The Consultant's Mind - #STORYTELLING!

Regardless of your intent in terms of Content Marketing and / or Personal Branding, one thing is important.

YOUR STORY.

Yes, that is right.

That is no sense of being when you aren’t able to articulate your story.

Especially for Personal Branding fanatics – I say this.

If people do not you, your story, how you become who you are today, then it becomes very difficult for impressions to stick.

Compare this …

“Oh that was the guy who worked 5 jobs during his university days in order to pay his bills and STILL graduated with honours because he studied in a Call Center while picking nonsensical calls”

…. To this.

“Oh Joe? Which Joe? We are ex-colleagues? Really? Hang on a second, you sat to the right of my working desk?”

When it comes to Content Marketing and Personal Branding, it is important to note that our stories are the vehicles for us to tell our story.

Our stories are unique.

While CVs can be copied to perfection, no one has the same life credentials.

When people remember your stories, they remember you.

Below are some of the guideposts we can use to tell our stories, where they serve as an introspective exercise just exploring who we are.

My advice is to find a quiet room and use these pointers to start scribbling.

[These are my scribbles]

One thing will lead to the other.

You will be amazed just how much depth you have in your life.

Here goes.

--------

# 1 – What Roles Have You Played In Your Life?

I used to think this was a given until I start talking to many people who seemed to recalling who they are.

I will use myself as an illustrate just to kick-start this exercise.

So I am a(an) ….

• Ex-Student,
• Ex-Student Leader,
• College Graduate,
• Ex-Consultant with Accenture,
• Ex-Consultant with Capgemini,
• Ex-Regional Business Analyst with JCDecaux,
• Content Marketer,
• Business Alliance Director,
• Annoying son,
• Annoying friend,
• Mentor to many,
• Ex-Door-to-door salesperson,
• Running coach to some,
• Sales Professional,
• Team Leader,
• Copywriter,
• Call center assistant,
• Ex-Teaching assistant,
• Ex-Research assistant,
• Oh I almost forgot! I am a Co-Founder of Bottomsup Perspective (you got to keep scribbling),
• Ex-soldier in an elite force,
• Business owner,
• Marathon enthusiast (8 marathons, each under 4 hours),
• Oh I am a Podcast speaker,
• Webinar speaker,
• University convocation guest speaker,
• Multiple live-stream guest speaker on multiple topics,
• And the list goes on and on.

Before I hear any objections pertaining to "boasting", I would like to clarify that there is a difference between "taking stock of our life" versus "tooting your horn".

And if you already have taken stock, and the megaphone is just beside you - Think of what you want to say.

Next, we move on to the achievement and failure spectrum.

# 2 – Of Achievements and Failures.

This is where the story gets more depth and packs fun with tears.

The key is to be honest with ourselves.

Just to start, this is mine: -

• I won 3 Book Prizes in Ordinary Levels examinations,
• I repeated my “Advanced” Levels because I flunked General Paper,
• I was the constantly reminded that I was one of the fattest in the military unit (83kg) and was “humiliated” almost daily …
• ... To become one of the leanest dudes in the block at 58kg,
• I graduated college with honours and 3 majors while working on 5 part-time jobs,
• I was reprimanded by a team lead (which I never respected) in front of the client CIO for not knowing my work and what I was doing ...
• ... followed by being awarded “Above and Beyond” twice while in Accenture,
• I clinched multiple client contracts above $3 million SGD,
• I was released by the company due to bad corporate performance,
• I was awarded “Top Performer” for South-East Asia practice in Capgemini,
• I was a 2-time Silver Medallist for non-elite National Championships in 2015,
• I was blacklisted by a martial arts federation (I shall not name) for being too violent in a sparring session required for belt progression,
• Oh, oh, I was ditched by one of the ex-girlfriends because she found the other guy who can play arcade games better than I am, more charming than I am …
• Then of course I got backstabbed in office by people I failed to discern,
• My social media posts got copied word for word (This is an achievement by the way!),
• And the list continues to build.

At this junction, you should be thinking of the following.

“WHAT A STORY!”

For purposes of avoiding readership fatigue in this article, please refer the website below for other pointers ??????

https://j29creative.com/storytelling/

At this point, you will be amazed by your life story.

Then what remains is the part where you have to connect the dots.

How you connect the dots depends on the story you want to tell.

By the way, this works for life story as well as brand stories.

Speak to me if you need help by commenting in this article!

------

My Simple Takeaway.

Now that you have the story points for scripting contents and for Personal Branding purposes, it is important to consider the platform for the story to be told.

Also, the way in which the stories are to be told.

Work to customise the length of the story such that it is scalable for: -

• Tweets,
• Posts,
• Articles,
• Live-streams,
• Podcasts,
• YouTube videos,
• Speaking engagements.

Side-note: We want to hear your stories on Bottomsup Perspective! Comment below to highlight your interest and I will get you to the show!

[Join our community and subscribe to our YouTube channel for fresh contents weekly!]

Once the stories become scalable, work out how stories can be fed into various platforms that has their unique personalities. For more details, refer to the website below  ??????

https://j29creative.com/storytelling/

Ultimately, have a fun time with this self-awareness exercise.

And then you will realise that you have so much more to share that you will never run out of contents.

Oh Yes, how can I forget!

I have an Aunt who believed in tough love and pushed me very hard when I was growing up …

About the Author:

As a Consultant by training, I believe in making the complex simple. 

Because simplicity adds value. 

I do that through reflections (#ThrowbackSeries), building perspectives (#DecodedSeries) and understanding entrepreneurs (#ConversationWithEntrepreneurs). 

Simplicity helps us gain clarity, and clarity helps us to grow. 

And if we are not growing, then what’s the point of anything else?

What do you think about the article? Comment Below! ??????