By Leslie Rule

We’ve all heard it, “I don’t have any stories….”

It’s the battle cry of those who don’t understand that we all have stories to tell, we all have stories that need to be told, we all have stories that should be told. So, here’s an easy, painless, and sure-to-succeed way to get a person to understand not only how to find her story, but also how to tell it.

Materials required (minimal): one index card per person, and a pen or pencil.

Step 1:  Prep participants by letting them know you all are going to do a writing exercise. Ignore the groans; assure participants that contrary to being painful, this exercise will be fun, interesting, and short.

Step 2: Hand out one index card and a pen or pencil to each person.

Step 3: Explain that they are to choose one of the two following prompts, and write a short, very short story, no more than what can fit on the index card, telling a personal story, in the “I” voice, related to one of the prompts.

Step 4: Introduce and explain the prompts.

Prompt 1) The gratitude prompt. I explain it like this, “Everyone has someone who did them a favor, a small or great favor, for no reason other than she chose to. Who did you that favor…the favor that made a difference in your life. Thank them, and tell us that story.”

Prompt 2) Road not Taken, or the Defining Moment prompt. I explain it like this, “We all make choices in life. Robert Frost, the great American poet put it like this in his poem, Road not Taken: Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,/ And sorry I could not travel both…There has been a time in your life where you came to a fork in the road and you decided to go one way instead of the other. Tell us that story.”

If this doesn’t work, you’ve got one last chance to get the story: default to the meta-story. I explain it like this, “Tell me the story of why you are the only person in the world who doesn’t have a gratitude or defining moment story to tell. That will make an interesting story.”

Give the participants no more than 10 minutes to write their story down on the index card. Front and back is fine. After 7 minutes, give the 2 minute warning. Then at 9 minutes, give one more minute for final thoughts and closing lines. Ask everyone, when done, to look up at you and smile so that you know they are finished.

Step 5: Ask for a volunteer to share her story. Then ask another until all who want to share have.

Good luck on finding those stories that live inside of us all!