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Storytelling – How do you tell your story?

by | Jul 14, 2018 | Open Leadership, Storytelling

You can tell a story in different ways, through all of our senses.

How do you tell yours?

Let me show you some storytelling I witnessed in one day in London last week, then a TED talk I recently saw that is masterful in this regard.

monet westminster

First, on a gorgeous summer’s day in London, first I visited the “Monet and Architecture” exhibition at the National Gallery.

Monet is absolutely one of my favourite artists, his mastery of light and colour through his style of oil painting is truly beyond my human understanding. To see his paintings “up close and personal” touches my soul deeply.

Monet tells stories with images, with colours, with brushstrokes… and most of all he is a master of light.

From the National Gallery, I then walked up to Regent Street and joined the “Bring the Noise” Women’s March London. With President Trump visiting the UK and the quality of statesmanship in the UK already depressing me, I knew I’d need to be uplifted by the positivity of the quilt of associations of humans in this march. It was SO uplifting!

There were many placards, this was my favourite.

kahlo endure placard

Stories can be told in a few words.

Oh, and the March was called “Bring the Noise”. As a West Indian, there were no street march bands, no pans, no junkanoo, no sound systems, but I did find the drums and the march did “make some noise!”

The Women’s March told a story with NOISE!

Finally, I have had the privilege in recent years of getting to know a master storyteller who has used this gift often in his career which saw him reach heady heights as a corporate CEO, whilst remaining one of the most humble and empathic people I’ve ever met. Bob Keiller now spends a lot of his time teaching others how to tell stories.

In this 12′ TEDx talk, Bob tells a story around probably his real passion, leading an organisation from a place of core values.

Bob paints a picture with words to tell a rich and engaging story that listeners feel rather than think, so embedding them deeply.

Remember from my post a few days ago:

“Never make a point without telling a story, and never tell a story, without making a point” ~ Ed Percival

So, how do you tell your story?