Once I attended a folklore workshop with one of New York’s most legendary storytelling teachers. He was a pure artists. Devoted to his craft, humble, un-materialistic. He had absolutely no ego.

Then he said to all of us, no matter where you start, you end up in sales. 90% of my time I spend in sales.

So how does this arty-farty type find himself in sales all the time? What he meant was that most of the time he is trying to convince funders and other stakeholders that his work is valuable. And the truth is, most of us spend our time trying to convince someone else that what we do, what we think, what we feel is valuable.

Whether your giving a political address, a keynote speech, pitching your start-up to investors, or simply trying to win a debate at the kitchen table with your family members, you are trying to convince them that your idea is valuable.

And how do we do this best? That’s right. Stories. Because stories “show”, rather than tell”. They prove to people that something is valuable. That something is good. That something is right. They put the facts out there with the anecdotes you provide, and then your audience can conclude on their own that there is value.

Try it next time….