#114 - The Only Storytelling Method You Need
On Truth, Authenticity, and too much Storytelling
Sometimes I worry we’ve reached peak storytelling. It feels like it’s everywhere and that everyone is talking about it. That people are over it and a newsletter devoted to the topic is just too much. I question myself and my motivation.
Then I see a movie like The Woman King or Bros and while not perfect (because nothing is), I am moved and I am captivated and I feel seen and suddenly I start to wonder, “how’d they do it?” What was it about that story that captured me? How do I do that?
And then I remember, oh yah, we’re wired for stories. Our brains are hardwired to process and store information in the form of stories. They are irresistible to us like candy but for our imaginations. In all their forms. It’s why marketers love to talk about them (this marketer included) and why I am so fascinated by them and intent on making sure every person (especially business owners) out there taps into the power of stories to share their perspective, experiences, and gifts with the world.
There are methods and tools and frameworks we can use to craft and share stories—and I will continue to unpack them, make them make sense and share them with you until you ask me stop or unsubscribe 🥲—but really it comes down to one thing in any story. One thing to make it compelling: the truth in it.
Not is it true, but does it reflect or tap into a truth that inspires us? Inspires your audience particularly. How I do I know this? Because it’s the thing people seem most worried about when creating their own stories. One of the most common questions I get around storytelling is, “how do I make it authentic?” My first response is that authenticity is not something we force or make happen–that’s actually a good path toward inauthenticity. But my more helpful answer is that if it is your story and it speaks to a truth about how you understand the world and reflects that truth with honesty and vulnerability, it will be authentic.
You get to choose what elements of your story you share and with whom but the more vulnerable you can be, the more generous with your experience, the more truth will live in it. That is how you create authentic stories. Lean into your truth and the the truth your story may reveal. Even the fears you may have. It’s okay to be afraid and it’s okay to share those fears with people who have earned the right to know about them.
A Story Well Told
Vogue’s November issue features my favourite storytellers of all time. Long-time readers will know I am a Michaela Coel superfan. If you want to know about authentic stories this is the person. Vogue also featured her on their Instagram and I just about lost it. There is something magical about the bearing of this woman and what she brings to the world of television and stories that cannot be denied. From Chewing Gum to I May Destroy You, she does not really miss. She’s going to be in the next Black Panther film and if I wasn’t already excited about it, this would have made it must see for me. Because, because, because.
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