But, there is another way stories can support leaders, whether on a board, a committee, or as part of any team. When a leader discovers and creates a story that connects the dots between who he or she is and why they are choosing to lead — their life story –  this can reignite passion and commitment, and serve as a jumping off point for a whole new level of success.

Bill George, the former CEO of Medtronics, is the author of True North and Authentic Leadership. In True North, he states, “Successful leadership takes conscious development and requires being true to your life story . . . ”

To discover your life story, consider these questions:
1. During your early years, which people had the greatest impact on you?
2. Starting with your earliest memories, which experiences marked key turning points in your life?
3. Has there been an instance in your life where you have felt like a victim?

The answers to these questions can lead you to your purpose, your values and your goals. They can help you identify a much deeper relationship to your work and/or your mission, and drive you to even higher levels of meaning and success. Knowing your life story can, well, make your life and your work make sense.

Imagine what it could mean to your organization.

What about those things we aren’t aware of? Those little habits, grammatical mistakes, or mispronunciations that slip out unawares, and yet are impacting our credibility, believability and trustworthiness?

Check out this video for three things you can do to clean up and clear out your language for greater credibility.

Well, that in a nutshell, is the art of crafting and delivering your presentation. And yes, I do have an approach that I’m glad to share with you. Other speakers may do it differently, but this is what works for me.

1. I decide what the point is — what do I want my audience to walk away with? This comes from talking to my client, asking a lot of questions, interviewing potential audience members — that kind of thing. The main point, and often the sub-points, will come out of this information.

2. Once I’ve gathered that information, I begin the process of determining what I need to include to back up my main point — three points and a “poem” — and what I have that can support that. I look at the content I already have to see what I might use. Sometimes I have an already developed speech that would be perfect! That doesn’t happen very often — I almost always end up customizing in some way to reach my audience. I might draw material from these other presentations to share in the new one, particularly stories I’ve already developed, if they make the point. Or, I do research to get new material.

3. I sit with the information. I don’t immediately write an outline, or do a draft. I let it stir around in my head. At some point, when I’m ready, I’ll get what I call the “download.” The speech starts writing itself. This process can go on for two weeks, and I jot notes down as it happens so I don’t forget, especially if the download wakes me up at 3 in the morning, or more likely 5.

4. I write the first draft of the speech, from beginning to end. I let it all out on the page without editing. Then, once again, I let it sit, because I will get new ideas, better ideas, and want to make changes. Do I want to add visuals? What will help me communicate this information?

5. I edit the draft, then read it out loud. I feel it out. I time it — does it work within the time I have? Do I need to make cuts, or fill in? What works? What needs tweaking. I edit.

6. I edit again, and once I have the final draft, I start rehearsing the script. I do this over and over again. Depending on the amount of time I have before the speech, I rehearse at least once a day. I record it if I can and listen to it in the car so I “learn” it. There are pieces I will memorize because I want to say them in a specific way. I also memorize the outline, and the flow, but I allow space for those serendipitous moments that come both in rehearsal, and when you deliver the speech.

7. While I rehearse, I look for those opportunities to use emotional engagement and creative expression techniques, and props. I start to incorporate them. I often use these in stories. I want my audiences to be entertained in addition to being informed and inspired.

This is my process. There is a lot more regarding content development. The amount of time you have to prepare before you deliver your speech will affect the process, but it doesn’t change it.

Then, it’s showtime. I do some vocal and body warmups, get comfortable with the space, check out the AV and room set up — that kind of thing. Then, I let go. I have to trust that I’ve got it within me. I set the intention that everyone will be better off after my speech than they were when they walked in and I set out to engage the audience and have fun. If you have fun they will, too.

Having the support of a coach can make the difference between an “okay” speech and knocking it out of the park. I’d love to support you to knock it out of the park!

Break a leg!

Andrea

So how can we benefit from this? By remembering that when you’re telling a story, it is imperative you share emotion so, as the listener, I pay attention and remember what you say, and feel inspired to act.

I help you craft your words, and share it using creative expression and emotional connection techniques that come naturally to you, so you can do that.

In this video, I talk about sharing emotions when you speak — something about which many of us feel challenged. Love to here your experiences!

In this video, you’ll hear two takes on the first paragraph of a story developed by Jeri Kendle, president of Southwest Autism Research and Resource Center in Phoenix, AZ. I’ve been working with Jeri on her story over the past couple of months as she participates in Social Venture Partners FAST PITCH program. I am one of her mentors.

In this video, I pose a few questions for you in considering your 2011, and your 2012. Click the photo to begin.

1. “ . . . I’ve learned from observing great leaders how often they tell stories. I don’t mean half-hour stories, but short ones about something that’s happened, either within the group, or historically. They integrate stories into everything . . . . It relates back to the question of how to engage people. These stories aren’t just intellectual stuff. It’s not just data. It’s hitting an emotional level. I’m seeing more and more and that emotional piece is huge.” John Kotter, professor of leadership emeritus at Harvard business School

2. Stories help us remember information because they are dynamic — they hold our attention.
• They inspire us
• They give us insight
• They help us focus our attention (when our attention is being pulled everywhere)
• They speak to relationships — they connect us as human beings, with common human experiences
• They bring what could be perceived as a complex situation down to its essence

3. • Stories fulfill a profound human need to grasp the patterns of living — not merely as an intellectual exercise, but within a very personal, emotional experience.
• A big part of a CEO’s (leader’s) job is to motivate people to reach goals. To do that, he or she must engage their emotions, and the key to their hearts is story. People are not inspired to act by reason alone.
• A story expresses how and why life changes.
• Stories are not about exaggeration and manipulation. Stories are about how you or others engage the struggle and come through it.
• The creative mind cuts to the truth of self and the humanity of others. Self-knowledge is the root of all great storytelling.
Robert McKee, award-winning writer, director, and screenwriting coach, in Harvard Business Review

4. “Telling a purposeful story in a business environment where vital information is embedded and grows organically in the narrative is singularly the best way to energize a product or service into a call to action.” Peter Gubar, author, Tell to Win in “Fables for Board Tables,” Financial Times

5. “If you think of all the great religious leaders, philosophers generals, (political) leaders, what do they have in common? They were all great storytellers.” Stephen Denning, author, in “Fables for Board Tables,” Financial Times

6. Four stories companies need to have:
• Who am I? How did we get started?
• Where are we going in the future?
• Apology and recovery — how you respond to a transgression.
• Personal story – focus on the people within the organization.
“The Power of Storytelling: What Nonprofits Can Teach the Private Sector about Social Media” Jennifer Aaker, Stanford University, and Andy Smith, marketing strategist, authors, The Dragonfly Effect, in McKinsey Quarterly Online Journal

7. “The more vivid the story – through narrative or through imagery – the more emotionally arousing. And emotions are what trigger the impetus to help. The more surprising finding is that showing statistics can actually blunt this emotional response by causing people to think in a more calculative, albeit uncaring, manner.” Deborah Small, Wharton marketing professor, Stanford Social Innovation Review

If you are like all other humans, we are always in the process of thinking we need or want more . . . more of something. And in that thinking, we sometimes become unhappy. Unfulfilled. Tense. Frustrated. You get the picture. We think that when we have whatever that is, then we will be happy. We place the responsibility for our happiness in something outside of ourselves and tell ourselves a story of deprivation instead of gratitude. Perhaps you think you need money, or a partner, or more friends, a thinner body, a stronger body, or a job. Whatever that is, this Thanksgiving, find the gratitude in not having it. Find the “happy” in what is, right now. What is this situation showing you? How are you growing? Who do you have to thank? Is it possible that not having that thing is what is helping you to find your true nature, your true security, your true self — that faith in a benevolent universe that is your only real security and happiness?

This is true for me. Off and on, I tell myself a story that if I had a partner, a regular music gig, a million dollars, and could turn the clock back about 20 years, then everything would be great. But, is that true? Maybe, maybe not. Each one of those things brings its own gifts and challenges. In truth, being single in my 50s, selling my home of 18 years to lighten my load, and continuing to face everyday the challenges of a solopreneur, I am learning to have faith in the only thing that is permanent and real — the Divine. And I’m having so many wonderful experiences of freedom, creativity and adventure, I can’t even begin to count them.

This Thanksgiving, think about the story you are telling yourself right now about your life, your work, all of it. Is it one of gratitude? I encourage you to look for the “happy” in what is. Most of us can’t see into the future, so can’t know how valuable our current experiences are!

Meister Eckhart, the German mystic who lived in the 13th and 14th centuries, said “if the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.” Happy Thanksgiving, and thank YOU!