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How to Find a Story for Every Occasion

February 29, 2016 by Dennis Fischman 6 Comments

Storytelling is an ancient art that people in communications fields have begun to appreciate.  But how do you find the right story for the occasion?

archery_homeOnce upon a time, a storyteller (the Maggid of Dubnow) was walking along a road when he saw the most amazing sight.  There was a barn, and on the barn was a bull’s-eye target.  Arrows protruded from the target.  Every one of them had hit the bull’s-eye.  And standing next to them, with a bow and an empty quiver, was a teenager, no more than fourteen.

“Young man!” the storyteller called out.  “How did you manage to hit the bull’s-eye every time?”

“Oh, it was easy,” the teenager replied.  “I shot the arrows first, then I painted the circles around them.”

“And that,” the storyteller told a friend later, “is exactly what I do with my stories. I learn to tell them first, and later I find the occasion to tell them.”

Don’t wait for the next time you’re putting together a newsletter or a funding appeal to think about what stories to tell.  Put some stories in your quiver.  Lean how to aim them.  Then, find the right targets.

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Filed Under: Communicating, Storytelling Tagged With: Humor, Maggid of Dubnow, newsletter, nonprofit, storytelling, writing

Comments

  1. Tony Martignetti says

    January 1, 2014 at 12:01 pm

    Very good advice!

    Reply
    • Dennis Fischman says

      January 1, 2014 at 12:19 pm

      Thanks, Tony. I’ve been following the rabbi’s advice all my life, and I’ve heard many great stories that way.

      I just signed up to get notices about your nonprofit radio show. Hoping to hear more stories there that are useful and inspiring. Thanks for producing it!

      Reply

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