STORY HOUR

Today we will share stories inspired by “Stories Th(at) Work: A company, product or service story.”

How do you tell the story of your company, product or service?

Today we’ll hear stories that illustrate the why or the what of our work. If you’re a founder, share why you’re in the business you are. If you are a product or sales leader, share a story that illustrates the impact on your users or customers.

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STORY HOUR

Today we’ll hear stories of when you discovered what you want to be when you grow up. These formative stories are powerful in sharing who we are with others. Feel free to choose a story from your childhood or early in career. Think about what moments or experiences helped you figure out what you could be as a “grown-up.”

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STORY HOUR

Today we will share stories inspired by “Storytelling Tool: Pitch and Pace”

Pitch and pace are vocal tools that help us elevate stories through dramatization. Today we’ll explore ways to leverage pitch and pace in our storytelling. Dialogue, emotional shifts, and high stakes all offer opportunities to play with pitch and pace. Bring a story that lets you stretch into your own use of pitch and pace, or one that illustrates what can go wrong when pitch and pace are misused or misinterpreted.

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STORY HOUR

Pivotal moments in our lives are excellent fodder for stories. These are the moments when our values are challenged, or our mettle is put to the test. They’re the moments that redirect the trajectory of our lives—for better or for worse. Sometimes they’re as small as a poignant comment or a single phone call. Sometimes it’s the moment someone enters or leaves our lives. Sometimes it’s a seismic event that radically transforms everything around us. What are the moments that made you?

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STORY HOUR

Today we will share stories inspired by “Surprise!”

We choose this prompt because the surprises of our lives easily lend themselves to great storytelling. Surprises are rooted in the unexpected, so they are coupled with meaning making. Consider the last time you were surprised. What did it mean to you? What happened as a result?

Alternatively, stories can be engineered to surprise an audience. Consider a story you tell often. How might you restructure or reframe it to surprise your audience?

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STORY HOUR

Today's theme is Revisit: Retell a story you’ve told at Story Hour before. We choose this prompt because although we welcome repeat stories, we don’t often get them! Choose a story you’ve told before, and try to give it another spin. Imagine a different audience or context in which you might tell the story, or tweak your theme to be slightly different. We’re curious to see how stories evolve and where you’re able to take your story after a feedback session.

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STORY HOUR

Today's theme is Make it relatable: A story that embeds data. We choose this prompt because weaving data into a story is a skill unto itself. Consider questions that are best answered with some hard data or information, and figure out how to carry that information through a narrative storyline that appeals to the head AND the heart. We’ll use this Story Hour to focus on how data can effectively be wrapped into storylines so that the information is more easily remembered and better contextualized.

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STORY HOUR

Today's theme is Values in Action: Illustrate how an organizational or personal value comes to life. We choose this prompt because communicating our values—whether personal or organizational—is often best done with illustrative stories. Choose a moment, decision, interaction, or choice that highlights how you live a value, or a value comes to life within your company. Help your audience understand why that value matter, but more importantly, the impact of living by that value.

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STORY HOUR

Today's theme is Change My Mind: A story to convince me to a new point of view. We choose this prompt because storytelling is a powerful way to influence and persuade another person. Pick a topic or issue near to you, and craft a story that will convince your audience of your point of view. Try to answer the question, why should I agree with you?

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STORY HOUR

Today's theme is Oops: A moment where you failed. We choose this prompt because failure stories are a great way for us to communicate both our humanity and wisdom together. Admitting failure is inherently vulnerable, and it sets you up to be relatable. But it’s from failure that we often learn valuable lessons, allowing us to impart wisdom onto our audience. Consider moments where you messed up and what you learned as a result. Craft that story and bring it to Story Hour!

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STORY HOUR

Today's theme is Career Narrative: Where you come from and where you’re going. We choose this prompt because this is a story you will always be telling… in an interview, at a cocktail party, when meeting new people, and when convincing your boss you deserve a promotion. Knowing this story cold, and being able to adapt it to your audience on the fly is critical to your capacity to appear credible, relatable, and interesting all at the same time.

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STORY HOUR

Today's theme is Growth: Stepping outside your comfort zone. We choose this prompt because leaders who can effectively communicate their own growth stories are fundamentally perceived as more humble, relatable, and inspirational. Consider moments of failure, experiments you tried that you learned from, times when you were afraid and had to lean into courage… these are moments where stepping outside your comfort zone is a necessity. Perhaps you learned something along the way?

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STORY HOUR

Today's theme is Growth: Stepping outside your comfort zone. We choose this prompt because leaders who can effectively communicate their own growth stories are fundamentally perceived as more humble, relatable, and inspirational. Consider moments of failure, experiments you tried that you learned from, times when you were afraid and had to lean into courage… these are moments where stepping outside your comfort zone is a necessity. Perhaps you learned something along the way?

Register for Story Hours to receive a calendar invite with the Zoom meeting link.

STORY HOUR

Today's theme is The “Why”: Why hire you, buy from you, work for you, invest in you, etc.. We choose this prompt because leaders need to effectively communicate the value they provide in ways that don’t feel “salesy” or contrived. The best way to do that is by building authentic connection, and stories are a powerful tool to do just that. These stories are also valuable in many contexts; interviews, pitch competitions, when asking for more resources, you name it!

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STORY HOUR

Today's theme is Shortest month of the year: Tell a 30-60 second story. We choose this prompt because the skill of tightening a story into a 30-60 second sound byte is extremely valuable. This will allow you to extemporaneously insert stories into your day-to-day conversation more easily. Bring any story idea that you have, but challenge yourself to tell it while still leveraging all four super powers before a minute is up.

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Today's theme is Beginnings: A fresh start, a window, an opportunity.

It’s the start of a new year and a great time to reflect and share the many meaningful beginnings in our lives. What was a fresh start or surprising opportunity that came your way? What did you learn from taking that direction?

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Today's theme is Decisions: When you knew it was time to move on.

We chose this prompt because decision points and transitions are the moments when we change and grow. They are moments of potential failure and great learning opportunities…all great for story ideas.

This is a great prompt for people leaders of all kinds - executives, managers, community leaders, business owners.

What decision has changed your life and led you to where you are today? Identify a story and apply to be a speaker below.

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Today's theme is Interviews: A skill, a strength or a reason to bring you on.

We chose this prompt because it’s something that comes up as a need all the time. If you’re searching for work, it’s so important to have great stories for interviews, to be able to communicate powerfully, champion yourself and persuade your interviewers to bring you on.

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Today's theme is Inspiration: A leader, a moment, or a relationship.

We chose this prompt because the things that inspire us tell us a lot about who we are, what we value, and how we relate to others. Tuning into what inspires you can be a powerful building block to understanding what inspires others and developing the skillset to galvanize large groups of people to action. When were you moved? In particular, when were you moved to action? Craft a story about your source of inspiration, and see what that uncovers for you about how inspiration works and how you can potentially inspire others.

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Today's theme is Growth: A lesson learned, a realization, a conclusion.

We chose this prompt because moments of realization or growth are some of the most powerful stories we can share. They generally consist of a “way that we were before” and a “way that we are as a result of the thing that happened” so they lend themselves nicely to a story arc and strong character development. Beyond that, growth moments are important stories we share in interviews, with mentees, and even with our kids. When did you realize something or finally come to a conclusion you should have come to sooner?

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Today's theme is An Introduction: Tell me about yourself...

We chose this prompt because first impressions matter, and what better way to manage first impression than by crafting an answer to the age-old “tell me about yourself” prompt that we get when first meeting someone new. Consider the prompt an opportunity to share a story rather than a bullet list of details about who you are—or perhaps even less interestingly, what you do. Your story will be useful in an interview, at a cocktail networking event, at dinner parties with new friends… everywhere!

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Today's theme is Navigating Conflict: Working through an interpersonal challenge.

We chose this prompt because conflict is a guaranteed part of leadership, and navigating it is an important skill to develop—at work, in our families, and with our friends. Not only can we learn a lot about a person through how they navigate conflict, we can also learn about how to be better leaders ourselves through the stories others share on the topic. Perhaps you had a particularly challenging colleague or boss. Maybe it was a situational conflict you had to work through… We’re curious to hear how you came out the other side, and what you learned along the way.

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Today's theme is Now Is the Moment: Stories of Urgency, Taking Action, and Making Moves.

We chose this prompt because leaders often have to make a case for why it’s important to take action now. Salespeople need to convince customers to sign now, as opposed to next year. Product Managers are often trying to convince executives they need more headcount on their team… and now. Even folks interviewing for a job have to be able to tell a story about why they are the right candidate, and the organization should hire them… now.

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Today's theme is Vision: What you or your company aims for, the possibilities, the future.

We chose this prompt because leaders and organizations know how important a vision is, but often struggle to make it compelling. Stories are a great way to humanize, ground, and make accessible a vision that otherwise might feel too ephemeral or unreachable. A great place to look for a story would be to think back to an experience or moment that highlighted how important your vision was, or that was even possible.

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Today's theme is Failures: A mistake, a hiccup, or stumble.

We chose this prompt because it is often in our failures that we learn the most, and yet we sometimes lost the opportunity to learn because we don’t take the time to process the story. Failure stories are a common component of interviews, great at building connection within a team, and powerful tools to establish credibility (rather counter-intuitively).

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Today's theme is Wins: A customer success, a personal success, or a story of triumph.

We chose this prompt because telling stories about past successes — customer, personal, or otherwise — can help others see credibility, expertise, and value in the storyteller.

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Today's theme is Origins: The story of you, your company, or your brand.

We chose this prompt because leaders are well-served to know the story of how they became who they are, or what makes their company or brand unique and relevant

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Today's theme is The Power of Pause: Lessons in taking a break, finding peace, or simply exhaling.

We chose this prompt because the beginning of the year is always a good time to take a moment, pause, and find footing once again.

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Today's story prompt: What was the best thing that happened to you this year? Before the event we encourage you to take 5-10 minutes reflecting on that question to identify a story you might share.

We chose this prompt because the end of the year is a perfect moment to reflect.

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Today's story prompt: What ‘s the best lesson you learned from a parent, friend, or mentor? Before the event we encourage you to take 5-10 minutes reflecting on that question to identify a story you might share.

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