Two simple words that will transform your stories forever

It’s two weeks ago, I’m in my living room, catching up with some work. 

My daughter has been getting quieter, so I think she’s getting bored with her game. 

Every so often she tries to get my attention, but I’m trying to focus so I barely respond. 

Then she asks, 

“When’s mom arriving?”

I type for a little longer, then tell her,

“A few more hours, baby.”

“Ohhh, I want her here…”

“You know it’s just a school holiday, so she still needs to go to the office. It’s lucky for you and your sister that I can be home with you.”

She thinks for a moment, then she looks up at me with just a hint of a smile and asks, 

“So… when are you arriving?”

I’m taken aback for a second, then I wag my finger at her and say,

“You… you’re a smart one, you are.”

I’m still not done, so I get back to my work… 

But I can’t help wondering how much easier it would be to have dumb kids 😅

No time like the present 

Real stories are about things that happened in the past, so we should tell them in the past tense, right? That’s what most people do: 

• “It was two weeks ago, I was in my living room…”

• “I was 18, and I had just gotten my driver’s license…”

And that’s… fine. Really. Nothing wrong with that. 

But there’s a better way: tell them in the present tense. As if they are happening right now. 

It’s a small shift, but it makes a huge difference: stories feel more real, more urgent, more tense. It’s easier to engage the audience if it sounds like you’re living the story, and not just telling it. 

Two simple words 

The way you start the story is key: if the first words out of your mouth are “I was,” then you’ve already used the past tense and it’s really hard to change that. 

So the two words you need to say are what I used in the beginning of my story: 

“It’s” and “I’m”. 

That’s it. 

• “It’s two weeks ago”

• “It’s a few days back”

• “It’s last year”

• “I’m 18”

• “I’m in high-school”

• “I’m home”

• “I’m on the airplane”

You get the idea ;-)

And there’s something else that improves when you use the present tense: you are less tempted to break out of the story to give context, or to tell us what’s going to happen later (You can get away with “It was the best night of my life…” , but opening with “It’s the best night of my life...” sounds really awkward). 

It takes some getting used to, but once you’ve gotten started, there’s no going back… 

Just like having children 😂

Stop telling your stories and start living them. All it takes is two simple words 🤘

-Francisco 

Whenever you're ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

1. Getting clarity through your story to stand out from all the other coaches, speakers and entrepreneurs out there 

2. If you dream of speaking on the Red Dot, take this Scorecard and instantly discover how likely your idea is to be accepted by a TED-style organizing committee

3. If you (or your team) got any storytelling challenges, I’m sure there’s something we can do together ;-)

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