Telling Stories Through Experiences

By now, you already know that one of the best ways to convey information is through stories that I shared in my TED talk @Folaosibo.

So you can share how-to's, and tips that are valuable, and in the short run I will forget but if you tell me through a story of how you overcame a challenge,

I will definitely not forget about the lessons.

That's how powerful stories are as they shape us but a person without experiences can't share relatable stories.

Think about your favorite movies like The Night Agent or The Recruit who are loners trapped in a conspiracy of political and military conspiracy.

In these movies, the protagonists are trapped and the world is against them - I can bet that's how most of us navigate the world as a protagonist where health, the economy, and everything seems to be catching up with us.

I am saying this to say experiences shape us and if you want more experience then you need more interactions.

But I will teach you a few tricks for storytelling:

1. Stories are not about "YOU": Just because you are the author doesn't mean it is your story. The story you write is for that boy out there struggling to find how they can beat the next rejection letter like you did.
2. Stories evoke emotion: The secret ingredient for any good story is arousing emotions. People should feel the content. We want to know how it feels when your boss said "You are foolish". That the sweet spot.

3. Stories always have a lesson: Why would you tell us about how you lost a job but did not tell us how what you learned or gained from that experience?

4. Have a Muse: Muse's give your story a persona, I usually male references to my dad in my stories, Taooma's mum is Tao's muse in her comedy skits and son on. It give you story life.

This are a few ingredients for a perfect story.

Bonus point: How to generate stories.

I am sure some of us, may have doubted themselves about telling stories but you can generate stories based of your experiences which are a fuction of your environment.

One source of inspiration for stories are attending event. I checked the post of several people who attended the Linkedin Local - Oyo , the participants and speakers shared the experiences and told a story of the activity and event.

Even by adding this pictures of their participation to their post, They have sold an experience with you.

So what experience will be building at LinkedIn Local Bootcon ; you can join our telegram page or follow us or subscribe to our newsletter for event updates.

Don't say I didn't do anything for you.