Command Joy with Storytelling

All my life it was assumed I would go to college. So I spent the entire four years during high school focused on things that would look good on college applications. From getting a perfect GPA to participating in every extra-curricular activity I could handle, I did as much as I could. Did I even WANT to go to college? I honestly have no idea.  Because it was what I was supposed to do, I went to college. I just went. Then in college, I spent my summers doing internships. I did an internship because I was told they are good for my career. (Wait. What career?) All of my life, I never actually took a moment to ask myself what I wanted. Fast forward a few years and  I found myself in a job I hated. Finally, I decided to listen to the voice in my head that said the words I needed to hear… “Erin, you can’t be serious. Who are you right now?!?!”
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That’s the very short story of how I started my career in marketing which led me to creating this website. Over the years, I’ve had a lot of experiences. Some awe inspiring, some devastating, but in the end, each had a powerful lesson.

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A lot of us think that we don’t have an interesting story to tell, so we don’t bother to tell it. How wrong we are! In everything that happens to us, there is a universal lesson that is worth telling. A narrative that we need to share. Our brains are hardwired to pay attention to stories so it’s no wonder they work so well!

So now that we know storytelling is important, how do we do it?

Use Examples
Start with illustrations with something personal that happened in everyday life

• “The other day I was walking when…”
• “I remember when my brother and I….”
• "My doctor always used to tell me…”

Share your Thought Process
Think about what questions might be in a listener’s minds and walk them through your line of thinking

•  “Well Erin, that would never happen to me. I never get big wins. I never have time to leisurely learn.”  
  • Yes but can you spare 10 minutes a day to read about a topic you are working on?

 
Have a Big Idea
Drive your main message or big idea home by repeating it several times throughout your story. In a world of endless distractions, it’s a good idea to repeat the big idea.

• “…out of my grief, I learned to Command Joy with Storytelling”

Do you like the idea of storytelling but don’t know where to start? Command Joy can help!

Send us a DM with a story you are thinking about telling and we will help you craft it for maximum impact!!