If you’re ever short of a story for a business talk, what’s your go-to method to source new or local stories that might be worth sharing?

While personal experiences and observations are absolutely top of my list, can I suggest you consider chatting with taxi-drives to find odd nuggets of gold too?

I say this subject to a health warning, borne of experience:

Always apply a smell test for stories you hear in a cab (and here’s a post on why this matters) so you never get caught out by repeating a tall tale told in the hope you’d like it so much you’d give a bigger tip!

That said, here’s a completely raw and recent case in point of a relatable story that could easily be adapted and polished to boost a future speech:

An Example of a Raw Story That Might be Just The Ticket For a Business Talk

Derek, my taxi-driver from Dublin airport, told me about how a dad, mom and their 20-something year old son got into his car in a tiddly but jolly state after a night out in a pub.

And on their way home the young man spent at least 15 minutes trying ever pitch he could on his father to cajole his dear old dad into paying a €5,000 deposit for a new car junior wanted, including:

Just think…

…You won’t have to give me lifts home any more. No more daddy taxi.

…I’ll do all the shopping at night

…I’ll be far less stressed

But try as he might, all he heard was his mother laughing, to the point she got into a fit of giggles, and his dad, who kept saying:

Good…But, nah! Not there yet son!

Then finally junior gets a brainwave and tries something new (AKA A ‘Hail Mary’ pass, in American football parlance):

Ok, ok, ok! So dad. Tell you what. I’ll do you a deal. If you give me the lolly now and you ever need a kidney, I’ll give you one!”

Cha-ching!

“Fair play”, laughed his dad. “I’ve no answer to that.”

“Well done son”, said his mom. “He’ll have to give you the dosh now!“

And that was it. A done deal. Silence descended and junior was smirking from ear to ear!

And doesn’t it just go to show, persistence pays? Asked my taxi driver Derek

It certainly does.

And the same is true for you when gathering stories for your talks. Persistence pays.

Make it a habit to constantly keep your eyes and ears open. You never know when you’re about to have another chance to discover your next viral story.

Like to Bring Your Business Storytelling Skills to a New Level?

If you’d like help to master the art of high impact corporate storytelling, contact me at eobrien@thersc.ie – I’ll be delighted to hear from you.