Bo Eason, mainstage speaker at NAIFA’s Career Conference and Annual Meeting, told attendees in New Orleans how a compelling personal story will make them better leaders and improve their performance professionally and in life.

Eason is a former professional football player and is currently an actor playwright. He told his own person story about how in four years he went from being the worst player on the UC-Davis football team to the first safety drafted in the 1984 NFL draft, “the best player in the world at a position.”

He then explained the three key elements of an engaging personal story.

1. A successful personal story has to be personal. A personal story creates connection and intimacy. Personal equals universal, Eason says. Audiences, including clients, will relate a story that is personal to their own lives, creating a strong connection.
2. You must be physical with your personal story, Eason says. People believe 50 percent of what comes out of your mouth, but will believe everything your body says, he told the audience. Physicality makes it so people cannot look away from you, which “is true leadership.”
3. Story has to have generosity – the art of giving all of oneself all of the time. With your story, Eason said, “give them everything you got every time.”

As an NFL player, playwright and actor, Eason says, he has had many dreams. “One thing in common with all my dreams was that I had to have the ability to tell my story to get people to connect with me,” he said. “Your personal story is the key to your success.”

The number one ability that all leaders have is that they have the ability to tell their own story. A personal story creates connective tissue that allows people to connect with you, understand you and follow you.

Eason will expand upon the art of the personal story in a Sunday educational session.