The Benefits of Having a Story Committee for Honest Feedback

Is there anything worse than when someone is telling a story and everyone but the person telling it is either glazing over with boredom or cringing at how awkward it is? It’s so awful, it’s often cited as a reason people don’t want to tell stories… because they don’t want to be the oblivious person making a fool of themselves.

Here’s an easy way to avoid that problem: create a story committee. A handful of people you can trust to give you honest feedback and let you know if something in your story sounds a little off the mark or could be taken in a way you didn’t intend. Having a story committee you can trust is freeing. It means you don’t have to hold back your stories because you’re not sure if they’ll hit right — with a committee, you know! And if a story is a little off, you can fix it before you tell it publicly.

Now, it should be said that it is possible that the time will come when you need to override the committee — when their desire to keep you safe is counterproductive to the message you want to deliver. However, if you choose your committee wisely and if you are clear on what your goals are for the story, this is rarely an issue.

So, who could be on your story committee? If a few people are coming to mind as you read this, send them a message. Tell them that you’re working on your storytelling skill and ask if they’d be willing to read through or listen to a few of your stories before you share them more publicly. When the time comes to test a story out, tell them what your goal is for sharing that particular story and remind them to be honest with you.

It’s a simple behind-the-scenes step that you’d never know was happening, but now can make all the difference in the stories you tell!