A uniquely named butcher

“Francisco, now that I’m moving out of this loft and you’re moving in, you have a big responsibility,” my friend Chris said. 

“Ok…”

“You have to barbecue for all our friends like I’ve been doing for years.”

“Me?? But I never barbecued in my life!”

“It’s not that hard, man, I’m sure I can teach you the basics.”

“Alright, if you think so… I guess I can give it a go. How do I light the fire and prepare the meat then?”

“Whoa, wait up. Aren’t you forgetting some steps first?”

“I don’t know, am I?”

“Where do you buy the meat?”

“Um… the supermarket?”

“Nope. Can’t find what you need there. And what meat would you buy?”

“Hm… beef or pork?”

“Well, yes. But you might need to narrow that down a little bit more!”

“Ok… what I am supposed to do then?”

“First of all, you go to the Boqueria market, off the Ramblas. There’s a butcher there that used to be called Casanova…”

“Like the guy who seduced lots of women?”

“Yep. But they changed the name, now it’s… Blojobb.”

“What?!? You’re kidding, right?”

“Afraid not. I guess it means something else in their language... Anyway, when you get there, ask for…”

Here’s why most storytelling advice is backwards

Most storytelling advice talks about using the right structure, increasing tension, making characters relatable, having a clear point and so on. All of that matters to tell a great story - but not before you do one thing first: 

Find the story. 

If you’re not a writer, odds are you’re not writing fiction, so before you can improve a story, you need to have a story. You need something that happened in real life (ideally to you or someone you know) that you can use to make a point. You can’t season the meat before you buy it, right? 

How do you find a story 

Most stories told in a business setting (in meetings, presentations, discovery calls or social media) will be about a problem your audience has - and that you have something to say about.

So ask yourself: when was the first time you came across that problem? Or the last time? What was the worst (maybe the one that pushed you to do something about it)? Or the best (either because you solved it, or maybe because it was funny or entertaining)? 

One of the most common ways to use it is to start with the first time you realised something was wrong, and end with the moment you decided to fix it. (That's an approach I often use with my clients when we prepare TED-style talks.)

First, Last, Worst, Best. 

It works for just about anything. Just pick a noun (job, boss, teacher, holiday), run it through “First, Last, Worst, Best” and I bet some potential stories will come to mind. 

Once you find the story, then you can get that fire going 🤘

-Francisco 

PS: If you want a nifty PDF with a worksheet I use with my clients to find lots of story ideas, just reply to this email and I’ll send it to you!

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 at a TED-style conference, we can find your idea, book the talk of your dreams and deliver it with impact

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

Thanks for reading! Reply any time.