I’ve been working with a new client for the past couple of months, helping him to find and tell better stories. His goal was to become a better communicator in his life and perhaps forge new friendships while strengthening old ones.

Two weeks ago, at a monthly gathering of friends and neighbors, he told a story for the first time. When he finished, the man sitting beside him, who had never really spoken to him before, suddenly opened up and began sharing, asking questions, and engaging.

What changed?

My client had told a story.

Last week, he told a story to his children — one child at a time. It was a new story that he had never told them before, and it was better structured and more crafted than any story he had ever told them previously. It also contained more vulnerability than he was accustomed to sharing.

The result?

First, both kids laughed at the same points in the story.

He hadn’t really ever done that before.

Both kids couldn’t take their eyes off him while he was speaking.

And then his son told him a story that my client had never heard before. Something also containing vulnerability. It was a story my client doesn’t think he ever would have heard unless he had told his own story first.

I agreed,

Stories beget stories.

Vulnerability begets vulnerability.

Stories forge deeper, more lasting connections.

Stories change the way people see you — oftentimes forever.

My wife once said I am a fundamentally unlikeable person who tells a good story. She was speaking in jest, but there was a little bit of truth hiding underneath her joke.

I can be exceedingly direct. Overly sarcastic. Occasionally rude. Edgy and insensitive. Pushy. Overly competitive.

But I tell a good story. I make all of those less-than-ideal qualities far more palatable by connecting with people through story.

My client told me:

“I expected to get better at telling stories by working with you. I never expected my life to feel so different. So much better.”

Whatever your reason might be to find and tell better stories, it’s likely the tip of the iceberg.

Find and tell better stories, and you’ll be surprised by what might happen next.