Do Story

How well you tell your story can make the difference to anything you do

the simple act of isolating one sense somehow does provide the most direct emotional connection to your audience

in fact, tuning into your own story is your power. We are all unique. We have all faced difficult circumstances, experienced triumphs, setbacks and disappointments. But it is how we have made our choices in the face of adversity – how we harnessed courage at our own thresholds – that makes each of us unique and exceptional. This is the story others want to hear. This is why you need to tell your story. And tell it well

it is ‘emotional resonance’ that those conducting the interview will remember

She gave the GPS, a small town in Wales, and context. She explained the ‘problem’ with facts and actions: the petition to halt the building of yet another superstore; her need to get the bank to act.
It built towards the story’s climax. Then when it came to the eleventh hour, her eyes brimmed over with tears, her voice quivered. She had to hold herself back from breaking down. Her passion and vulnerability – how much this meant to her not to disappoint her town – rang through, like a tolling bell. We were compelled by her belief in her story, her emotional intensity. We couldn’t help but pay attention.

Champions have to have last- minute stamina. They have to have the skill and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill

When we tell a story like this we can either state cold, hard truths, or we can create an emotional connection. One way to do this is to make the story personal. To ‘hand over the spark’, and tell your audience why you care so much about this.

Present the cold hard facts. Or make an emotional connection. One tends to work, the other less so. You can either pander to someone’s guilt, for which they will never forgive you, or you can dare to unlatch their heart, for which they will always be gratefu

The gleaming detail is the one thing that captures both the emotion and idea of the story at once, in one fell swoop. A singular, elegant moment of clarity

She hooked in her audience early on by juxtaposing two colliding ideas: taking a holiday and going to one of the most wretched, poverty-stricken places on the planet. It was a headline that was visual and active. Imagine a terrible place. Imagine going there on your vacation. This was her lead