I just watched a 3-minute video advertising a course on storytelling. It was beautifully produced, of the highest quality yet there was not a single story told. It’s very easy to forget to tell a story but as we know, you don’t get the amazing benefits of storytelling unless you tell stories.

So how do you develop the storytelling habit?

Start small. And work on developing a storytelling streak.

Here is how small a story can be.

Whether the event is good or bad, each can share a lesson. You just have to notice them.

Christmas break is a great time to notice stories and begin building your storytelling habit. Lots of stories are being told, and you can practice without anyone even paying a jot of attention.

A good way to start is to spend your first week spotting stories. Listen to what others are saying and keep an ear out for time markers (here is our story-spotting framework if you need a refresher). If you hear a good one, jot it down in your story bank (e.g., a notebook or Evernote).

Once you are in the swing of spotting stories, it’s time to get a streak going. I recommend you start a streak of telling small stories like “Just the other day …” and share something you saw or heard that helps illustrate your point.

To keep track of your streaks, try this iPhone app called Streaks. Just set it to track one streak (Tell a story); you don’t want to overwhelm yourself with too many things to do. See if you can get to seven days in a row and celebrate it when it happens. Then, two weeks, thirty days, and so on. Please pop in a comment below to let me know how you are doing.

Your aim is to tell one story a day.

When you get comfortable recounting things that have happened as your story of the day, move on to finding stories in the newspaper, podcasts, or books and then recount them. Each time, try to work out the point of the story and tell the story in your own words to make that point.

And don’t forget—never use the s-word (i.e., don’t use the word ‘story’ in your telling).

You will notice your story superpowers grow over January, and you will be primed to engage and inspire when you get back to work. You should also have some good stories to tell.

Merry Christmas.