I’m a storyteller. I’ve told telling stories for as long as I can remember. I’ve retold stories I’ve seen or heard to others. I’ve made up stories of my own just to amuse myself. The stories have taken lots of different shapes over the years – press releases, video, scripts, and networking icebreaker. This blog is a place for me to tell more stories.

Every organization, every company, every person has a story to tell. Some are better at sharing their stories than others, and that where I come in. I like to find out about an organization, a company and people, learn about what makes them special, and then tell their story. I enjoy figuring out the best way to tell their story and then getting my hands dirty telling it.

One of the best stories I’ve ever told was when I was working as the Marketing Manager for a tourist attraction in a small town. I was passed a call from a travel reporting by my boss. The reporter wanted to know what they would see if they came to town, so I talked about our current museum time and mentioned the museum we were building. He asked me about the new museum and while holding the fundraising brochure in my hand I began to describe the museum we were developing. In my mind I just followed the description on the brochure and added some of the details that we hoped to have. The reporter thanked me and hung up. A few days later I was called into the bosses office and asked why I was making people think we were ready to open a museum that was at least a year from completion. Apparently I told the story of the museum so well the reporter decided he wanted to come see if even it if wasn’t finished. My boss had to break the news that so far the museum was an empty former factory with nothing in it. While I thought the mix-up was somewhat amusing, neither the reporter or my boss agreed.

I believe it’s our stories that make us similar, and what sets us apart. It’s the stories that we choose to share, and maybe more importantly the ones we don’t, that make us who we are. Telling our own stories (and owning them) changes how people see us. Listening to someone’s story allows you to connect with them on a deeper level. It doesn’t have to be long, or even well written. It just has to have meaning.

Telling stories is something I truly love to do.

This account and the opinions expressed with it are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of any other organization.