Storyteller

Each of us has a story to tell and I love that over the years I have been able to ease these out of former Prisoners of War, refugees, survivors of Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp, children, and, of course, soldiers.

Being a storyteller means that I can curate the stories for the media, magazines or for history.

There have been the times where I have had to adapt quickly to make the situation different for me: such as the time when I had to interview 20 soldiers who had been in the same convoy over a 200 mile route. It was challenging!

There was a time when I was challenged by a group of soldiers as I was giving them some media training.

‘You all have a story to tell’, I kept reiterating to the group of sceptics in front of me, ‘I can prove it. You choose someone in this room and I will show you how I would tell their story.’

Their faces lit up at this gauntlet being thrown down by the media officer. They chose the soldier who had only been in the Regiment 3 weeks. After a quick chat, in front of the group, I told them how I would tell his story.

‘Three months ago you were sweeping the floor in Asda and in 2 weeks you are going to deploy on operations as part of the United Nations in Cyprus.’

Many people don’t want to tell their story; they don’t feel it is worthy of telling. Each of us will have a story to tell of our lives through a pandemic. What would you chose to tell your colleagues as you return to work?

Bringing these stories together can create a powerful illustration of the ethos of a company or business through the way in which their teams have coped and supported each other and their friends and families.

This is also about me telling my story, my truth, to facilitate others to tell theirs.

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