Mastering the Art of Storytelling: How Creativity, Vulnerability, and Inspiration Can Transform Your Narrative

In my opinion, National ‘Tell a Story Day’ should be celebrated daily.

Some elements of storytelling are pretty straight-forward. Action, dialogue, descriptions, monologues, and narrative are the building blocks of any good story. The format in which you tell the story–on stage, looking at notes, written by hand, typed on the screen–still, is pretty straightforward.

We all need to be able to tell stories to connect. To connect with others on a personal level, to share the stories of our business to our audiences, to be able to communicate our point of view.

Here are three key areas you can use to help tell a better story:

Creativity

Creativity doesn’t have to be about art, it can be about delivery. It can be as simple as connecting imagery to the words of your story; giving the audience something visual to experience. Reading the words on paper is one thing, but hearing those words as lyrics set to music transports you entirely. What are the ways you can tell your story more creatively?

Vulnerability

As humans, how often are we willing to share our authentic struggles? These struggles often serve as the inspiration for why we do what we do. They define us. So why do we try to hide them, instead of using them to connect with others? Think about 1 to 3 struggles that have led you to be who you are today. Have you developed the characters, descriptions, and narratives to help you tell the story of these struggles most effectively to an audience?

Inspiration

Inspiration is the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something. If a story causes confusion vs. clarity, or if it rambles vs. has structure, your message can get lost to your audience. Think about a time where someone has shared with you that you inspired them. What were the elements of how you presented your story that created the inspiration in the first place? (Examples: what did you share with them, what wisdom did you provide that caused them to act) How can you apply these findings to your stories to connect more deeply and more often?

Now that you are looking at your stories in a new way, what stories are you most excited to share?

Kevin Frick is the Vice Dean for Education at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School. He has been an avid runner for the past 11 years – participating in 9 marathons (including Boston in 2013) and one 55 mile ultra marathon in South Africa.  He has spoken about mentoring to the Carey Women in Business student association and for TEDx JHU DC.  You can follow his personal blog where many of his poems appear as well as his professional blog