RobKinney.com

Imagine for a second…

How to tell a story

Rob

　　Many of us our authors and we can write a good story, but how many of us can tell a good story? How many of us can get up and verbally tell a story.? For that matter how many of us have ever done any acting?
　　I believe that both of these traits are almost essential to being able to tell a story. There is something to be said for when you get in front of an audience and start out with the phrase “Once upon a time”. It captures everyone’s attention and immediately the look to you to be taken away to a different world and to be entertained.

　　But what are the keys to telling a story verbally? I believe not only are these keys to telling a verbal story but they are also the foundation of a written story.

　　Once upon a time – The magical phrase. It captures people’s attention and transports them to a new world. Your audience recognizes this as the beginning of a story. It sets the tone that you are going to tell a story.

　　Main character – You tell your audience who they need to care about, who the story is going to revolve around. In acting you act out your character, you become that person and you can do the same when telling a story.

　　Acting out – In telling a story, you don’t have to be a reporter and just dish out the details, you can actually act out the parts to add more realism and action to the story. This makes for a more well rounded story. It will also bring your audience further into the story.

　　Setting – In most verbal stories, the setting is not complex. It is just enough to give a feel to the place. Verbal story telling allows the imagination take over. If done well, people may have slightly varying descriptions of what they heard but, that is the beauty of storytelling.

　　Description – The more description you have in your story the better. It allows your audience to put themselves into the scene and feel that they are there. The description is not long and drawn out. Instead, it like the setting, is simple and concise. Description uses simple words. It uses, LARGE, BIG, BOOMING words. Words that will capture the attention of those listening.

　　Actions – Your actions as you are telling a story can draw the audience in. Sweeping hand motions. Stomping across your stage. Shouting or whispering. All of the actions you make can add to the story you are telling and helps to bring it to life and capture the attention of your audience.

　　Anyway you look at it, storytelling is beneficial to the author who only writes stories but, it is a true art form in its own right. It is an art form that a lot of people no longer take advantage of. All it takes is some imagination and some practice. Go tell a story.

　　

How do you tell a story?

How to light a fire

Rob

　　There are times when we all get into a slump. If it is during the times when you had a nine to five job, it probably involved a talking to by your boss. He or she most likely told you that you need to fix things because your productivity or quality sucks. They may have even come out and said that you are on the verge of losing your job and even if they didn’t, you sure felt like it.
　　
　　When you are running your own business, it felt kind of the same but maybe without the boss nagging at you. You probably saw a reduction in clients and quality. Everything begins to feel and look the same, you’re bored. So, what do you do? How do you add fire to your project? How do you light a fire underneath you?
　　
　　The first thing is to recognize it, especially before it begins or at least before it gets too bad. If you let it go on too long, the harder it may be to dig yourself out of it. You recognize it by noticing repetition and boredom. When things begin to become routine, it is a sign that you are not moving forward, you are only maintaining your position.
　　
　　So what to do? Like I said above, the biggest reason for being in a slump is because you are not moving forward. To change that, take a look at everything.
　　

Success is not a destination, it is a journey.

　　When you’ve stopped moving forward, you’ve reached a destination, you are no longer succeeding. You need to get back to the journey. In other words, you need to keep moving forward, keep striving towards something.
　　
　　So the first thing to take a look at is your vision. Are you where you want to be? What is the next step? Where else do you want to go? Dream. DREAM BIG! You have to make a decision, do you want to re-work the vision you have or do you want to create a new vision?
　　
　　When you re-work the vision you have, take a look to see if you have accomplished everything you would like. Also look to see what else could be done, what is new and exciting. Become an innovator in your field again. Try to outdo everyone else. At this point, nothing stands still and since you’ve been in a slump, a number of people and technologies may have passed you by, catch up to them and pass them.
　　
　　You can create a new vision, that would be just like you did when you began the venture you are in but, there is one difference. You want to have a hand off plan for the venture you are in. How are you going to keep the current venture running so you can journey to the next. We are entrepreneurs, we are creators, we build, we do not destroy or let a business waste away. Develop a plan for handing off the current venture to someone, and get excited about it. This will also help your bottom line and your credibility.
　　
　　Start by asking questions. Of your current venture, ask where do you want to be; what could be different; what is new; what are others doing; what is the new technology? Get away from being an employee and begin being an entrepreneur again. Take a look at the business through those glasses. Approach it like it is a business you are looking at taking over.
　　
　　Questions are the essence of dreaming and creating. What if? Is one of the strongest questions out there because it allows you to imagine again. During this process, you want to imagine the possibilities. Use that to create your vision, share that vision with your team and get excited about it.
　　
　　Once you have the vision, get excited about it. Grow your passion for it. Once you begin to get excited again, you may notice that you are out of your slump. That is because you are moving again, you are on that journey of success again. You have a new goal. You are building passion and that is what we thrive on, that is what allows us to achieve.
　　
　　To get excited about things, create something new or change things. When you begin to change things and try different or new things, your excitement can build. This happens again because you are moving forward but it is also because of your curiosity. You want to experiment, you want to try new things, getting an adrenaline rush from it. Change brings momentum. As you change things, this forces other things and people to change and to move, which starts the ball rolling.
　　
　　So great, you’ve started the ball rolling, you have some momentum but, how do you keep it going? Especially when you have to keep the current venture running and yet other things are vying for your attention. First off, deal with it. It is this feeling of being overwhelmed that we as entrepreneurs that we have come to expect, it is only because we haven’t been on this journey for a while that it seems new to us at this time.
　　
　　Once you have that momentum, to keep it going, have people hold you accountable. Have someone to report to and have them force you to be responsible for your actions. This will keep you moving forward, thinking about what you are doing and responding to their input.
　　
　　One of the best ways to do this is through a mastermind or peer group. You gather on a regular basis to discuss the project and make sure you are on track for progress. You have someone or a group of people to answer to.
　　
　　The other thing you can do is to maintain the attitude of always moving forward. One way to do this is to consistently review your vision, your progress and your business in general. Are you moving forward? Are you making progress? Are things changing or staying the same? Answering these questions will keep the idea of forward momentum at the forefront of your mind at all times.
　　
　

　So how else can we light a fire underneath us?