Can You Tell A Story?...

Hola, Fierce Feminina,

When was the last time you were so captivated by a story that you lost all sense of time and space?

Good stories draw you in and take you on a mind-bending adventure. It’s through a story that we find a connection, they bind us together and inspire us to Be’ our best selves.

Last weekend, I heard a woman tell a story about her daughter’s healing journey from OCD. It was so captivating. She brought us into her pain and struggle and left us with empowerment and freedom. (I will share her story on social media)

Today’s guest blogger is local storyteller Kate Treick. She is an incredibly compassionate woman whom I call a Fierce Friend.

How to Tell a Story? by Kate Treick

When people ask me what I do, I usually say, “I’m a storyteller.”

Storytelling comes in many different forms. I am a portrait photographer, so the saying “A picture is worth a thousand words” holds special significance for me. Storytelling can be visual: it may include reference points that have layers of meaning and shortcuts that remind you of other important ideas or memories.

Take this photo, for example. This weekend I went to a concert with my daughter. We saw Switchfoot, one of our favorite bands. They sang about being an outsider, about community, about our deep need to belong. They left it all on the concert stage with their passion and soul-stirring music, and toward the end during a song when we were all singing the song back to the band, the lead singer Jon Foreman held up his hands in this universal show of love, of belonging. And in front of me, a girl held her hands up, part of the moment.

This picture brings it all back—the love, the moment, the community formed for a moment in time by music.

That’s a story!

The best speakers are great storytellers. If someone from a business or organization gets up and starts giving a list of statistics to her audience, no matter how amazing, she’s probably going to lose the audience. We can’t always relate to a series of numbers. If, instead, she gets up, takes a beat, and starts telling with simplicity and clarity and passion the story of one of the lives that has been changed, the audience will hang on to her every word.

Why? Because we are wired for story.

No matter what your calling, Fierce Feminina, you will be telling stories. So, how can you be good at it? There are a couple of things you can keep in mind as you craft your stories that will make them more powerful, more capable of connecting with those listening to you.

First of all, keep in mind that a timeline isn’t a story. And then….and then….and then…. Sound familiar? It can be easy to fall into this trap when we tell stories. We give the story—oh, wait! There is a backstory. So we fill that in, too. And then we go chronologically through the events.

That’s not a story.

Instead, take some time to write down the key moments in your story. Who are the characters? What is the conflict?

Yes, a conflict—every story has one. It may be internal, or it may be external. What was the point of pain? What is the character facing? What was I going through in that moment?

I might start my story this way:

She came to the concert with a group of friends, but she was still on the outside. She was new, and they were old friends. She had come because she knew she needed to get out—but it was an effort. She missed her hometown and her friends and the ease of being known with them. This took so much energy.

The concert promised a distraction, so she took her roommate up on the offer to tag along.

They somehow scored a place on the floor near the stage but were constantly jostled about by other people vying for a good spot. She waited for the concert to start, surrounded by people, but still alone.

Can you feel it? Have you ever been there? We don’t have to fill in all of the details to engage our listeners. What will happen next?

There may be more conflicts introduced, other characters. But at some point, there comes the resolution. Let’s keep going with the story told in my photo.

When we tell stories, we share part of our heart. Storytelling can be vulnerable. It isn’t the same as oversharing; it is instead a curated collection of moments that connect with our readers. It has a structure, and a resolution, even if it’s not a happily ever after ending.

As you craft your next story—because it does take intention and thought—ask yourself who the characters are. What is the conflict? What was the climax of that conflict? What was the resolution? And then, if you are a non-profit or organization, there may be one very clear call to action. Let the story lead you there.

Go tell your stories!

Kate

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