Cup of Inspiration

Today, March 20^th, we celebrate World Storytelling Day. Today we appreciate the importance of storytelling in communication.

Often when people think of storytelling, they imagine sitting in front of a group of children while sharing a riveting tale about a prince or a princess from years ago. People may think of the friend at work who always has the best tales of weekend events while everyone is getting their much-needed coffee on a Monday morning in the office. Perhaps you enjoy sharing stories with friends about that time you scored the winning touchdown in an important football game for your school.

Storytelling is certainly entertaining. We also know it can be an excellent way to demonstrate a moral lesson, or an inspirational message. However, we may forget how useful the ability of storytelling can be in various areas of our lives.

Do you have a business idea, and you want to present your ideas to some investors with hopes for much needed funding? By presenting your ideas in a compelling story, you can explain the problem your business can solve if just given the opportunity. Do you have a project idea at your current employer that you know will help your company capture further market share? Storytelling can help you get your point across more than just a few tables filled with numbers in a presentation.

We all tell stories at some point. Even if you are not aware of it, there have been those moments when you shared with friends a story about a funny thing that happened on the way to the office. Even if it was in an informal situation, you have used storytelling to communicate.

For this holiday, we appreciate the importance of storytelling. If we do not find ourselves very comfortable with it, though, there are several resources available to help you work on this skill. You can watch videos with storytellers and note how they are able to draw their audience into the story. You can take a course, or even join an organization such as Toastmasters, which will allow you to practice in front of a small group prior to trying it out on a larger audience. Once you are comfortable with this skill, you can incorporate it into other areas of your life, such as work.

Today, meet up with some friends for lunch and share some funny stories. Attend a storytelling event and enjoy the experience. Perhaps also investigate how you can improve your own storytelling skills so you can incorporate this communication tool in sharing innovative ideas.