Family Law Attorney Reveals The Secret To Getting People To Actually Listen To & Believe You
She explained that while she learned this tip through her career, it has also helped her throughout her life.
Wayhome Studio | Shutterstock There's something extremely powerful about being able to connect with people through storytelling and the charisma that comes along with enchanting people with your words.
In a TikTok video, a family law attorney named Sahar Khorram explained that through her career, she learned an incredible and valuable life lesson that she shared with her followers, and it has to do with the right way to get people to listen to you so they actually believe what you're saying.
She revealed that being a good storyteller is the secret to getting people to actually listen and believe you.
"Working in family law has given me insight into human psychology in a way that I've never had before, and I have learned so many life lessons, and I'm gonna share a secret. One that you are not gonna want to hear, but I'm going to tell you anyway," Khorram declared at the beginning of her video.
She explained that the heart of being a lawyer is telling stories and trying to get people to find the truth in your client's story. Khorram insisted that when telling a story, truth often doesn't really matter at all.
We were told by our parents that no matter what, we should always tell the truth because lying is worse, and no one will believe a person who is chronically lying. However, in Khorram's experience, the truth almost never matters.
What matters is who is telling the story better, which is an important life lesson to learn, in Khorram's opinion. She's noticed that many people, especially on the internet, tend to harp on the fact that no one is "hearing their truth."
Instead of thinking and worrying too much about "your truth," Khorram pointed out that people should worry about getting better at storytelling.
"If you pay attention in life, you'll see that even when the truth comes out, people believe what they want because they have allegiances and alliances to the story that appeals to them," she continued.
"Obviously, don't be manipulative, but you need to develop your storytelling technique. That's how you appeal to people."
Experts gave insight into how individuals can become better storytellers.
In a TikTok video, a spokesperson with the marketing platform @marketingbox, which offers business advice, tips, and experiences, explained that there is a way to become irreplaceable and unignorable, and it's by becoming a better storyteller.
"The objective is when I get to the last slide, they nod their head 'yes,'" he said. "So everything we do in that story is building up to that moment."
He added, "I've checked all the boxes, I've answered all the questions, overcome all of the objections, and when I get to the end of that thing, they say 'yes.'"
In another TikTok video, @storyfirstmedia, a video production service, gave helpful advice that came from the creators of the animated sitcom, "South Park," Trey Parker and Matt Stone. It's a method that Parker uses whenever he's stuck on his weekly scripts.
"We found out this really simple rule that maybe you guys have all heard before," Parker can be heard telling a group of people during a seminar.
The "South Park" creator explained that he can take the beats of someone's story outline and if the words "and then" belong anywhere in the beat, it's not a good sign. Instead, what should happen between every beat you've written down is either the word "therefore" or "but."
The gist of his explanation was that anytime you're telling a story and you find yourself using the words "and then" multiple times, it's better to replace them with words that can continue the story with positive connotations.
It creates life through stories by using the words "therefore" and "but" through action and conflict.
At the end of the day, verbal and written storytelling is a valuable skill that can go far beyond simple career advice and help us in our daily lives as well.
Nia Tipton is a Chicago-based entertainment, news, and lifestyle writer whose work delves into modern-day issues and experiences.