I was ten years old, when the war caught up with me, Julie Kertesz

This is storytelling. Telling a story. Leaving an impact. 

It worked, that day and some of my five hundred people from the audience came to me after: "Now, I understand" and others "I am happy I have taken my son with me today". It left a trace.

To make it a story, I told it as if I was that child at ten, with no more knowledge that I had then. I did tell some of it my to my still small grand-children and asked them how would they react of someone told them "you are eleven from now, no more ten", and my grand-son jumped up with his hands up. He was just ten then. More important, I had to leave out other details that come to me and at the beginning, were still incorporated. Alas, they cluttered that tale which should have been only seven but even like this become twelve minutes long.

I went to my different Toastmasters clubs I was then member, and asked a 360° evaluation: I asked all to write me, to tell me how I can improve it, and in each of them someone had a good suggestion. Sometimes, a longer pause in some place, other time just my face that did not change from pleasure to sorrow or that begun to show a joy before time. The story as you see here, is the result of many telling and repetitions and retelling again. After Manchester, I told it again a few times. Once even on a train to two students I just met. Again, it worked. Again, I could put myself back to that time as I told it, even sitting on a train that speed up to take us to Aire, where I was invited to deliver a key-note "never too old" and instead of 500 the two young girls as audience.

I am now working to find a way to tell some of it that was left out. That is how I remembered, and thought to publish this here. Paul, at the end of his Presentation Mastery, is now going out and telling his life stories, one and even two hours, as Professional speaker. We have so many stories to tell.

The impact of a project, the impact of a path, does not stop with a check box or one more level awarded, the impact propels us out, remain with us longer. Sometimes, can even change our life.