Thank Goodness It's Monday #406

FABLES FOR OUR TIME:

USING STORIES

TO TELL YOUR STORY EFFECTIVELY

It’s an idea of legendary proportions. Most philosophies and religions use illustrations and parables to grab attention and help make a complex ethical/philosophical message more concrete.

Aesop’s Fables, originating in the 5^th Century BCE come immediately to mind.

 

The Ant and the Grasshopper. The Fox and the Grapes. The Lion and the Mouse. 
 

Get the point of those illustrations?

 

Not the fine Milo Winter illustrations at the right from his 1919 edition of Aesop’s Fables. Rather the Fables themselves. Just their titles, two or three key words, bring both the stories and their lessons to mind.

 

TGIM Takeaway: The right example -- object lesson, case in point, anecdote, fable, parable; call it what you will – can be worth ten thousand words of lengthy explanation. (Up to this parenthetical point the word count here is only 120, but you’ve got a pretty big picture, right?.)

Or consider the biblical parables. All 64 of them. Those vivid illustrations gave life to Christian teachings. And, says the New Testament, these parables helped those who were responsive to Jesus “hear Him gladly.” They’ve survived for nearly 2,000 years and are routinely cited today.

Your move: Whether giving a speech or a talk or simply making an important point in informal conversation, a story that provides an example can have more impact than all the dry facts and statistics you can muster.

So here are some TGIM pointers for effectively using stories that will get you to a place where listeners hear you gladly:

► Pick your shots. Some people, when they latch on to a good illustration, use it so often it quickly loses its punch. But few “classic” anecdotes need to be told that much that immediately.

TGIM ACTION IDEA: Tell your tale to make a point that’s appropriate, not simply to tell the story. Maybe even wait for the right opportunity to share your story. That means the right audience, at the right moment, in the right mood.

► Practice, practice, practice … Like shows bound for Broadway or even a celebrated comedian’s new laugh-getters, try new material out modestly before you take it to the big time.

TGIM ACTION IDEA: Ask mentors, trusted advisors, perhaps friends and family members for constructive criticism. Then be guided by it. 

► … but seem spontaneous. Despite all your practice and any refining along the way, try to relate the anecdote without sounding as though you’re reciting it from memory.

TGIM ACTION IDEA: Every time you tell a tale, enjoy it as much as you expect the audience to. Smile (when appropriate, of course) to help conceal the fact that you’ve committed the material to memory.

► Funny is a relative thing. Be very careful about what you present as funny. While some comedians earn big paydays with their outraged and outrageous views, unless you intend to make a career change, shun most humor as controversial. You may be surprised at how “incorrect” some seemingly innocuous tales can be.

TGIM ACTION IDEA: To insure the light touch, go for the smile, not the big guffaw. To test for offensiveness, substitute another gender, race, religion, or ethnic origin in any story you think is funny. (Aesop’s Fables substituted animals for humans and thus Aesop – a slave -- could not be accused of offending any of his human “betters.”)

Added point: If you make yourself the focus of a comical anecdote, you’re least likely to offend. Further, humor at your expense is often a good icebreaker, especially if your audience doesn’t know you well. It makes you seem more human and gives the assemblage a sense of how you view things before you begin hitting your really important points. But –

► No surprising starts. When a dialogue on a topic is firmly established or even heated and ongoing, you can probably jump in with your story to help make your case. But when you’re essentially cold, a little warm-up is probably wise.

TGIM ACTION IDEA: Opening with an anecdote works best when it’s kept simple, such as how you came to be there or why you were invited to present to this particular audience.

So, about now you may be wondering –

Where do I find good illustrative stories? 

You could start with Aesop. There’s a lot to work with there. Or the biblical parables if they’re suitable for your audience. And connect with the other all-time  masters of the form such as Franklin or Twain or Emerson or … you get the idea. Histories and biographies of anyone you admire should also be fertile ground. 

And/or go more modern: Stay alert for anecdotal wisdom from the rich and famous among the living. They’re not always renowned for their bad behavior. Just be cautious that today’s celebrity hero isn’t fleeting or has feet of clay. Link to the desirable parts of their stories, not necessarily to the individuals themselves as total lifestyle role models.

Or, even better, in your search for good illustrative stories that are unique and new –

DO IT YOURSELF: Be an observer of life. Good material is all around. Watch people and how they interact with the problems and joys of daily life.

TGIM IDEA IN ACTION: Think about what you see and use the lens of your unique experience to focus on the particular point you discover in the otherwise common events of life.

Even if you never share your observations with a wider audience, you’ll still have a story with a happy ending.

Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com

P.S. Apollonius of Tyana, a 1st century CE philosopher, is recorded as having said about Aesop:

... like those who dine well off the plainest dishes, he made use of humble incidents to teach great truths, and after serving up a story he adds to it the advice to do a thing or not to do it. Then, too, he was really more attached to truth than the poets are; for the latter do violence to their own stories in order to make them probable; but he by announcing a story which everyone knows not to be true, told the truth by the very fact that he did not claim to be relating real events.”