How do you tell a story well?
I want to know! And that is what I am doing right now. I am attending a seven week seminar (called Media2Go) to learn the craft of documentary making in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Click here to check out the website about the program!
Last night the Media2Go students, six of us so far, shared our stories in fifteen minute increments. This was a challenging undertaking for me! What do you share when you only have fifteen minutes!?!
Due to a combination of jet lag, a late evening and honestly just not spending as much time preparing as I should have, I didn’t feel like my sharing went well. I struggled for words, and was not as organized or succinct as I would have liked.
Afterwards as I was brushing my teeth, I found myself doing negative self talk, “Doh. Come on Carla…. This was your first impression and you bombed the presentation. No one understood ANYTHING you were talking about… You were all over the place.. Gahhh!”
The reason I am sharing this with you is because in these moments I am finding the importance of not LISTENING to myself but instead SPEAKING words of life to myself.
Maybe the presentation wasn’t polished or eloquent. Given the circumstances I did okay. Next time I will spend more time preparing. And God’s love for me hasn’t changed. I am still Carla. I am learning HOW to tell stories and by the end of these seven weeks I am sure I will have improved.
Don’t be afraid to tell yourself to, “Shut up,” when negative thoughts and words invade your mind. And I encourage you not to stop there, but to also take the next step: speak words of LIFE over yourself. That is what I am doing today.
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| Photo I took walking around a Thai outdoor mall: Time to speak words of life! |