How To Write About You Without Making All About You
Create stronger connections with your audience
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It's not just about you, it's about what others can learn from you.
I have no stories to share. My stories are as boring as someone counting sheep.
I don't think my readers will be interested in the color of my underwear.
How can my stories offer value to others?
How do strike a balance between sharing and oversharing?
These and many other questions I came across in some of the comments, and communities that I've been part of.
Writing about yourself should create value for your reader.
The best personal narratives should always aim to educate or inspire.
What I will explain to you here is how you can write about yourself without sounding like a self-centered prick.
Also, avoid some of the common mistakes I see online:
How much they cashed overnight (rip-off)
Writing as if they were writing in a journal
Writing about how you can't understand stats if you're crushing it.
How algorithms suck. (My favorite)
When I started, I believed everyone would be interested in my stories
In my early days of writing, I thought my stories would attract readers, as honey to bears.
(Winnie the Pooh, anyone?)
We all face the same challenges.
Not everyone cares about your personal experiences.
Not when you make it all about yourself.
Let's set this straight. You're not the main character of the story. Your reader is.
Your readers only care about their interests and desires. If we can speak to those, we can attract them as readers.
When I started writing about my personal stories, readers were walking away or non-existent.
Personal narratives are powerful when you combine them with some sort of takeaway. A story that will help the reader in their journey.
It took a while to get my best writing including some personal narratives.
With AI being more predominant in content creation, readers crave real people with real stories.
The good thing is anyone can be a good storyteller.
A good storyteller knows how to motivate an audience.
A good storyteller forges unforgettable pieces of content that keep readers wanting more.
How can we use storytelling to our advantage:
Tell stories that invoke curiosity, and give tension to detail.
Tell stories that have your personality, a plot, and a point of view.
Your role here is to be the guide to your readers.
Why should you include storytelling in your writing? It creates curiosity, attracts attention, and makes your products (if you're selling anything) sell themselves.
The most important of all is you connect with your readers on a deeper level.
The world doesn't spin around you. Be a great storyteller
If the reader is the main character then how should I tell my stories?
Whenever you're sharing your story, do it in a way that gives the necessary context to the reader.
Your writing is great when it answers the reader's questions. And you can do that by talking from personal experience.
If you learned a skill. tell the reader how you learned that skill
If you fall out of love, tell the reader about a time you fell out of love.
If you're writing about AI, tell the reader how it affected your life. Tell them how to improve your life by doing the most repetitive and monotonous tasks.
Personal stories don't need to be full of remarkable events
It doesn't need to be a life-changing situation. People relate more to mundane things in our daily lives.
You're giving context to the information you provided.
Your personal examples from experience are more impactful and feel more relatable.
Let the reader know where this information is coming from.
I'm not an expert storyteller but I plan to get better at it. Here's how I recommend to get you started:
Read these two books: "Storyworthy" by Matthew Dicks. You'll learn how to tell a narrative that will impact others. How to engage your audience throughout the start, end, and everything between.
"Story Brand" by Donald Miller. You'll learn how to call your reader to action. Define the character and the problem, and give your readers a story about themselves.
Watch This YouTube Video: How To Tell Better Stories with Matthew Dicks by Art of Manliness. A must-read beginner resource where Mathew explains to us how to craft a compelling story.
Listen To This TED Talk: Last but not least, if you want to learn how to use storytelling to your advantage, the right story for the right situation. I’d suggest you listen to The Magical Science of Storytelling with David JP Philips by TEDx Talks.
Master the start of storytelling and you'll create stronger connections with your audience.
Chat soon… more digital writing tips coming your way…
This post was written on: 💻 Typeshare