A Powerful Place for Personal Stories: Use Them As Vanguards

I’ve been very talkative publicly about the powerful of doing more personal work, and one though-line I’ve noticed in some comments is just how much people de-value their own personal stories. They feel they need to have accomplished something groundbreaking or society-changing or industry-altering — otherwise the story has no power.

In this video, I’ll lay out my case for why we should be using our personal stories more — and WHERE in an article, episode, video, or speech we should use these stories.

Below the video, please find an example of me doing that.

Examples of me using personal stories as vanguards:

Episode of Unthinkable:

This episode of Unthinkable is intended to shift perspectives around the idea of “exceeding audience expectations” and be a bit more selfish about the creative process. I talked to the head of production of Wistia, Chris Lavigne, and told his story. To get you INTO the major themes and this core story of the episode, I started with a description of a hotel in Boston I’ve personally experienced — that’s my vanguard. It unfolds as soon as you hit Play on the episode.

Essays on my blog:

You’ll often find me doing this in my writing, too. This piece and this one are two good examples.

Note in all cases, the personal stories are not BIG moments. They are not action-packed. They are, however, the RIGHT moments to serve as vanguards (and, as with the case of the black binder in my essay, they also help me close the piece stronger through a callback).