5 Cool Ideas for Your Signature Story

Signature stories are short, personal narratives that help people relate to you. These narratives are usually upbeat tales that inspire or educate. Here are 5 Cool Ideas for your signature story.

1. Your story should be unique to you.
No one else can tell your signature story. Your story just wouldn’t sound right coming from another person. Be familiar and proud of your story. I have actually scripted a couple of my signature narratives. The scripts have been refined through the years and my signature stories are now quite polished. Many of my audiences have heard the story of how my Dad taught me self-esteem and how I practice my word-of-the-day. I have another story about a lesson learned when my Mom died.

2.  Short stories have more impact.
Your signature story should be short and succinct and ideally less than three minutes in length. A short story will hold everyone’s attention. This is important because signature stories should be told in a variety of settings. Even short stories have a beginning, a middle, and an end. Short stories have plots, subplots, and character development. The trick is to make every word count. Delete whatever doesn’t contribute to the story.

3.  Offer a lesson and people will listen. 
Good signature stories offer a lesson. No one wants to hear how you went bankrupt and sunk into mental depression — unless you tell them how you emotionally recovered and became financially stable again. The story might illustrate how you lost 40 pounds or how you successfully managed a career transition. You might tell how you paid off a debt or otherwise delivered yourself from adversity.   

4.  Everyone loves a happy ending.
The ending of your signature story should be upbeat. Signature stories have a positive moral. As the storyteller, you become a living, breathing example of how good triumphs over evil.

5.  Develop several signature stories.
Develop a personal story that teaches something about health. Have a good story about how you dealt with a difficult person and they turned out to be a good friend. Develop a story on how you transitioned your career or how you handled a challenging problem. 

Search “Michael Angelo Caruso” on YouTube to hear great examples of signature stories.