Hi Friend,
I recently gave my Show Stopping Storytelling Skills workshop to a team in San Francisco.
Good storytelling requires a storytelling mindset — one that allows us to believe that even our most mundane days are full of stories.
The guy that you flipped off on the freeway? Story.
The way your teenager sneered at your advice for going viral on TikTok? Story.
That moment you remembered to truly listen and not just offer advice? Story.
Once you start collecting stories, you’ll start asking yourself the Magic Question: What do I make of this?
The guy cutting you off could be a story about patience, and giving someone the benefit of the doubt.
Or it could be a story about exercising caution, because the guy you flipped off on the freeway ended up being the guy you needed to impress in a new business pitch.**
Stories only become stories once we’ve attached meaning to them.
And that is a skill worth cultivating. How many different ways can you make meaning of a story?
Your thought experiment this week is to adopt a storytelling mindset … start to notice and collect the everyday stories of your life.
Then ask yourself, What do I make of this?
Write them down in a Google doc. Or throw them into your Notion (my fave) folder. Watch how this practice transforms your skills as a storyteller.
Shine on,
B
**This is a made up story, but honestly, it keeps me from giving people the bird on the freeway … can you imagine!? LOL
