Know Your Own Story
Every communicator has a story. I look at my own past at
those memories from childhood that stand out. There is a reason they do. The
same is true for those memories, both happy and painful, that come from
adolescence and early adulthood. Along the way I learned some things. Some I
learned from the words of other, some from the example of others, and some from
my own experience of trials, successes and failures. Okay, enough set-up.
Write it Down and Reflect
One thing I have done with these stories from my past is
to write them down, and then do a little reflective work to pull out the
lessons I learned from them with one eye on how those stories have created the
person I see when I look in the mirror each morning. It’s a great exercise.
Making the Connection
What this does for me is this – when I am invited to speak
to a group of people, I try to learn their story. What is their history? What
are their values? What is their shared vision and mission? What are they really
good at? Where have they failed? What do they most need right now?
It is amazing how easy it becomes to craft a message when
I can connect some aspect of their story to my own. I do not have to spend an
awkward amount of time talking about myself. I do not have to talk about myself
or my own story at all.
But there is a kind of authenticity that will come
through your words and message when you are speaking into their story from the
convictions and passions and even pain of what you have learned from your own.
Your words will then not just be flowing from your own
story, but from the person you are as the result of living out that story. No
amount of cleverness, humor, wisdom or learning can imitate the effectiveness
of that kind of connection.
One Last Thought
So get to know your own story first, and then begin
practicing how to leverage and connect it to that of another. The gravity and
value of what you have to offer will increase exponentially. Be encouraged!
No comments:
Post a Comment