The Actor & The Asker: Similarity #10

Hi there. Ed Hohlbein here to bring you the 10^th similarity between ACTORS and ASKERS.

Question for you - after your first five basic needs – air, water, food, shelter, and sleep – are met, what need comes next? Connection with others. And what is one way we have connected through the ages? Through STORY – sharing our stories.

Storytelling describes the social and cultural activity of sharing stories, sometimes with improvisation and theatrics. Every culture has its own stories or narratives, which are shared as a means of entertainment, education, cultural preservation, or instilling moral values.

ACTORS are master storytellers. They draw an audience into the world the writer has created through their mastery of story. Stories are what connect us. Storytelling helps us to relate to one another, identify similarities that exist between us, and create bonds that lead to strong lasting relationships. Building strong lasting relationships is of course the cornerstone/foundation of an ASKERS work. ASKERS who take their cue from ACTORS and master the art of storytelling can’t help but be successful.

Here are 4 essential truths that should be present in every story as shared by Entrepreneur & Filmmaker, Peter Guber in the Harvard Business Review. When adhered to, these truths will turn any ASKER into a master storyteller.

1 – Truth to the Teller: Authenticity is a crucial quality of the storyteller. Guber shares, a modern storyteller “knows his own deepest values and reveals them in his story with honesty and candor.”

2 – Truth to the Audience: The great storyteller takes time to understand what her listeners know about, care about, and want to hear. Then she crafts the essential elements of the story so that they elegantly resonate with those needs, starting where the listeners are and bringing them along on a satisfying emotional journey.

3 – Truth to the Moment: A good storyteller should be so practiced and rehearsed that she can, “drop the script and improvise when the situation calls for it. If you know your story well, you can riff on it without losing the thread or the focus.”

4 – Truth to the Mission: A great storyteller is devoted to a cause beyond self. That mission is embodied in his stories, which capture and express values that he believes in and wants others to adopt as their own. The job of the teller is to capture his mission in a story that evokes powerful emotions and thereby wins the assent of his listeners. Everything he does must serve that mission.

Guber’s 4 truths are super insightful and certainly changed how I used story in my asks.

My advice for ASKERS today. Develop your story and stick to it. I know that’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.

Thank you so much for watching and have a GREAT day.