What is your connection to the story you are telling?

Differences are good

I was out and about on Saturday wandering along a row of shops waiting for a girlfriend who was running late, and I am always early.

I walked past a man with a clipboard raising money for UNHCR a refugee agency. I’m embarrassed to say my first judgement from afar was this was a scam when I got closer his warmth of greeting made me feel bad with my initial negative assessment.

He asked if I was interested in finding out more about UNHCR, I said I had numerous direct debits to various charities already in place and rattled off the ones I could recall, I was ready to move on…

He then gave me the best smile and said how delighted he was to meet someone like me who had so much compassion, brilliant way of handling my objection I thought, he seemed so lovely and flattery does work in my world and now I’m feeling even worse about my ‘scam’ theory.

OK, I said, tell me about UNHCR, he started to rattle off depressing facts about the plight of refugees, showed me some horrible photos of the camps, I was fascinated by my thoughts, I was numb, are we too overloaded with these images and facts? We have seen them on the news for years… out of the corner of my eyes, I caught a glimpse of a nearby fancy shoe shop I was appalled, ‘How could I go from starving families to strappy heels?

Then everything changed…

He said ‘I was a refugee for 5 years in Ethiopia, I stayed in a camp like this, I had no idea when I would be able to leave, I feared for my life as I watched children die around me through malnutrition…’

Now it was his personal story that got me hooked, it was terribly moving, I felt his pain and his fear and now I understood why he was standing on the hot pavement trying to sign up people to the cause UNHCR, this organisation had not just transformed his life but given him his life back.

We chatted about his ‘sales pitch’ I suggested he start with his story.

On the way home I reflected on the power of sharing something of ourselves in the material we present, I feel so often we hide this connection and it leave us wondering why are you talking about this topic?

This was highlighted last month when I was working with a group of forensic accountants, helping them create more compelling presentations which they absolutely did! During the training, I asked one woman, Sarah, why she did her job? Her answer was she had always loved puzzles, loved the challenge, right from when she was a child, when everyone in the family had given up Sarah would take over the mission to solve the puzzle and now as far as Sarah is concerned being a forensic accountant is like being paid to do her hobby. When you hear her passion for her work, you instantly believe she must be good at it and if I wanted someone to look for evidence of fraud in my company books she would be absolutely my first pick.