**Worksheet and Post inspired and adapted from the principles behind the Heath Brother's book "Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die""**
[2 Minute Read]
How do you ensure that the ideas you are communicating are understood? How can you get your ideas across? You craft stories around what you are trying to teach.
The Power of Story
Stories have the power to transform.
Shortly after graduating from college I moved to Daytona Beach FL, where I did not know anyone. I moved there to start a franchise of a national non-profit. The first step in doing so was raising tens of thousands of dollars. This consisted of meeting with folks 1 on 1 to share about the organization and inviting them to invest.
To prepare for these meetings I created a detailed outline of my talking points. It contained facts about the organization, statistics, and plenty of bullet points. While I had passion and put in hard work I did not see progress. My desire to see folks understand the organization seemed to fall flat. If I am honest I often felt defeated in this season.
During this time I ended up reading “Made to Stick” by the Heath Brothers. The book contained a lot of useful advice.
They taught that you must first strip your long list of ideas down to a core idea. Then they pushed for wrapping that core idea in a story. They showed example after example of how this would lead to impact. They argued also that stories were memorable and entertaining.
Over time I shifted my presentation to a story based format. By the end of this process I had cut my 4 page document down to 2 bullet points!
I still remember my first meeting after changing my format. I walked into a diner to meet a new prospective donor named Steve with my palms sweating. I was nervous that I was not prepared enough. My only notes for my talking points consisted of a sticky note with four words on it.
Stacy Story
FIT Story
Each story represented one of the two main core ideas of the organization.
As I talked with Steve I shared those two stories. They immediately resonated! Afterwards it felt like Steve understood who we were and what we were about. It seemed to click into place. It was a validating and fulfilling experience that lifted my spirits.
I had learned that stories have the power to transform.
Shortly after graduating from college I moved to Daytona Beach FL, where I did not know anyone. I moved there to start a franchise of a national non-profit. The first step in doing so was raising tens of thousands of dollars. This consisted of meeting with folks 1 on 1 to share about the organization and inviting them to invest.
To prepare for these meetings I created a detailed outline of my talking points. It contained facts about the organization, statistics, and plenty of bullet points. While I had passion and put in hard work I did not see progress. My desire to see folks understand the organization seemed to fall flat. If I am honest I often felt defeated in this season.
During this time I ended up reading “Made to Stick” by the Heath Brothers. The book contained a lot of useful advice.
They taught that you must first strip your long list of ideas down to a core idea. Then they pushed for wrapping that core idea in a story. They showed example after example of how this would lead to impact. They argued also that stories were memorable and entertaining.
Over time I shifted my presentation to a story based format. By the end of this process I had cut my 4 page document down to 2 bullet points!
I still remember my first meeting after changing my format. I walked into a diner to meet a new prospective donor named Steve with my palms sweating. I was nervous that I was not prepared enough. My only notes for my talking points consisted of a sticky note with four words on it.
Stacy Story
FIT Story
Each story represented one of the two main core ideas of the organization.
As I talked with Steve I shared those two stories. They immediately resonated! Afterwards it felt like Steve understood who we were and what we were about. It seemed to click into place. It was a validating and fulfilling experience that lifted my spirits.
I had learned that stories have the power to transform.
Worksheet
The process of editing down my 4 page document to a 2 bullet point sticky note was not an overnight process. This WORKSHEET contains all the tips and tricks I picked up along the way. Use it to craft stories that will make an impact. Not any old story will do. But a crafted story can transform.