How to Tell Stories about Yourself, Without Whining or Bragging

Uh oh.

Does telling stories about yourself make you cringe, too?

Part of me is always afraid of oversharing.

But I also know that personal stories help me connect. In an ocean of bland content, it’s the personal stories that are most memorable.

So, what to do?

You know about braiding hair?

In writing, you have a braiding technique, too. By interlacing two or more topics, you can write about yourself without sounding self-indulgent.

What’s more …

You can even braid without switching topics. Plus, braiding works for personal essays, but for shorter social media posts, too.

Sound good?

How the braiding technique works

I’ve just been on a cycling holiday.

Before setting off, I had been umming and ahhing about posting on LinkedIn. Should I take a break from posting?

I decided to embark on a small experiment and share a few cycling stories while I was away.

The first story I wanted to share was about one of my toughest cycling days ever. But I didn’t want to whine, and I didn’t want to brag about getting through either.

So, the first step was to distance myself a little from my experience. I share not for sympathy or applause; I write to share a lesson.

The second step is to start braiding. One strand is my cycling story; the other strand is a writing lesson.

I start with my cycling experience:

Next, I move to writing, and to make it even less about me, I introduce a new voice—Stephen King:

And I start a conversation with the reader, addressing them with the word you:

Then, I get back to cycling.

Notice that the transition is a little bit more abrupt this time:

I think the abruptness of the transition is okay as the reader is already used to switching between cycling and writing.

But here the transition is a little more smooth:

I finish the story (above) by addressing the reader directly with the word you. It makes the story a little less about me, and a little more about the reader.

(Here’s the original story, published on 7 September 2024.)

You can use this braiding technique to mix any two topics where you can find some overlap.

But you can braid without switching topics, too. You simply move from a specific story to a general lesson, and back …

How to braid without switching topic

Last month, I wrote on LinkedIn about one of my posts going semi-viral.

I didn’t want to brag but wanted to share that that post almost didn’t happen; the lesson is about mid-project dips.

I start with the story about my viral post:

I very quickly switch to a general story about mid-projects dips, and I address the reader directly:

Next, I go back to my story. An easy transition:

Writing about my inner critic feels therapeutic. I can’t take her (nor myself) too seriously, and I can laugh about our conversations.

I quickly transition again to general advice, and I address the reader again:

I explain how I applied this advice:

And, again, I don’t want to end with my own story.

So, I address the reader at the end:

(Here’s the original, uninterrupted story, published on 1 August 2024.)

When you use the braiding technique, the story becomes less about yourself, and more about the lesson you’re sharing.

Instead of being self-indulgent, you start a conversation with your readers and use your story to share your ideas.

I never saw myself as a storyteller

I thought storytelling was for real writers. For the creative folks, who keep diaries, write travelogues and have the ambition to become the next Hemingway, Toni Morrison, or Amy Tan.

That’s not me.

But as I studied non-fiction writing, I realized that stories belong in non-fiction, too.

These stories can be super-short (like 100 to 300 words), and they make tips, lessons, and ideas more vivid and memorable.

Even better …

I realized that telling such miniature stories is much easier than I thought. You only need to know a few storytelling techniques and frameworks. No talent required.

The internet is flooded with boring AI content

And the best way to combat that tsunami of dull?

Share your stories.

Because stories connect emotionally.

And human content wins.

P.S.

Want to captivate your followers with stories, too?

Stories in Miniature is a self-paced course that teaches 7 simple story frameworks so you can tell compelling stories with confidence, engage your audience, and build your authority: