A recap of the Story Explorers Salons at STORY 2026 in Nashville
In October, in a tucked-away corner of the East Lobby at the STORY Conference in Nashville, a room full of strangers were high-fiving, laughing, and (a few of them) quietly wiping away tears.
And not one of them was sitting in a row of chairs.
Over two days, I hosted four Story Explorers Salons. By the end, we had swapped dozens of stories, built a Wall of Wisdom with 73 handwritten cards, and proved something I believe deeply: one good question and a few people really listening can change how you see your own story.
I turned the whole experience into an interactive recap, with every card, every theme and every question. You can explore the full recap here.
Not your typical conference breakout
You know the conference breakout I mean. Rows of chairs. A speaker at the front. A slide deck. Half the room listening, half the room checking email.
The Story Explorers Salon is the opposite.
People were up and moving. We played games. We traded high-fives with strangers and found out the person next to us was a former babysitter, a doorknob collector, or someone halfway through writing a play.
Then we sat down in small Story Pods, each built around one good question. In about 15 minutes, stories that had been sitting quietly for years suddenly had something new to say.
Four Salons, four questions
Each Salon had its own theme and its own question for the Story Pods:
First Steps: Tell us about your first set of wheels. Where did it take you?
Open Doors: Who's a teacher, boss or mentor who opened a door for you? What did it make possible?
Find Your Voice: What was a time you spoke up about something that mattered, and what happened because you did?
Embark on a Journey: Tell us about a time you moved. What did it open up for you?
Simple questions. But they open up a lot.
What came up in the Story Pods
A few moments that have stayed with me:
A college student who wasn't sure where she was headed heard from a pod of seasoned creatives that the path she'll love might not exist yet. She gets to make it.
A Story Explorer about to leave New York after many years found courage in other people's stories about moving and starting over.
In my own pod, I remembered Mrs. Pratt, my fourth-grade teacher, who took away my Goosebumps book, handed me Number the Stars, and showed me I was smarter than I thought.
I've told a lot of stories about my career. I'd never told that one. It took a room full of near-strangers and one good question to bring it back.
The Wall of Wisdom
Before anyone left, they wrote a card for our Wall of Wisdom, finishing one of three prompts:
A piece of wisdom I heard in a story…
Something I learned about myself…
Something I'm curious about…
By the end, the wall held 73 cards. A few that stopped me in my tracks:
"Revisit old random stories from your life and try to uncover a new observation." · Jordan
"Our voices matter. We undervalue that at times, more than we should. When we embrace the value, fewer regrets." · Jori
"I don't have to have all the answers for where my life may take me, and life can surprise you." · Ella
"What would happen if I said yes more often?" · Deborah
Across all 73 cards, three threads kept showing up: looking back, speaking up and stepping forward.
See all 73 cards from the Wall of Wisdom
Click through every card, explore the three threads, and pull a random card to see what the wall has for you today.
Why a pause matters
Most of the people in that room tell stories for a living. Writers, marketers, filmmakers, founders.
They spend their days shaping other people's stories. And yet so many of them lit up the moment they got to pause and explore their own.
I think that's true for most of us. We rarely give ourselves 15 minutes to look back at a story and ask what it's really about. But when we do, something opens up: a little more clarity, a little more courage, and a little more connection to the people around us.
Try it yourself
Pick one of the four questions above and give it 10 minutes this week. On a walk, in a journal, or over dinner with someone you love.
Then ask yourself: what does this story say about who I am now?
Want a guided way to go deeper? Grab my free Story Before Telling workbook and pull one powerful story from your own career.
Bring a Story Explorers Salon to your team
Does your team have something big coming up? A new leader, a reorg, a kickoff or an offsite.
Those are the moments a Story Explorers Salon helps most. Instead of rows of chairs and slide decks, your people get up, get curious, and hear stories from each other they never knew. And it changes how they show up for each other.
If you're planning a team gathering, conference or workshop and want it to feel more alive, grab a free 20-minute Story Strategy Session and let's brainstorm together.
