From Story to Success

Now it is also Harvard Business Review that is saying what we are saying and doing- "From Story to Success"! The new wave for business presentation….

Management Tip of the Day
   
Harvard Business Review

JUNE 17, 2013
Use Personal Stories in Your Next Presentation

Messages matter more to people when they're relatable on a human level. Typically, only stories elicit that kind of response.
You can repeat stories you've heard, but audiences feel more affection for presenters who reveal their own challenges and vulnerability by giving personal anecdotes.
Choose ones that are appropriate for the occasion — they're relevant and have the right level of drama.
Think of stories in advance so that you have an arsenal you can draw on again and again.
Brainstorm past events, such as important times in your life — childhood, adolescence, young adulthood — what you learned, and who you learned it from — teachers, bosses, mentors.
Jot down any stories you remember and the emotions they might elicit.
Keep a catalogue of these stories to help you prepare future presentations

And What Else?

I love this- from one of my favorite people in the global coaching world, Michael Bungay Stanier:

"The most powerful coaching question in the world: "And what else?"

It not only teases out more from the person you're coaching (the first thing they have to say is never the only thing), but it stops you from jumping in and offering solutions or advice before it's welcome."

And I would add- keeping asking "and what else" and you will always find another way to move and develop in your life.
It is the basis of creativity, it is the basis of innovation, it is the basis of keeping yourself on your feet, active and alive!

Getting out of the box for my birthday

I wrote this in Hebrew but would also like to share it with my English- speaking friends so I will write it in English as well, why not…

It was my birthday on June 3 and I really was quite excited- yes, I know we are not supposed to get excited about such trivial things at age 54, but I know that still now whenever I see the words "supposed to" I find myself doing the exact opposite…so I took the day off to do things just a tad different, no big revolutions or projects, just a tad different… and I set off to do it with a person I have a very intimate relationship with- myself, as he ain't going away.

The day started with a short meditation in the garden, as I parted from my dear family members who were going about their normal routine just like any other day. I decided to take a yoga class in the neighborhood…only to find that by the time I got their (on foot mind you, not by car as I do every do to everything)- I had arrived at the wrong place. So I canned that idea, took my yoga mat and did yoga for an hour under the tree in the public park…enjoyed it so much that I thought, "why don't I do this more often?".

And then it was back home… but before anything it was time to thank my mother, yes my mother, because she is the one who brought me here, so I called to thank her for giving me my life…she laughed and liked the idea….after all what did I do to get here?Nothing, she did all the work to shlep me around for 9 months- and yes, I thanked my father for his cooperation as well, without him the project would not have succeeded, but let's face it, mom is the main character not dad…

Time for a shower…no, this time it's going to be a bath and we will turn on that Jacuzzi button that we paid for with the house, got all excited about it back then, something that we hardly ever use, let's get our money's worth, so I bubbled myself while reading a article, quite cool actually….

A big salad and then, finally, got to see some of those youtube videos that I have been dying to see of the Dalai Lama and some other Buddhist teachers- Jack Kornfeld, Tara Brach, Joseph Goldstein- finally, I could just sit and watch, nibble and soak it in…nice…

And today, I was finally going to do something I almost never do- see a film off the VOD…I zapped around and decided to go for The Dead Poets Society, a Robbin Williams' film about an idealistic English teacher who goes back to his prep school and tries to get the boys all excited about poetry and thinking for themselves….I saw it years ago….and guess what…by chance, fate or pure coincidence, the plot takes place in 1959….wouldn't you know it…that's my birth year…wow…and by the end of the film I was there with all these tears and emotions- not unusual for me, but something about this Americanized tear-jerker that really hit home…or is it because of my birthday?...After a short afternoon snooze- at our age we can do it, no, 17 hours straight from morning till night is a bit much I think, nothing like those 10 minutes of snoring- it was over for the finale'- a drive up to a small beach north of here to meet 2 great friends, with bottle of wine and a bag full of sushi…the beach was nearly empty, great sun, sky, air, waves, sand…and friendship…what more can one ask for than a beautiful sunset to end a beautiful day…and you know what? If we take away the frills of wine and sushi, this whole day was as simple as it gets, no need to spend money, make big plans, go out and party it up, because actually it was a very simple day, it is so comforting to know that what really makes it tick for me is the simplicity of it all, the small pleasures of life that usually go unnoticed in daily life.

I like this idea, will do it again…you know what, who needs to wait another year for this?...