I recently facilitated a session on my experiences with perimenopause. Every few slides, I included reflection prompts, inviting the group to share if they had similar experiences.
At first, the room was quiet. Then something shifted. Mics came unmuted. Hands popped up. Stories started flowing.
What struck me was not just the courage in what people shared, but how quickly it built a connection. Once I shared my own story, others felt safe to do the same. What began as a presentation became a conversation.
Writer Suleika Jaouad captures this perfectly: “The power of story is to heal and to sustain. And if we are brave enough to tell our own story, we realize we’re not alone, again and again.”
That session reminded me of something I carry into all of my facilitation and leadership work: stories are not just personal, they are organizational. When we share them, whether about health, work, or everyday challenges, we create space for honesty and belonging.
A takeaway for work and life
Storytelling does not have to be polished to be powerful. It can be as simple as saying: This is what I lived. This is what I learned. This is who I am now.
Here are three ways to weave a story into your work:
- In meetings. Share a brief story about a time when something didn’t go as planned and what you learned from it.
- In facilitation. Use story-based prompts to open the floor: When have you felt most connected at work? What is a challenge that shaped you?
- In leadership communication. Balance data with a lived experience. People may skim the numbers, but they will remember the story.
Stories break the silence. They build trust. And sometimes, they give someone else exactly the reminder they need to keep going.
