Story is one of the most effective teaching tools available. If you’re a woman in a conscious business, healing, or teaching practice, chances are you’ve used story as a way of communicating ideas and guiding your clients or students toward those all-important “Ah-ha” moments.
Teaching stories are brilliant for highlighting particular aspects of a topic, and helping readers absorb what might otherwise feel like lofty or abstract ideas. A well-crafted teaching story draws the reader into the narrative, creating a sense of empathy for the subject of the story and presenting the outcome in a way that clearly conveys the desired message or lesson.
What makes a teaching story different than other stories is the shape of its story arc. In most narrative tales, the plot builds over the course of the story, and tensions escalate until the story reaches its inevitable climax. You can imagine this as a long uphill trek, or a slowly rising line on a graph. Once the climax occurs—the battle is won, the killer caught, the romance realized—the plot line drops off sharply toward the resolution (the end of the story). Loose ends are tied up, conflicts resolved, and life presumably settles down again for the characters.
In teaching stories of an autobiographical nature—like those you might use in your business practice—the buildup of events toward the climax of the story is only part of the tale. Instead of a long uphill climb followed by a sharp drop to the resolution, the story arc of a teaching story may be shaped more like a bell curve, with equal or nearly equal attention paid to the events before and after the climax—the “Ah-ha” moment when a massive shift occurs. The descent from that peak moment of epiphany is, in a teaching story, just as important as the setup which precedes it. Why? The resolution portion of the story provides details of how all of the conflicts and tensions which led to the epiphany were resolved and released. Unlike in classic fiction, where the characters are presumed to live happily ever after (or at least return to a semblance of normal life) once the action ceases, a teaching story provides details of the “ever after” in a way which outlines the lesson of the climax in a linear, traceable fashion.
In other words, readers of teaching stories don’t just want to know what happened. They want to know what happened, what you (or the story subject) did about it, and how they can follow in your footsteps when their own moment arises. It’s not enough for you to tell them that the crap hit the fan: they want to know where the crap landed, and what kind of soap you used to get the mess out of your favorite jeans—just in case they ever find themselves in a similar situation.
Of course, there are as many variations of teaching stories as there are life lessons to share. But if you’re looking for some extra guidance around sharing your personal story, here’s a short list of common mistakes made by writers of teaching stories, and how to correct them.
- Not enough detail in the resolution. One common mistake writers make when telling their own stories is leaving out the resolution process. I’ve read many, many variations of the following: “I realized, in that moment, that I no longer had to live my life that way. Since then, I’ve never looked back.” If it really was that easy for you, that’s fantastic. However, there’s usually more of an unraveling after a major life shift. Don’t be afraid to share your process; by doing so, you’re leaving trail markers for those who want to follow in your footsteps.
- Not enough detail in the setup. Especially if you’re telling your own story, you may find yourself wanting to gloss over the details when recounting traumatic or difficult events. Don’t. The setup portion of your story is where the drama belongs. Your experiences and emotions are the tools you’ll use to “hook” your readers, to draw them into your world and help them understand not only your moment of transformation, but the triggers which prompted it. Remember, many of your readers will still be in that “setup” stage of their journey, and it’s important for them to be able to see themselves in your story.
- Adopting a lecturing tone. A sudden shift from narrative to lecture format will take readers by surprise, and create distance between you, the narrator, and the reader. A great story feels like a sharing between equals. It’s fine to adopt a “teaching voice” in certain contexts (like blog articles or workbooks) but in storytelling it’s helpful to keep this dynamic to a minimum, and allow readers to be as involved in the story as possible.
At Inspired Living Publishing, our proprietary Authentic StorytellingTM masterclasses and editorial style showcase the power of teaching stories to inspire intimate connection. Through our six bestselling books, over 150 authors have walked through our Authentic StorytellingTM model, and today are bestselling authors.
So go ahead—let your inner teacher shine! Happy writing!
Bryna – thanks for the useful tips in how to better construct a story. I see this working just as well for speaking opportunities. I especially like the reminder to tell people how you ‘resolved’ – it bugs me when that part is left out as it is critical to know what steps others have taken.