This personal narrative describes strategies for incorporating relevant lived experience as narrative storytelling during library instruction in an academic classroom setting. Integrating personal narrative into curriculum is proposed as a technique for expanding instruction librarians' development as teachers and mentors, and for motivating and enhancing connections with students. Guidelines for creating narratives founded on the principles of Buddhist "right speech" are provided, as well as detailed examples of personal narratives integrated within the context of a graduate-level research workshop series.