Storytelling is a powerful skill, and each of us has a story to tell…what is yours? I enjoy meeting new people and learning their life stories. I am not talking about what they do for a living…but where they grew up, how they got to where they are today, what influenced them and what are their interests and passions.

As children, we enjoyed reading, listening to, and telling stories as a valuable part of our education and development. As adults, we spend most of our time in the professional world, which should not mean that our passion for stories should end. If we enjoyed stories as children, we should enjoy and use them in our professional lives.

Those that use the storytelling skill professionally are proven to achieve more success than those who do not. Let’s follow their lead and use the storytelling skill to connect with more people, build our professional network, and achieve our potential. These skills will help as you pursue a promotion, new opportunities, start a business or as you grow your current business. The key questions you want to answer to shape your professional life story are:

• What have I overcome? If you do not have a specific event or challenge that you had to overcome (many of us do not), you may need to explore these additional questions:
  • your early years and how they impacted you
  • your experience and what you learned along the way
  • why you are doing what you do
  • what makes you different than others that offer your product or service

Once you understand the key points of your story, you will want to craft your message to highlight and demonstrate:

• What solution are you uniquely qualified to deliver?
• How are you uniquely qualified to deliver the solution?
• Who are you uniquely qualified to help?

As we get back to business, it is time for us to return to those days when we enjoyed storytelling and it is time for us to put the storytelling skill to work in our professional lives. What is your success story? If you need help creating your story to ensure you reach your true potential, please connect with me via LinkedIn and follow my blog.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dougbaarman/

Blog: https://hospitalitylifestyles.com/