One Sunday morning a young woman was out walking when she spotted ahead of her the wise old healer of the village. The young woman, who was home on holiday from University, hurried to catch up to her.
They fell in together walking and chatting, and finally the young woman turned to the old woman and said ‘How is it, wise healer, that you always have just the right story to tell, for just the right situation?
The old woman thought for a long moment and then she said ‘Let me tell you a story.
A very famous archer was out walking in the forest when he came to small house, and on the side wall of the house was a series of archery targets, and right in the centre of each target was a hole made by an arrow.
He looked at all the holes sitting right in the middle of the bulls eye and he wondered who on earth was this brilliant archer.
So he knocked on the door of the house. A woman with long red hair answered and the famous archer asked ‘Does the archer responsible for the targets on the side of the house live here?”‘
The woman replied ‘Oh yes, that would be my daughter Grace.’
She called her daughter and the archer was astounded when there before him stood a girl of about 10.
Grace confirmed that yes, she was the person who practised her archery on the outside wall and she agreed to show the archer how she did it.
So they went outside and the girl walked ten paces out from the wall, then she turned and fired her arrow. It landed on the wall. Then walked to the wall, bent down and from under the house brought out a small bucket. She painted a bulls eyes around her arrow….
By this time the young woman walking along with the old woman was laughing. and the old woman said
‘So that’s how I do it.”
***
Choosing to tell the right story for the right occasion is an art. Here are four ideas to guide you:
Tell stories you feel connected to
The first and most crucial rule is that we choose to tell stories that resonate with us, that make sense, make our heart sing, that feel meaningful and important, to us. To choose and tell a story that doesn’t reflect our values or beliefs will jar inside us and likely inside the audience too.
Let the story choose you
If you have a choice of story that could fit the occasion, let the story choose you; pick the story that is knocking inside you to be told, it knows better than your rational mind what it has to offer and what it is you need to work with.
Dance with the story and your need
If you have a purpose in mind, or a message and you want to find a story to illustrate it, or the situation or audience has specific needs, you must learn to dance between the bigger purpose of your storytelling, and allowing the story lead you. We mustn’t force or manipulate a story to fit, the story needs to be able to breathe.
Nothing is ever wasted
Sometimes it is like trying to find needle in a haystack, we scour the books, the internet, the stories we have collected, trying to find just the right one. Even if we are unsuccessful, every search exposes us to a wide range of stories that expands our knowledge and may be perfect for another time.
Leave a Reply