I was thrilled to see Sandy McDonald speak at TEDx Melbourne last week to an audience of 890 TED enthusiasts. Her words were heart-warming indeed and rewarded with a standing ovation no less!
What Sandy did so beautifully, was weave together three highly moving stories – that of her father who lied about his age to become a bomber pilot in WW2 at age 18; how the simple idea of ‘knitting a square’ backed by the power of the internet created a world-wide movement to provide thousands of blankets to South African orphans; and how the life of her first grand-daughter, born severely premature, was saved.
Her theme? Stories save lives.
But do personal stories have a place in business? Hell yes! In fact, they will even shape and make your business, as is the case with Sandy.
In the business arena, there’s no better investment for your marketing dollar than honing your story-sharing skills. Great ideas backed by a purposeful story and the ability to share it at will, whether on a TED stage or when pitching to an investor, have the capacity to power up your business.
In the life arena, there’s no better investment in yourself than honing your story-sharing skills. They unite families and leave a legacy for future generations. They bring communities together. They help struggling friends. And they even help strangers (as has been the case for many women reading my personal memoir Unstuck in Provence).
So, what’s your story and whom are you sharing it with?
Need some help? Join us at the ‘Is there a TED talk in you?’ program to be hosted by myself, Jon Yeo (TEDx Melbourne curator), Sandy McDonald (TEDx speaker) and Yamini Naidu (Business Storyteller). This program will see you unearthing, crafting and then sharing your idea and story at a public speaker graduation evening and after-party. Bookings close tomorrow Friday 20 October. Read more, Email me or phone 0412 806 950 if you’d like a chat.
NB Sorry about the very bad photo taken from my iphone showing Sandi at TEDx with a rugged up orphan, but you get the picture 🙂
