, ensure your storytelling connect with their heart and emotions. It is engaging to the listener, it is short, interesting and soothing to both ears, and the soul.

Your role as a storyteller and a public speaker is having both ears of the listener and that is when you have their full attention, and as Bryant A. McGill noted,?“it is one of the most sincere forms of respect”.

“Stories are the essential building block of empathy and human connection. Since the beginning of [hu]mankind, storytelling has been used to connect, engage, inspire, heal and create a brighter future.”

Solar Sisters

The process of becoming a better storyteller or an exceptional public speaker is guided by you; harnessing your experiences through learning, training and coaching along with some measure of creativity and imagination. Storytelling and public speaking are life skills that will help you to be more successful in your personal and professional life. They both assist us in having a better understanding of ourselves and our audience, which creates a synergistic relationship. The three key elements will help you to integrate your storytelling and your public speaking presentation. They will foster authenticity and create a value-added experience for your audience.

The SpeakSIMPLE? Technique?will help you as a storyteller and public speaker to add some valuable content and strategy to your story. The steps within the technique have worked tremendously for both my corporate and personal clients that I have coached and assisted in curating their stories over the years.

Your story is your life’s mosaic. Being the curator and artist, your responsibility is to reflect on what matters to you and your audience. Your role as a storyteller and public speaker is to design how you are going to share your art —?this interwoven tapestry which is the very essence of your life?— your story.

??Hugh Anthony. All rights reserved.

About

Hugh Anthony, PhD is a storyteller, speaker, strategist and a scholar who is a tri-sector athlete, servant leader, customer-centric executive and a neuro-fitness coach. He thrives on helping people uncover their passion, unfold their purpose and share the power of their stories. He is currently the Head of Strategy, Culture and Inclusion for The New Humanity Initiative?. He previously served as Teaching Faculty at Ryerson University and The Chang School of Continuing Education where he lectured, amplifying the learning and development experiences for diverse learners. Hugh Anthony, PhD is a cinephile that brings national and international lens with his groundbreaking research on the largest public film festival in the world, the first of its kind at the University of Waterloo; as a Doctoral Researcher and Teaching Faculty.

His love for humanity activates his passion for storytelling, speaking and service to engender innovation, change and social impact. He has shared the stage as Keynote Speaker with Captain 'Sully' Sullenberger from Miracle on the Hudson starring Tom Hanks, Kevin Carroll, Author & Social Change Agent and Ethan Zohn of CBS' Survivor Africa series. Hugh Anthony, PhD is an advocate for equity, diversity, inclusion, belonging and anti-Black racism; along with the creative arts. He draws his inspiration from living, learning, leisure, lifestyle and cultures; and believe that 'service is the rent we pay for living'. He serves on several boards that amplifies social impact, economic well-being, culture and sustainability for children, youth and community.

For career, press inquiries, speaking and advisory opportunities contact - [email protected]. Follow him on LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter: Hugh Anthony, PhD