In my last post, I shared a story about my grandfather and the song he sang to me when I was a little girl to help me remember to speak clearly.

Don’t you love stories?

Stories are the most powerful tool we have in communicating with others. The reason? Stories anchor truth, facts, or experiences in our memories. If you want to lead others, tell stories.

We remember the stories we hear. 

We remember the stories we tell.

We remember the stories we repeat.

If you learn to tell stories well, you will connect to your listeners powerfully and in a way that they will remember. So, think about what you want to communicate and then find a story that relates.

Everyone enjoys a good story. Stories capture and hold people’s attention.

Find a story from your own life, or a story you’ve read. Choose a story from within your organization, a story from a movie, or a classic fable. Make up a story, or create one, just for today. Tell a story of something that happened recently, or dig years into your past to find the right one.

When you tie a story to your message, people will be more likely to remember both the story and its intended lesson.

Start with me: tell me a story. I’m listening.

This was originally posted at Mountain State University LeaderTalk and is reposted with permission.