Have you found your story? From the stage to the page

My friend Kathy Voyles is a self-confessed foodie. In the talk she just gave at our local TEDx event in The Hague, she introduced herself as a Food Inspirer. But, to me, Kathy is much more than that. Not only has she reignited my love of food and cooking, but she has reminded me how important food, its provenance and how vital it is that we share important food with important people.

So, why am I telling you this, here, on a blog about writing?

Simple. Kathy’s talk is a brilliant example of someone who has found her story and found a way to communicate that story perfectly so that it fits her brand. As she tells her story, the audience is sucked into it. Together we learn a little about her childhood, growing up on the farm in New Zealand. We lick our lips as she tells us of her father’s love for tiramisu, her mother’s for caramel meringue and we nod knowingly when she shares insights into the value of sitting round a table with great minds, inspired by the man who created The Eden Project.

In her short talk, in short, Kathy obeyed the rules of a great storyteller. She was passionate, she told stories, she shared her emotions, gave us food for thought, and then, at the end, there was a call to action. A takeaway.
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This blog post may seem to have been about speaking and storytelling, but I believe that writers too have much to learn from Kathy about authenticity and giving value and about sharing and inspiring. If you can do on the page what she does on the stage, then you are most definitely on the right lines.