Today I found myself in a group session sharing stories. Each person told a story around the theme “Intention”, and with each o fthe eight stories I felt something within me. One story in particular made a point through the story that landed strongly within me and has alreay changed something in me as to my own intention around how I will act moving forwards.
Nothing happens until somebody feels something. I felt something, it impacted me, I will change what I am doing thanks to that feeling.
Stories are one of the simplest and most powerful ways to evoke feelings. Ed Percival, my greatest mentor in life, taught “never make a point without telling a story, and never tell a story without making a point”. I wrote about this here, noting:
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.
Tell stories.