Stories are a ridiculously powerful force in our lives.
For example… when you were young, which kind of kid were you?
The clever one? The slow one? The sporty one? The geeky one? The troublemaker?
Other people told those stories about what kind of person you were.
And those early stories about “who you were” maybe stuck with you for decades.
Perhaps they still have an influence over how you feel about yourself today.
If you’ve watched the opening video on my coaching page, you’ll already be familiar with the backstory of why we so often defer to a boss… even when we don’t have one.
Basically, it’s build-in, hard-wired.
Right from the start, from the day we were born, there has ALWAYS been a boss in our life.
Our first bosses were our parents.
Then our teachers and coaches at school.
And then our managers and bosses at work.
We have barely gone through a day in our lives when we haven’t been paying attention to the directions of a boss.
(What follows is the outline I wrote in advance of recording the video. They’re my talking points. Not a regular post or article. Just an outline.)
Until now my video posts have been focused on the short-form courses I’ve created over the last 12 months. These are the topics that have been generating the most questions, so that’s where I have been focusing my attention.
But… it’s time for a little variety.
I’ve dusted off a question about an ebook I wrote several years ago – Affirmations for Freelancers.
I answered the question by email, back when I received it, but thought I’d share what I said.
Here’s the original question, from Richard:
(What follows is the outline I wrote in advance of recording the video. They’re my talking points. Not a regular post or article. Just an outline.)
This is a question from Colin who has recently completed my course on Selling with Stories.
He asks, “You talk a lot about using stories as a way to help companies connect with their customers and prospects. But how about us freelancers? Can we use stories too, to sell our own services?”
Absolutely you can.
And if I failed to address this in the course, that’s an oversight on my part.
I use stories myself.
Whether I’m speaking on a stage, giving a live webinar or producing video-based training materials, I often encounter the same criticism…
“Nick, you don’t sound upbeat enough!”
And here’s a quote from a review for one of my courses:
“Lots of good stuff worth thinking about. I did find Nicks voice a bit ‘sleep inducing’ but otherwise clear. Thanks.”
Ouch. That’s not good. Feedback like that I take seriously.
In fact, before recording a lesson or lecture, I usually go through a series of physical, voice and mental exercises… all designed to give me a little more of an upbeat feel when I speak.
Last week I wrote about how I’m putting together a new course on writing headlines for web content, social media and email marketing.
At the end of the post I asked readers to email me with their suggestions on what should be included in the course, and which questions about writing headlines they would like to see answered.
When I extended the invitation, I was thinking maybe I’d pick up on a few points and questions I might have missed. Truth be told, my slide deck was pretty much done and I was almost ready to start recording.
I just wanted to be sure I hadn’t missed anything big or obvious.