Why someone railroading your story is a good thing

You’ve just told this awesome story about how you swam with dolphins this summer.

As soon as you draw breath Sandra jumps in and tells you about her experience swimming with dolphins. There was a baby dolphin… it was soooo cute.

Jeff then tells you his dolphin story. He also saw them in the Bahamas, but he didn’t even have to pay.

Sound familiar?


It’s sometimes called a shift response, conversational narcissism, one-upping - it’s seen as a hallmark of people wanting to switch the spotlight back onto themselves.

But it’s generally much more benign than that. It’s simply an instinctual reaction to show that we relate and empathize.

We inately know that simply saying "I understand" or "I’ve done that too," isn't enough to show the original storyteller that we REALLY get it. So, by telling a similar anecdote you are clearly signposting “I too know what it feels like to have this experience, to feel this feeling, to share that belief"

And it’s all the evidence you need that storytelling is the most powerful tool we have in communication.

We have an instinctual desire to respond to story that we do not to data.

If you want someone to care about what you are talking about- your business, your idea, your vision- tell a story. Give them a way to relate, to empathize, to instictually find a reason to connect.

How do you get better at pitch storytelling? Tessa Rawson offers 1:1 coaching as well as workshops and full day trainings for you and your team.

*Also can we talk about how unhinged this picture is? I was looking for a picture of riding a dolphin and boy did I find one.  It’s 'Arion Riding on a Dolphin' by Francesco Bianchi Ferrari from 1509 and you can find it at the Ashmoleon in Oxford apparently. But seriously, Francesco, tell me more- I really do need to know.