 The art of storytelling in business has been getting quite the buzz lately. For decades we have introduced this skill in our Persuasion and Influence course. But as storytelling consultant Shawn Callahan, who works with Global 1000 companies including Shell, IBM, and Microsoft, says, “We see lots of people talking about stories but very few telling them.”
Callahan says understanding the simple framework of a story will help. How do you know if you’ve got a viable story? *A story begins with a time or place marker (when/where did it happen?). *It recounts an event, with feeling. *It includes dialogue (“And then he said…”). *It has a business point (the reason for telling the story is…). People pay attention when you tell a story – and stories are remembered. So mining your experience for stories is time well spent. We want to hear! Have you told or heard a good story recently? What was its impact? Join the conversation and click "comments" on our Community of Practice Forum. Image Credit: AZ https://www.flickr.com/photos/azrasta/
2 Comments
Melissa Marosy
8/21/2016 03:40:09 pm
When I teach active listening skills, I often include a story about an incident many years ago when my ability to call on my active listing skills really got me out of a bind. I have to change the names to protect the innocent (and once recently I would have launched right into the story, except that the person whom the story is about was sitting right in front of me), but I believe the story makes the usefulness of the skill come alive. It's areal-life, personal story, and I am self-revealing, which makes me somewhat vulnerable as I tell it. I think the story makes for a much richer presentation.
Susan
8/22/2016 10:48:03 am
Absolutely! Telling stories make a concept or skill (like active listening) come to life. And long after people forget the details, they remember a good story -- and that brings back the residual message you want to leave them with! Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
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