How many movies have you seen? Novels have you read? YouTube videos have you watched and shared? Sitcoms have you wasted time away with? Campfire tales have you been scared by? Family stories have you heard repeated – and then asked to hear one more time?
Human beings, no matter what country or culture would respond with, “more than I can either recall or count”. There is a reason for this. Stories entertain us. Inform us. Teach us. Stories pull us in and cause us to want more. Stories are memorable – far more so than dull textbooks or dry stats. And some of the best stories inspire us – urging us on in our darkest times.
Movie producers know this. Marketers know this. Politicians know this. Yet too often, leaders don’t.
Too often leaders lose sight of the power of a well-told tale – to inform, motivate, teach, or inspire. In fact, the notion of telling stories in business is at times a bit suspect – as if telling a story was the same as spreading a falsehood. Or perhaps a bit too frivolous for the “serious” nature of the work we do. Or a bit too theatrical, pushing us well outside our comfort zone.
Doug Stevenson, founder and chief story teller at Story Theater International (and his amazing side-kick and muse, Deborah Merriman) have cracked the code on “strategic storytelling” for business. I had the wonderful opportunity to join three others in a retreat at Doug’s studio recently.
Doug draws heavily on his acting training and Hollywood experience to bring “the magic of storytelling” into a business setting. He breaks down the essential elements of story and teaches how to craft a compelling tale that captures attention and sticks with you for a very long time. Most importantly, he instructs business people in how to make their point using story. For storytelling in business is more than just spinning a good yarn or telling a story to get a few yucks. Much more than that.
It is about discerning the essence of what you want to communicate. Finding a story that can be used to convey that point – using imagery and metaphor – and then carefully scripting the sequence, the words, the choreography of the story so that it flows in a compelling manner to reach your audience in ways that reports and presentations and speeches cannot.
Over the course of the 2.5 day retreat, I saw how, through the process and the coaching, our stories came alive. I can still see Ana dancing the flamenco while dodging a frog, Jamie’s lessons about customer experience after a three month stay in India, and Alan dealing with having to let go of his hard-fought dream of wrestling at the college level. More importantly, the lessons they learned in those times sticks with me as well: to carry on no matter what, what excellent customer care looks like, and how to turn disappointment into pure gold.
Yet, as powerful as story is, there are no courses in storytelling in MBA curriculums. That is too bad, in my opinion.
I can’t teach you how to craft or choreograph or present a kick-ass story for business purposes in a short blog post. But I can encourage you to open your eyes to the workplace stories around you. I can suggest that you observe the impact of stories at work – and begin to internalize how powerful they can be. I can ask that you put some thought into the stories that get told in your line of work – and ask how you can either leverage them (if they are working) or craft a new story (if they are not working). And most of all, I can recommend that you try your hand at using story to make a memorable point and change hearts and minds.
And if you need some help, know that Doug is available to help. If you want to see him in action, click here.
