When you don't want to tell your story (& what to do about it)
I didn’t want to tell it.
There I was in front of 50 woman, standing on a dark stage because the lights had eerily gone out moments before. As I began to tell my story . . . alone, in the dark, completely exposed, I felt just like the child and young woman I was speaking about. Small. Scared. Wanting to be anywhere but there.
Then, poof, the lights flashed back on . . . and I froze.
Alone, lights blaring, completely exposed.
I forgot what I wanted to say next so I didn’t say a word for what seemed like two cycles at a stop light (think very dramatic pause).
Life is going to throw curve balls at you. You will feel resistance around telling your story. First, know that this is NORMAL! Then check out the video for some powerful insights to help you tell it anyway.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8FGNsuoW5U
What pieces of your story sometimes feel like a burden to you or (worse) your audience? Let us know in the comments so we can breakthrough that resistance once and for all.
You are so cute! The vulnerability and authenticity in this video is LOVELY. Your emotion, during this video is so engaging. I have like 4 stories written as you know, lol. I am still kinda afraid to write the one story I know I need to write for my relationship business. How do you take into consideration a story that involves someone else and how they played a part? I guess if I tell my real divorce and/or dating story – others might be offended. I just realized I don’t have to tell my divorce story to share my dating and them marriage story. Anyway– You inspire me. Keep being authentic and keep spreading your message. I heard a speaker at a conference talk about how important your story is for your business and I always think of you when that happens. Seems like more people are catching on to the secret and the power of story telling not selling and bringing value not sales pitches.
Hey Ariana, Thanks for dropping by again with great comments and questions. Will you be joining us on the open Q&A call Wednesday 11/4? I’d love to address some of your questions and concerns there too but for now I will say that oftentimes our stories DO involve other people. In fact (and probably not surprising) many of my clients have this concern. The way I’ve handled it myself and have guided my clients is to start by sticking to the facts around those other characters. There are two other characters in my story and they literally get a line each. That’s all I need to get my point across because I know the details of those particular relationships aren’t relevant beyond what I share in the story. I find it helps my clients to also focus on only the emotions that would be most relevant to your audience. I’ve had clients come to me with stories written down that are early in the process and are ulimately more of a therapeutic exercise. This is also a good place to start, but that story is usually for your eyes only. It helps to move past the pain and blame. Then you can go back and cherry pick the relevant details. Hope that helps!