“You have to get out of your comfort zone.” Words we have all frequently heard – and indeed perhaps spoken ourselves.
‘Getting out’ of anything is difficult – never mind a comfort zone. Who wants to leave comfort? Instead of feeling the pressure to get out of our comfort zone, try pulling from your vast reservoir of stories that exist within your comfort zone.
Your stories are your individually owned experiences – a history belonging to you. From great stories come great ideas. Not the other way around. As a communications strategist and writer of fiction and film, all of my best ideas started with a story – an experience, no matter if a few seconds or a few years– that I could draw upon for inspiration to develop that great idea. In the corporate world, spending time with stories often means investing in the time it takes to create revenue generating ideas. Nothing comes from nothing! Failure to invest in stories will have a negative impact on more than marketing and sales (how is your office energy?) The good news is, it does not take much to invest in stories; in that office of yours are millions of them already (and that’s just in the five people who work in the cubicles at the back).
Developing your communications confidence means challenging yourself to bring fresh perspectives to that space you know well, where you are at your best. Perhaps that zone will expand – but only if it starts from within.
No company can afford to sleepwalk their way through communications anymore. Wake up to the untapped, highly productive potential of the “story comfort zone.” Doing so will ensure everyone can work, well…more comfortably.