Curating Stories that Change Lives
- Steve Soars
- Jun 16
- 3 min read
Updated: Aug 13
Storytelling is a powerful tool in our sage toolbox, making your ideas clearer and more memorable. Relying on your memory to randomly come up with the right story at the right time to help someone you are mentoring is insufficient. Instead, learn to curate stories.
I began by listing all the topics or issues that surfaced in my sage conversations with the leaders I was helping.
Then I took some time to think about examples in my own business and ministry experience where I faced similar challenges: What did I do? What did I learn? Who taught me through their examples? From those I began to discover compelling stories.
Then I carefully shaped those stories so they were clear and succinct.
Lastly, I practiced telling each story until it was second nature.
That was a breakthrough in my ability to use stories to impact mentees. But perhaps the biggest benefit has been that, now, when I encounter a great story, I ask myself, what is the primary lesson in this story? What issue does it clearly address that my mentees often ask about? And then I write out that story and add it to my repertoire. Now I have hundreds of powerful stories.
Using Stories as Succinct Precision Learning Tools
Without discipline, stories can drag on and be confusing. It takes skill and practice to use them efficiently and with precision. Here are the six steps I follow:
When a mentee describes a challenge or opportunity that they are facing, I ask myself: What is the essence of this issue and what story in my toolbox would most help them discover a path forward? With this story in mind, I first make it clear to them the point of the story and then tell the story. Always make the point before you tell the story. The point is the idea or question that you believe is the gestalt or at the core of their issue at hand. If you first tell the story and then make the point, as you are telling the story their mind is searching for the big idea you are pointing them to, and they miss many of the small learnings embedded in the story.
When retelling the story, first take your mentee back into the subject’s setting so their heart and mind is positioned to hear the primary message of the story. What was happening in the subject’s life or enterprise at the start of this story? What were you afraid of or excited about?
Connect the mentee to the heart of the subject. People hear life changing messages from the heart, not the head. This often is about their longings or their fears.
Set up the challenge or problem the subject faced so that your mentee can see the alignment with their issue.
Show the mentee the subject's discovery, don't just tell it. What did they discover that addressed their longing or challenge? Ruthlessly edit out non-essential information from the story so it is uncluttered enough for the one or two big lessons to shine clearly.
Ask the mentee to draw out the meaning and implications from the story. People remember and apply lessons they learn and discover for themselves. Affirm their conclusions by expanding on the story further or with your personal experience.
I encourage you to put this level of effort into growing as a storyteller!
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