Yesterday I cried. A grown man at the cinema on a Sunday afternoon.
Yes, I cry at movies, I love to get drawn into a story. This one was beautifully told and spoke deeply to me at multiple levels. I then went on Twitter to share and both the writer and director of the film retweeted what I had to say.
Just saw it. Loved it. Made this grown man cry. The music so evokes that time in the UK for me. My first ever CD was A Springsteen box set (Live 75-85), listened on a Walkman on my way to work in 1987 too. https://t.co/hoGASXFkxI
— Tom McCallum (@TomCayman) August 11, 2019
Lovely, and at the same time perhaps too few of us choose to share the power that stories have for us, with such a wondrous movie perhaps my tweet should be one of many, not one of a few that they saw they could then share on the opening weekend.
Storytelling is part of who we are as humans, we should honour it.
It is also key to leadership, yet far too few leaders really embrace it.
I love storytellers and also telling. I take every opportunity to learn more about the art of storytelling myself, also often sharing this quote from my mentor Ed to my clients.
“Never make a point without telling a story, and never tell a story without making a point”
~Ed Percival
If you want to make a point, tell a story. Story-telling is so key for people to understand, empathise and then embrace the point you are making. As I wrote in “Cogito Ergo Sum, or Sentio Ergo Sum” people make choices from their feelings, not their rationality.
If you tell a story, once you have the audience in the palm of your hand, use that opportunity to make a point. If you are a leader with a vision, tell them a story that connects them to what realising that vision will look like and feel like in real and human terms, don’t just give them numbers. Never make a point without telling a story.
Gurinder Chadha‘s movie based on Sarfraz Manzoor‘s memoir is both a “feel good” movie and also one that makes powerful points about class, inequality and, most of all, racism. Whilst set in 1987, the way things are moving in the UK make it feel highly resonant today in 2019.
“You can’t start a fire without a spark”
~ Bruce Springsteen
Again, thank you to all involved in Blinded by the Light, beautiful storytelling making powerful points.