How to Become an Emotionally Intelligent Story Teller
A proven way to make yourself heard while avoiding perfectionism
The influencing power of storytelling has been widely recognized. Steve Jobs was successful because he grabbed Apple fans’ hearts. Founders’ autobiographies are useful to raise loyal supporters because consumers relate to the companies’ behind-the-scenes drama.
In this article, the soul music DJ and radio host Jimmie Soul and I share the true stories of our failures, challenges, lessons learned, and how to avoid perfectionism to be an outstanding storyteller.
ストーリーを語ることの影響力が広く知られるようになった。この記事では、DJでありラジオ番組の司会も務めるJimmie Soulと私のち失敗や挑戦と気づき、そして完璧主義を避けて優れたストーリーテラーになる方法を見ていきたい。
My Failure
Six years ago, I was in Massachusetts to attend an intensive program in my journey to earning a master's degree. Although I had to work remotely from the college dorm each night after finishing class group work, meeting local entrepreneurs in-person outweighed all the challenges.
Since I was working in Tokyo and nearly the entire curriculum was online, this was my once-in-a-lifetime chance to study abroad, though the program was only two weeks.
The professor divided us into groups for our project, and mine consisted of five female students: two Americans, a Chinese, an Indian, and me — Japanese. The others were considerably younger than me. Some skipped classes and didn’t contribute much to the group assignment.
Since what the others submitted didn’t meet my expectations, or were simply near blank, I churned out most of the PowerPoint slides for the final presentation.
On the last day, however, when the other girls took the stage, they were surprisingly great speakers. In front of our other classmates, professors, and business owners who supported the program, they spoke confidently.
I got up last to summarize our analysis, and the allotted time was almost up. Despite all my contributions, I spoke for only one or two minutes.
Afterwards, one member told me I had to be more listener-friendly. “You should’ve used more general terms to appeal to the audience, don’t you think?”
“Look who’s talking?!” I wanted to yell, but I couldn’t find my words. Before I replied to the cocky girl, she left the dorm room.
Until this humiliating experience, I was sure that English was my strength. But this two-week bootcamp shattered my confidence. My English was crap. I couldn’t shake off this feeling for a couple of years.
Lessons from Yuko
- Know your audience and use appropriate language—do they want numbers and facts? Or do they expect a jargon-free personal story?
- Practice a lot, especially if you’re giving a talk in your second language.
- If it’s a group presentation, run through the entire presentation together for time management and exchange feedback.
- Forget you’re not the speaking type and enjoy the stage! Make eye-contact with the audience to deliver your message with confidence.
6年前私はアメリカの大学院の課題でグループワークに取り組んだのだが、そこで手痛い目に遭った。一緒に組んだ年下の女の子たちは資料作りではまるで戦力にならなかったのだが、壇上に立つと自信にあふれたスピーカーでよく喋ったのだ。私は準備のほとんどを担ったにも関わらず1、2分話しただけで、終わった後にダメ出しまでされる始末だった。 当時はずいぶん落胆して、英語ができないと思い込んでしまった。聴衆に合わせた言葉選びをすること、発表時間に合わせた事前練習の大切さなどを身をもって学んだのだった。
After this incident, the psychological effect on second language acquisition drew my attention. So I was amazed when I found my Twitter friend Jimmie started his all-English podcast after re-studying English for only three years.
In general, Japanese people aren’t good at using English in real-life situations after finishing high school or even college, due to the focus on standardized tests instead of fluid conversation and freeform discussion.
Jimmie also motivated me to appear on my friend’s podcast while I was still reluctant to try it—I don’t like my voice and speaking manner even in my mother tongue! But thanks to his encouragement, I overcame my tense self-consciousness.
He knew the critical keys to confidence in public speaking and second language. So I asked him for an interview, and it revealed his mindset and some practical tips.
それ以来私は、第二言語の習得に対する心理的効果に注目するようになった。友人のJimmieが英語を学び直して3年で全編英語のポッドキャストを始めた時には驚いたし、私が英語のインタビューに出ようか迷っていた時にも背中を押してもらったので、Jimmieの考え方を聞いてみたくなったのだ。
Purpose-Driven Strategy Never Fails
Jimmie started his radio show in 2017 and his podcast in 2022, but his career as a DJ goes back to his teens and that explains why he isn’t bashful even in English.
However, Jimmie once felt frustrated when he couldn’t interview a record label owner due to his lack of English skills. That incident inspired him to become a better English speaker.
After reviewing a grammar textbook, Jimmie started having online conversational lessons every day. He was purpose-driven because connecting with musicians and DJs was supposed to be his strength as a radio host.
There were already a lot of music-savvy hosts in Japan, and he knew that collecting records and learning public information wouldn’t give him an edge.
Jimmie didn’t want to follow the beaten path and needed to become a skillful interviewer to find the rich vein of gold in artists’ stories. He turned his English lessons into practice interviews. His online tutors were elated when Jimmie asked them to talk about themselves as if they were Hollywood celebrities. Jimmie proves storytellers are often skillful interviewers.
JimmieのDJとしてのキャリアは十代まで遡るので、彼が英語でもシャイにならないのは合点がいく。それでもかつては自身でインタビューができずに悔しい思いをしたこともあるという。 以来、文法書を復習した後は毎日オンライン英会話でインタビューの練習を毎日したそうだ。音楽の知識だけで他の司会者と差別化をはかるのが難しいと考えたJimmieは、自分で直接アーティスト達とつながっていくために英語を武器として選んだのだ。
Interview Tips From Jimmie
Overseas musicians with independent labels have always welcomed his interview requests. Social media maximizes Jimmie’s opportunities to reach musicians before Japanese media finds them. Also, his English videos shared on Instagram helps him set interviewees’ expectations in terms of language.
Also, he never skips homework before interviews to ask accurate questions because interviews are a test of emotional intelligence, which is defined as:
the ability to understand the way people feel and react and to use this skill to make good judgments and to avoid or solve problems
During the discussion, he pays attention to the interviewee’s word choice and what they really want to say beyond the answers to his questions.
While steering a conversation, Jimmie isn’t afraid of taking diversions to let the conversation flow because that frequently leads to the juiciest stories.
DJs never overlook the audience’s reactions, and Jimmie doesn’t need to spin a record to use his emotional intelligence.
英語で話している動画をSNSに上げておくことで、インタビュー相手の期待値をコントロールできていると彼は話す。 心の知能と呼ばれるEQは「相手の感情を理解し適切な対応をする能力」とされるが、DJは観客の反応を見逃さない人たちだ。Jimmieもまたレコードを回していない時も、インタビュー中の会話の流れに気を配りながらも、アーティストが本当に話したいことを引き出すように心がけている。
How to Avoid Perfectionism
“Isn’t it scary to make mistakes in public and to receive negative feedback?” I asked Jimmie because using a second language raises the risk of embarrassing errors. He answered:
If someone gives you derogatory remarks, that’s just evidence your work has traveled far beyond your network.
He said he’s too busy to care about any haters. He also said humiliation isn’t fatal. When you’re focused on the quality of your work, instead of ripple effects you can’t control, it allows you to be courageous as a creator.
Lessons from Jimmie
- Be purpose-driven and determine what skills you need to succeed.
- Stop worrying about what others think of you.
- Become a good listener to enhance your storytelling skills.
- Stick to familiar topics to tell valuable stories, especially in a second language.
- Appreciate the productive feedback and ignore groundless badmouthing.
英語でミスをして悪口を言われるのは怖くない？ とJimmieに聞くと、もしも悪く言われたら、それは外までリーチした証拠、と答えてくれた。忙しくて気にしていられないし、恥ずかしくて死ぬことはない、と。他人がどう思うかは気にしない、でも勝負できるジャンルを決めて自分がコントロールできる範囲のことに集中して取り組む。そんなクリエイターとしてのJimmieの姿が見えてきた。
Conclusion
People assume storytellers are born great speakers. However, with consistent experiment and improvement, everyone can become a skillful storyteller. Jimmie and I are still works-in-progress, but we won’t allow our frustrations and failures to stop us as long as there are stories that need to be told.
If we ditch perfectionism and overcome our self-consciousness, worthwhile stories will unfold in front of us. And they will live far longer than our lifetimes to stand the test of time.
ストーリーテラーは生まれながらに話し上手と思われがちだが、実験と改善を続ければ誰もが熟練した語り手になれる。Jimmieも私もまだまだ進化の途中だが、伝えられるべき物語がある限り、失敗やいら立ちが我々を止めることはないだろう。 完璧主義を捨て過剰な自意識を克服すれば、ストーリーは私たちの目の前で広がっていく。そして物語は、私たちがいなくなった後も時をこえて生き続けるのだ。
Follow Jimmie to enjoy soul music he loves: Instagram Twitter Jimmie Soul じみーちゃん Radiko Jimmie Soul Radio Podcast Jimmie & Maxwell Show
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