Dare to Share Your Story!

For a long time when I talked about my business, I was reluctant to tell people my whole story. I would leave out the part about being an actress and screenwriter. I had the idea that it would make me seem "flaky" and a less serious business owner. But most times when I let it "slip," I found that it really resonated with people. In retrospect, it seems like a no brainer to talk about how my acting and writing skills help make me a better communication skills trainer but at the time, I was clearly not in love with my whole story. I was holding on to some shame about my path. Are you doing that?

Not telling your whole story to your prospects, clients or associates can be like asking them to start watching a movie from the middle. It feels confusing and less engaging. They may not know why it feels that way but deep down inside you do. 

I'm not suggesting you "overshare" some things may be best left unsaid, but I am suggesting that you dig deep into your past experiences for what you may think is a piece of coal and figure out a way to polish it into a diamond. That's one of the things I love doing with clients.

Recently, a client of mine was struggling with feeling authentic about delivering her "elevator pitch." She hated doing it because it sounded so... you know, "pitchy." She took all my developing a perfect pitch advice and came up with perfectly clear verbiage around what she does and how she can help individuals but it still sounded inauthentic and inconsistent with who she is. That's when I realized that there was something in her "backstory" that she was leaving out and which made her the perfect person to be doing what she is doing. Once we put that in, she sounded so much more authentic, engaging and credible. And she was more at ease telling her story to people than she could ever be trying to sell her services.

The next week I met with two clients who had the exact same issue! We are working to get them to let their stories shine! 

What's your story? If you're sitting on what you think is a stocking full of coal, contact me. I guarantee I can figure out a way to make that "coal" shine like a diamond.