The Story Toolbox - Issue #2
Welcome back to The Story Toolbox, your regular dose of storytelling inspiration! Every two weeks, I’ll share practical steps to help you become a better storyteller.
In each issue, I’ll give you a question or prompt to make you reflect on what you know, getting you to brainstorm and explore what stories you want to tell. Then, we’ll highlight a great talk, article or story that stands out for you to learn from. And finally, you‘ll get one resource recommendation to check out to improve your storytelling skills.
Reflect: Find your stories
Your prompt for this week:
Think back to when you started your career – are there any topics that you think could have helped you if you had heard about them earlier?
Your exercise: Take a moment to reflect on this. Write out all the ideas that come to mind. What would have helped Past You? What would they have benefitted from learning about earlier? How would you explain that to them now?
Hindsight is a great source of inspiration. The things you wish you'd known earlier are sometimes the same things others need to hear now. What challenges did you face in the beginning? What advice would have made a difference? There’s a story there: one that could help someone else navigate their own path and their challenges.
Learn: Stories to inspire you
Story spotlight of the week: Managing at the Threshold: Examining Our Principles in a Moment of Change from David Yee at LeadDev London 2024
In this talk, David Yee explores what happens when our long-held principles are tested by real-world challenges.
What to notice:
- How he makes use of the stage, his body and his hand gestures.
- How he engages with the audience and gets them to interact.
- How his slides support the story he is telling.
Your challenge: Watch the talk and reflect on it. How does he keep you hooked? What do you notice about his slides? What techniques could you try in your own storytelling?
Improve: Upgrade your story skills
Disclosure: The links in this section are affiliate links to Amazon, meaning I may earn a commission if you make a purchase through them at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products that I genuinely find useful.
Recommendation of the week: The Secret Structure of Great Talks by Nancy Duarte
Every great talk follows a pattern and Nancy Duarte has spent years studying what makes them work. In this TED talk, she breaks down the storytelling structure behind the most impactful presentations. It's a great way of thinking about the flow of your story: how do you move your audience from "What is" to "What could be"?
Want to find out more? Check out her books:
- 📚 Resonate: A deep dive into storytelling techniques for presentations.
- 📚 Slide:ology: A guide to creating visually compelling slides.
Your homework: Think about something that you recently had to communicate. What was the "What is" state for your audience? What was the "What could be" state?
Feel free to reply to this email or leave a comment on the post with how you get on with the exercises, challenge or homework. I'd love to hear what your responses are!
That’s all for this week! Reflect, learn, and improve: your story is waiting to be told, and I’m here to help you tell it. See you next time for more storytelling inspiration.
Until then, happy story hunting!
Melinda
Engineer Your Talks: Brainstorming Talk Ideas Workshop
Next workshop: April 23rd 16:00-18:00 BST
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