I’ve recently come to follow best-selling author Anne Lamott.
She’s wise, funny, grounded, generous and irreverent. It’s been a lot of fun to check her out and she speaks right into my heart. Anne is known for books such as Bird by Bird (which is about writing), Traveling Mercies, Hallelujah Anyway, and a book about what she calls the three essential prayers: Help, Thanks, Wow.
(Great titles aren’t they?)
She also speaks around the world, has been on Oprah’s Super Soul Sunday and last weekend I watched her endearing, inspiring TED talk – 12 truths I learned from life and writing.
Anne is an example of someone who, when she speaks, is clearly being herself. Her authenticity, quirkiness, vulnerability and inner-self shines through. When I watch her speak I feel that she’s just chatting with me in her kitchen or on a walk. There’s no barrier between her and me.
As a speaker myself, I hope I aspire to that as well. A great talk shouldn’t be “I’m up here and you’re down there…I know stuff and you don’t.”
Better is “come, let us talk together.”
The title of this blog post is from something Anne said during a talk I just watched on YouTube and I had to stop watching to write this to you.
YES…all interesting stories are “me, too”stories. Your best stories don’t have to be earth-shaking I-saw-my-life-flash-before-my-eyes stories. What you want are everyday stories which we can all relate to.
Storytelling is about bridging the common ground between you and me. When you tell your stories, what is the universal human thing it’s about? As a speaker, you want your audiences to say to themselves…”ah, me too!” “I’m like her/him and he/she is like me.”
When they do this, you’ve forged a bond which is impactful and special.