10 Ways to Create Stories That Unite Us

My son, Porter, loves to visit a restaurant near our home named “Porter’s Place”. Recently our family was eating there around a big round table and one of the children said, “Dad, tell us that story from your childhood about the fire you shouldn’t have started in the field near your home.”

At this point Dad told his rather wild childhood adventure story. During the story the waiter came to check on us and we begged him to tell us a story from his childhood. He told us of an embarrassing time when he accidentally injured his neighbor’s dog. It was so funny that we all just laughed.

These stories started a night of tales from the past. I told a story from my childhood about when I accidentally put buttermilk in my breakfast cereal. Then my husband told about the time he went pool hoppingand ended up regretting it because he was caught by the police. The stories just kept on coming and the laughs seemed to be never ending.

Everyone Wants To Live A Life Filled With Good Stories

“I don’t have any good stories to tell about my childhood.” said Londyn. “I always want to tell a good story, but I’m pretty sure my life is boring.” she thoughtfully said.

“Of course you have stories.” we all told her. “You just aren’t remembering them right now.”

“No really.” she assured us. “I can’t think of anything I’ve done that’s embarrassing or naughty.”

We explained to Londyn that she didn’t have to do something bad or embarrassing to be interesting to other people. She seemed to understand and after all we did find some rather funny stories from her past too, even though she wasn’t breaking any rules in the stories.

I couldn’t help but realize that Londyn’s concern about not having an interesting story to tell was bringing up a very real human desire; to be interesting or amusing to other people. When one person tells a good story complete with cause and effect, a lesson learned, or a mighty change of heart the person becomes more valuable to everyone around them. Stories unite us.

Long ago one of my children said to me, “Mom, tell us stories about your life. Those are the best stories you tell.” This simple request taught me something that I had been neglecting that was vital to the identity and character development of my children as well as the strength of our family group; personal stories.

Here Are 10 Ways To Create Stories That Unite

1. Tell stories about yourself, occasionally including faults you had or mistakes you made, but over came. True, first person stories are always the most favorite.

2. Tell true stories that show cause and effect. A good story shows how good choices have positive consequences and bad choices have negative consequences.

3. Tell stories that inspire people to live better. A good story helps people examine themselves and strive to improve in some way.

4. Tell stories that help people understand you and the way you see life. The more your audience understands you the more they won’t judge you and they will value you. Valuing the story teller unites the whole group.

5. Tell stories of everyday things that everyone can relate to, not just the few amazing large events from your life. We may not think that spilling a bag of chocolate chips all over the pantry floor or washing a red shirt with the whites is very interesting, but the children do. They learn how every day living teaches lessons for life. For instance the shirts teach that to stay pure and clean it is best to pay attention to what needs to be removed from your life.

6. Tell stories that share your feelings about relationships and truths you’ve learned. Stories teach identity. When a person shares a story, the listener sees through the lens of the story teller. They understand who the story teller is; her identity. And then the listener becomes more sure of who they are too. Identity development is a key to happiness in life. Families have historically instilled solid identity by telling family stories and stories of God. These stories keep society secure.

7. Be causal. Don’t be preachy. The best stories aren’t told to obviously change someone’s mind, but are told in a casual relatable way.

8. Make time to tell stories. Stories don’t happen if we get too busy or over burdened. Some people forget to tell stories of their lives, or even of their days, because they are running so quickly to their next event. Slow down enough to make a memory and fulfill a need to bond to you through story.

9. Don’t tell a story to someone who doesn’t want to hear. Just like we shouldn’t sing to people who don’t want to listen, if it is a bad time for a story, or someone doesn’t want to hear it, save it for another time. Get to a place of unity first, then tell your story.

10. Keep a journal so that you can find stories from you past to plan to share. A journal is your collection of each day’s stories. As you write the every day occurrences and lessons learned in your life, you will end up with many more stories than you might normal recognize.

To increase unity, increase the stories you tell. As your family starts sharing stories they will start smiling more, hugging more and enjoying family time more. And, enjoyment of family life is a rare gem in a time full of selfishness and insecurity.

Have you read “Parenting A House United”? This book teaches even more about the ways your family can increase family unity and improve your family communications. Find the book here.