Stuck between mediocrity and excellence

A long time ago, a Partner introduced me to TED by sending out a TED Talk via email.  I watched it and instantly got hooked. It went into my rotation of things to keep on top of as I browsed the Internet searching for a purpose.   I like watching them because the provide different points of view and the speakers are fantastic.  I hope to learn a thing or two about public speaking if I watch enough of them.  Thankfully, as TED has evolved, they've started to curate their own content.  As luck would have it, there is a playlist for "How to tell a story." Check them out.  Maybe at least one of the talks will help you with your storytelling skills. Note: I missed a day and am trying to make up for it. It unfortunately kills my goal of trying to publish every day. But I'm still on track to do 30 posts in 30 days.

Are people more interested in you or your story?  For example, what's more interesting upon an introduction? "Hi. My name is Perry and I'm a consultant that helps Fortune 500 companies."  Or, "Hello. My name is Perry and I work to understand problems at local Atlanta companies that I can help solve."  Which one is a better lead in to a story and will want you to hear more?   The thing about stories, whether it's about you or about some other experience, is that there is a degree of specificity that you want to resonate with the audience i n that moment.  If your story is good enough and hits the right emotion, then it becomes memorable long after you've gone.  Being memorable is important in sales, in giving advice, in influencing an audience, and in marketing your value proposition.  So tell me what your story is. I'd be interested to hear it. References: Reinventing You

I am terrible at remembering jokes.  The only ones I can remotely remember are "knock knock" jokes.  There is also a joke that one of my co-workers told me about a lion marching through the jungle and running into an elephant. But other than that, I'm terrible at remembering jokes. What I've tried to get better at is an ability to tell stories-- which requires remembering experiences. I can tell you that remembering experiences is a little easier for me than remembering jokes - but not much. For those of you that read my blog posts (thank you), blogging has really helped me go back in time for some memories. As a result, I think that my ability to communicate in any business setting has improved.  The reason is that I can now relate my experiences to an issue, discussion, or problem that a client may have.  Stories are how we naturally communicate and remember important things. It's no wonder that status reports, scorecards, and dissertation emails ...