How to keep it simple
In today's post I want to encourage you to keep it simple. This post will highlight the reasons why I believe keeping things simple is the easiest way to reach success. When you go on The Legacy Recorder website, or you're in the members area, or wherever you are in the Legacy World, simplicity is a thread that is continuously woven through our products. I've done my darnedest to make sure that things are simple.
Comfort in All Things
The first thing is your comfort. I want you to feel comfortable where you are. With whatever you're reading, or working on, I want you to be content in the space. I want you to feel most importantly, that you can do it, and do it well. Additionally, I want you to have everything you need.
When you use a tool like The Legacy Recorder, one of the goals is for you to feel comfortable enough to dive right in and start implementing immediately. Because we all learn in many ways, it’s my goal to provide you with a surplus of tools to help you feel confident and comfortable. Maybe it’s getting some support directly from me, or you watching a video, or using one of the many other tools we offer, but the goal is for you to feel like you can go and do the thing after you have been wherever you are inside my world.
The same thing goes for your storytellers. The idea is that your storyteller would feel confident and comfortable with you, and that they feel like they can do this. That doesn't mean that you need to be a cheerleader all the time. But it does mean that when we ask our storytellers questions, things need to be simple.
They need to be easy, especially in the beginning. That is how we build rapport. That is how we build a storytelling relationship that will make it easier for them to share harder things later. They may open up about things that are happening inside their hearts and inside their minds that they wouldn't otherwise talk to you about.
Simple Questions, Complex Answers
So what is an example of a simple question? A simple question is, “What is your favorite color?” And then you can follow up with, “Why is that your favorite color?” or, “How does that color make you feel?” or, “What does it remind you of?” These questions open up a whole new conversation. This conversation starts from something that would have been really simple to answer with one word, but builds into something more complicated because of the questions you ask.
More in depth questions can follow up the simple starter prompt and give you a wider view of their life experience. Just by starting a conversation with, “What is your favorite color?” Most people aren't going to expect you to come up with that list of follow up questions. It’s the follow up questions that makes all the difference.
Finding What Works to Keep it Simple
I hope that in your endeavors and your journeys, you are working to keep things simple for yourself, for your loved ones, for the people you work with, and the people you care for. Simplicity can work when you have the appropriate tools to use.
The hard part of living their legacy is already done, and we don’t need to make the process of recording it anything but a joy. Simple answers, woven together, can create a beautiful tapestry, making the common everyday things into a shining work of art. When we remember people, especially the people we love deeply, the ordinary can be extraordinary.
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What now?
Looking for that thing to help you keep your storytellers engaged and talking? For the writers in your care, this journal will keep them talking for a good long while. Encourage them (if they can) to reach out via phone or video to family members and share the memories they write about.
This journal was designed for storytellers in their sunset years who are ready to write about and share their memories. Simple to use and elegant enough to keep around to remind you of them long after they are gone.
