Parables and stories in your talks, especially if you create them, will aid the audience in understanding and remember your message.
I am sharing with you one of my most favorite personal parables and how I created it. I’ve used it in many talks and continue to use it because it can be tweaked to convey more than one concept or idea. There is power in parables and stories!
First things first
Let’s begin by clarifying the difference between a story and a parable, as explained by Wikidiff:
A story is a sequence of real or fictional events; or, an account of such a sequence while parable is a short narrative illustrating a lesson (usually religious/moral) by comparison or analogy.
My favorite parable
Constructed from a joke I heard nearly 40 years ago, this parable is woven with elements of people and places from my life. These personal elements enable me to deliver the tale in such a believable fashion that many ask if it is a true story, including my brother.
Here it is:
Two Old Ladies and a Cat
Once upon a time, there were two old ladies named Meda and Iva. They were old and were not progressive; they sheltered themselves in their little house in Topeka, Kansas. They rarely ventured out. They stayed indoors. They read a lot. They watched TV. They played cards. But they found the outside world to be threatening and didn’t like taking a risk and putting themselves out there. They had a cat, a cat named Wilson. They didn’t let the cat go outdoors either because there are all sorts of threats and unpredictable things that can happen to the cat.
One day Iva was reading the newspaper, and a charity that she believed in, a charity that supported the rights of animals, was opening up their doors to volunteers. She decided to volunteer. After all, this was a cause she could champion. Meda was distraught that Iva was going out and starting to participate in activities in the community. Still, Iva, as a strong advocate for the rights of animals, went ahead to do what her heart was telling her to do.
Guess what happened? Iva met a man. A charming man. And before long, he swept Iva off her feet. Meda was absolutely beside herself. Not only was Iva going to many of the events rallying the support of animals, but she was also going on dates with this charming older man. Meda was just fit to be tied and warned Iva, “You are going to regret this.”
Well, about six months later, Iva did the unthinkable. She decided to travel the world with her charming man. This decision was the last straw for Meda. Meda wagged her finger at Iva, “Iva, if you leave – if you go with that man, you are never allowed back into this house. Never. Ever.
Iva was sorry and wished Meda felt differently. Still, she left the following morning to begin her world journey. Many months passed. Meda was by herself – all alone – closed up in her little house in Topeka, Kansas, with Wilson as her only company. She was patiently waiting for the day when Iva came back crawling on her hands and knees begging for forgiveness
One day a letter arrived. Meda noticed Iva’s writing immediately on the envelope. Trembling with excitement she went into the kitchen to grab a butter knife. Settling down at the kitchen table with Wilson on her lab, she eagerly opened the letter that she knew was the one she’d been waiting for.
There was a single sheet of paper with a single sentence. It read:
“Meda, let the cat out.”
Create your parables and stories
Here are the specifics from my own life weaved throughout the parable:
1) Two old maids named Meda and Iva that lived in Topeka, Kansas
Based on my dad’s two sisters named, Meda and Iva, that did live in Topeka, Kansas. They never married and did live together as single ladies until they died. Iva did have a boyfriend once, but I don’t think Meda ever did.
2) Their cat named Wilson
Wilson was the name of my cat
3) Iva reading about an animal protection society opening its doors to volunteers
Based on my own life whereby a local orchestra had opened its doors to volunteers, and I volunteered
4) Iva moving forward to volunteer despite her usual quite sheltered way of life and meeting a man
Represents my life as I moved forward to embrace that orchestra volunteer experience and meeting the man who I have now been married to for nearly three decades.
The value in you doing what I did is three-fold:
1) It is easier to remember your story because pieces are based on your own life or life of those you know.
2) It feels more believable as you tell it
3) It is much more engaging because the spirit of your life is intertwined with the parable.
Get your point across
In summary, when preparing the content of your talk, be sure to include stories and parables. Embellish them by inserting details from your life or the life of others you know. Even borrowing a joke, as I did, will work! Your message will be better delivered, better received and better retained.
