13 years ago I started a 5-year stint of flying to Washington DC one time per month for 12 days. I did this for 5 years. I was doing one-on-one coaching and teaching leadership trainings for the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research for the Food and Drug Administration. I got a badge. I wore government suits. I loved every minute of it and my work felt important.

There were so many important topics that could make or break them being good leaders. I taught about emotional intelligence, generations in the workplace, encouraging the heart, interaction styles, and more. There were strategies, frameworks, tools, methods, and systems.

When I was first learning the material, my mentor and lead contractor said, “Here’s the content, but fill them with your stories.” I looked at her and thought, “What stories?”.

I grew up in a family that didn’t tell stories. We lived fast and focused on the future. For example, we would plan our next vacation while on the current one, and we’d never debrief a movie after we watched it, as that was in the past. On top of that, there were a few folks in my life who held me hostage with long winded, out of the blue stories that were irrelevant to me. I’d hear, “Let me tell you about a time when…” and I’d want to run screaming & feign my own death.

I thought I hated stories. But then I found my stories and learned to tell them. Low & behold, 13 years of clients and 150 program days per year, I asked folks, “What stood out? What do you remember? What inspired action?” from the amazing transformational leadership programming.

What did they say?

Not what I was expecting.

It was the stories. And the activities and the connection moments, which are essentially stories created in real time. It was not the concepts and the research with data. So, in your meetings & in your presentations, if you are not spending the majority of your time on stories, activities, & creating connection, you are underutilizing the most impactful tools that are at your disposal.

I’d love to hear a story of how you put these into practice!

With gratitude, 

Julie