Memory Bubbles – Crafting Your Story 101

Memory Bubbles are a way of describing moments from our lives  

Memories literally bubble up out of nowhere. They can take us back to places, people, incidents times of import, or simple moments of pleasure. Every memory is a story. It’s how you craft it into a tale that’s more than just a rehash of something that happened.

Why Would you Want to do this?

You are perfecting your skills for presentation purposes

Perhaps you need to rebuild your confidence after a life crisis, story skills can help

Owning your business means its a skill you would like to have

Telling a great Business story begins with learning how to craft it

Maybe you want to learn how to become a Storyteller and understand the art of crafting a story

Then again, you might just be curious 

A story can be gleaned from Memory Bubbles. They are like the fishtail from a dream. To catch a fishtail is that elusive moment when something appears in your mind.  If it’s a hazy memory, catching its tail before it disappears below the surface, means you are more likely to remember the story. The key here is to retrieve the memory, ready to flesh it out to create a story. If it’s a crystal clear memory. No problem. You can move onto fleshing out the Story.

Here’s How to Catch a Fish Tail using Memory Bubbles

Let snapshots of your life emerge. What do you remember? Make some notes. The most noteworthy memories will have been imprinted, never to be forgotten. For example, me careering down the hill on a borrowed two-wheeler bike, knowing I was going too fast and was going to crash. I was 11 years old.

What you do is remember the essentials 

In this memory bubble, the bike features. It was someone else’s, and brand new. Making a decision not to put the brakes on. A steep hill. I was staying at a friend’s house in Saltdean, Brighton.

Testing the speed of the bike was my aim, but that was a spur-of-the-moment thing.

It was summer and I wore shorts and a t-shirt.

I was excited.

Then I freaked out when I knew I couldn’t stop. Remembering the crash and my legs getting severely grazed, but no bones were broken which was lucky. The bike was written off. I was horrified. Sudden fear, what will I do? What will mum and dad say, never mind my friend’s parents?

Starting to Craft a Story

Use your senses.

What was the day like?

Sunny? Rainy?

Time of day. Time of year.

The place and the time in your life. This might be significant.

What smells did you notice sights, sounds, and touch? All of these elements start to flesh out the story and turn it from pure memory into a tale to listen to.

The Context of Using the Story is up to you 

You may discover that the same story can be used in different ways. For building rapport. Telling a business start-up story. Warming up your audience if you are a storyteller. The main event of a Storytelling Circle. Putting a point across. Relaying difficult information to make it palatable in work, used in a teaching environment, or therapeutically.

The main thing is, to know how your story will be used.

Therefore when you craft it, you have to have a good beginning to grab the attention and the end in sight to ensure the story lands and the audience isn’t hanging on in outer space somewhere wondering when they will come home too.

The thing to do is to have fun crafting the story, turning it from a memory into a memorable anecdote that holds people’s attention. Let the infographic below inspire you to jot down your memory bubbles to turn into stories.