How to tell your story so the world listens.

This week I read 'How to tell your story so the world listens' by Bobette Buster. Until reading this book, I never realised or thought of the way stories impact the world and the complete importance of them. The book also shares anecdotes which explore people who have changed the world through their stories and also by making personal connections so that people will listen. 

One anecdote really made me listen. A man named Scott who was a Doctor volunteered to work around the poorest parts of the world to help ill people. Scott became annoyed at sharing a cabin which was on one of the Mercy Ships travelling around, as he came from 'living like a prince in Manhattan'. This shows how sheltered and arrogant he became. However, when one of the crew said to him that all this sickness mainly came from the dirty water they drink, his life changed. He realised that being annoyed at sharing a cabin was ridiculous and that there were more important things in life. He then went on to raise money from a ball to create a charity which would give poor people around the world clean water. CharityWater changed over 3.2 million peoples lives around the world in 20 countries. This to me is a story which changed the world just through one mans change of outlook on life. 

Stories are made to make people listen. They can create unity, destroy and have many other effects on people. When it comes to telling your own story, it's about digging deep so listeners really know who you are and what to think of you. In times gone, people have not been able to tell their stories and when they have passed away, others have been able to write over your life to tell their stories, whether true or false. This to me is where it becomes important for one to tell their own story so that others cannot destroy reputation or write over something which isn't true. An example of this is this week, Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad died which was devastating news. However, news has also come out about him that he may have been a Nazi. If this man was able to tell his story before he passed away, this may not have been the case. This is how story's are used to destroy. 

A poem in this book described ways of telling a story and how to set a scene: 

I keep six honest serving-men  (They taught me all I knew);Their names are What and Why and When  And How and Where and Who.-Rudyard Kipling 

The book to me was rounded up in this poem as it gave tips on how to make the listener wanting more. Set the scene. Evoke the senses. Be vulnerable. Tell your story like your telling it to a friend. I feel the more interesting the story, the deeper it goes. We all want to listen to a story which takes us somewhere but doesn't give everything away. This is the way to a successful story.

I loved this book and how it helped me understand the true meaning of what it means to tell a story or even to create one.