This is what makes your story magic

You may know that I volunteer as a guide at the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV).

Which means I spend some of my weekends talking to strangers about extraordinary art. I realise this may not be everybody’s idea of a cracking weekend, but for me it is absolute heaven. I love it!

I have just finished guiding in the NGV’s blockbuster exhibition on Vivienne Westwood and Rei Kawakubo. Two of fashion’s most radical and iconic designers. Honestly, what a show.

Vivienne Westwood you probably know. Rei Kawakubo (pronounced Ka-wa-ku-bo as our curators patiently taught us), you may know through her edgy, radical and impossibly cool label Comme des Garçons.

Like all creatives, Kawakubo gets asked the obvious question.

Where do you get your ideas?

Her answer: just in the everyday, a crumpled ball of paper, hearing the phrase ‘inside-out pillowcase’. A tiny insight can build an entire collection.

And it reminded me of storytelling. Yes, pretty much everything reminds me of storytelling:)

What makes a story dazzling is not actually the story.

Gasp. Pearl-clutch. Stay with me.

You share a story and give us the official ending. You left home. You got the job. You nailed the promotion. The audience thinks, lovely, we’re done.

But then comes the second ending.

You step back from the story and offer your insight, your reflection. What did you learn? What did it mean? What should we see in it?

For example, ‘I took the role before I felt ready.’ That’s the first ending.

But the second ending? That’s where you say: ‘I now understand that readiness is not something you feel in advance — it’s something you build every day.’

Your insight, the second ending, powers the whole story.

Because your audience is not inside your head. What feels blindingly obvious to you is not always obvious to them.

The point of the story needs to be made visible, but without whacking your audience over the head with it.

A useful prompt is: ‘I’m sharing this because…’

That final beat of reflection is what gives the story meaning. And meaning is where story magic lives.

If you’d like some examples, I’ve got a library of audio stories that I recorded just for you. You’re welcome.

PS: The photo is of me guiding in the Subodh Gupta exhibition in the gallery.