Stories Connect

I was reading a sample chapter of the book In A Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day by Mark Batterson when something quite obvious for somebody like me who does a lot of presentations struck me - we all love to hear stories. And every time I do presentations, that's what I strive to do, whether its a story about a DBA like me who's sick and tired to do repetitive tasks and tries to find new and exciting ways to do my work or someone else's story about his involvement in a community work. In my presentation at the PASS Community Summit 2007, I told about Mitch Albom, author of Tuesdays with Morrie, and his drive to help the homeless in Detroit. Stories help us to prove a point, touch a heart, send a message or even just connect with people. It may be about others or about ourselves. But the stories worth telling are those that we ourselves experienced, be it our own or someone else's whom we've managed to feel. Sure, we can all do our research and search for stories about people and we can tell those. But nothing beats experience. It's to no surprise why TV hosts lead their guests to tell their own stories in their shows. Or people who write books go thru a lot of effort visiting the people they want to feature in their writings. Immersion to the experience are those types of stories worth telling - and those that create an impact. That's why I am making it a part of my personal growth to collect as many stories as I can. Imagine, a book became a best seller because it is filled with stories - yours and mine.