…and one way to fix it
Facts tell, but stories sell.
If you’re not sure if your story is any good, you’re probably right. That’s the bad news. The good news is that it’s easy to fix.
Three reasons why your story sucks:
- It’s too long
- It’s too boring
- It’s irrelevant
So if you want to power up your story…..then let’s look at how to fix it by doing one thing – giving it my Three Paragraph Structure.
Paragraph 1: Set The Scene. When did it happen? Where was it? What were you going through at the time? Just give me enough details for the story to make sense.
Paragraph 2: What Happened? Tell me what happened and why it was such a big deal you. You get one paragraph to tell me what problem you had, what it felt like, how you fixed it, and how that made you feel.
Paragraph 3: Why Should I Care? Tell me what you learned from it. Tell me the lesson or lessons it taught you and how I can apply this lesson in my own life to get something I want.
Now add a couple of details that make it more interesting, make sure it’s not more than 5 minutes, and voila, you have a much better story than you started.
So let’s repeat:
1 – Set The Scene.
2 – What Happened?
3 – Why Should I Care?
There you go. If you follow those steps, your story won’t be too long, it won’t be boring, and it will be relevant to your listener.