☕️ Coffee & Croissants 🥐

Getting schooled in storytelling by a 10 year-old.

Hey storytellers.

Here’s what a 10 year-old can teach us about storytelling.

The set-up…

Over drinks a few years ago, a client told me about a ritual he had with his daughter. Every week they’d have breakfast together one morning before school.

She was 15 and they’d been doing it for years. He said it was a great way to keep connected to her world and stay on top of things going on in her life; something many parents of teenagers struggle to do.

When I heard this story it really resonated with me as a way to connect with my daughter, so I asked her if she’d like to do it. She was 10 at the time and said yes with a moderate amount of enthusiasm (I suspected getting to go out for breakfast before school once a week was the cool part).

Out we went…

The first time and she picked a nearby coffee shop/bakery. We sat there for 30 minutes and had a great chat about everything going on at school, with her friends, her interests outside of school, etc. All her, all the time. Whatever she wanted to talk about and everything that interested her. We both had a good time and I certainly planned to repeat the following week.

Early the next week she came to me to confirm that we’d be going to breakfast again that week. She picked a different spot and we hung out again for some chatting and goofing around.

Then, the next week, she again confirmed that our tradition would continue. And, sure enough, it has; one morning before school every week. I know about her classes, her teachers, her friends (and the drama with some of her friends!), her interests, her daydreams, and aspirations.

One night during dinner I asked if she wanted to go to breakfast again this week (the question has become rhetorical, but I ask anyway), and she enthusiastically said, “YES!” I sarcastically said the only reason she’s so excited is because she likes going out to breakfast.

Then she said, “I like going out to breakfast…with you.”

The Punchline…

In those two words, with you, is everything that matters. With a little extra selfless attention paid to my daughter, to talk about her and what’s going on in her life, we have created a connection on a deeper level than we ever had before. No fancy presents or grand gestures required. It doesn’t take a lot of money or a ton of time. Just 30 minutes, once a week, over coffee and a croissant.

So, that’s the punchline, but what’s the takeaway for your storytelling?

The takeaway is that it’s always about them, not you. Before ever uttering a word about you, what you do, and how you can help, you have to tell their story.

What’s missing for them? What’s at stake if they don’t fix it? What’s their perfect outcome?

Then you can start to talk about how you can help get them there.

Thanks for reading.

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Cheers and remember, success finds those who tell compelling stories.