Are you like many people, reluctant to tell your backstory? The investigation found that their reluctance can be attributed to many reasons. For example, you may fear appearing weak, bored, internally focused on the negative parts of your story, or perhaps feeling unrelated to business. Whatever the reason, you are deceiving yourself and your customers by not sharing the valuable gift that shaped your life, your business, or your career. Consider Stevie Wonder’s words “Life only has meaning in struggle.” Her message was to share her struggle to help others find meaning, purpose, and prosper.
What the experts say
People, including your customers, want to know that their business can improve and live a more fulfilling life. So sharing your backstory, what you’ve learned from your failures, and how you overcame your challenges can be invaluable, even life-changing. Peter Guber, President and CEO of Mandalay Bay Entertainment believes that storytelling is in our DNA. He says, “There is a treasure to be discovered, and it is within you.”
Sharing your backstory effectively
How do you tell your story effectively? Reflect on your life and the triggering events, people or moments that changed your life and put you on the path you followed to success. You may have been in a dark place, failed at something, or experienced what seemed like insurmountable obstacles. Don’t discount those negative parts. To connect with your listener, you need to relate your backstory to all of its associated pain, frustration, obstacles, and fears or sorrows. However, a key differentiator in telling a success story is following that pain with an account of how you overcame obstacles and how what you learned helped you succeed. Your background can give your clients a glimpse of what you are and what you may be in the future. Such stories can get listeners into action.
Stories as a tool
Stories are a great sales tool and your backstory can be helpful and compelling. The stories act as simulators and allow people to experience the process and the resulting outcome mentally and emotionally. Not only do they allow them to simulate the experience, but research also shows that they activate the same area of the brain as those activated by actual experience. The more vivid the image you create, the stronger the impact on the listener and their desire to act.
Where and how to start
When you tell your backstory and move clients into action, opening your story should allow them to engage with you or your main character. If they can’t relate, they won’t care what happens next or how the story ends. Like the movies we love, great stories have the right visuals and sentiment to reach the emotional side of the listener’s brain. First you want to connect with his heart and then with his mind. As you tell your story, be sure to include specific, concrete, and relevant details to transport your listener to your story. How much detail you include depends on the personality and situation of your client. In either case, it should contain enough elements to create a compelling vision.
MIT
My other tip today is to make sure you focus on the main point or, as history coach Doug Lipman, MIT puts it, THey SUBWAYost Iimportant THing. Before jumping into your story, you need to be sure of the reason you are telling the story and the point you want to make.
Meaning and purpose
It is the meaning and purpose that Mark Twain referred to when he said, “The two most important days of your life are the day you were born … and the day you know why.” Sharing your backstory can help your client find their purpose and you experience yours. Therefore, it is critical to your success to be clear about the goal and point of your story. You may have more than one point that you want to highlight in your story, but don’t overshadow the main point with the secondary point or points. It’s easy to go off on a tangent, so write down your story and practice telling it to a friend or family member before telling it to a client.
Authenticity = Inspiration
Authentic personal stories inspire clients to take action, so be sure to be honest as it will show in your voice and body language. Your story can also help your client understand information that they are not familiar with. As a result, your story will help you make a decision. Remember that facts and figures inform, but stories inspire. So inspire your audience with your backstory.