June 19, 2018 / Esther Choy
Leadership storytelling is the intentional assertion of your point of view.
How do you master this leadership skill effectively and efficiently? In my book Let the Story Do the Work, I provide tools, templates and examples to help leaders sharpen their business storytelling skills quickly. The leadership storytelling quotes below all played a role in shaping my book and developing my tools. If you need a crash course in business storytelling, they are a great place to start!
1. “To be a great storyteller, you must first become a great story-collector.”
(Source unknown)
It’s counterintuitive. Just as you’re ready to tell your own stories, why should you bother with collecting other people’s? Here are three main reasons:
First, collecting stories helps you become a story connoisseur, so that you understand stories better and develop a taste for good ones.
Second, this practice helps you build your personal “story library” with many stories you can include in your own public speaking.
Third, by listening well to others’ stories, you expose yourself to your audience’s point of view.
2. “Logic makes you think. Emotion makes you act.”
(Alan Weiss, author of Million Dollar Consulting)
Mountains of neuroscience research have suggested that emotion is the engine behind actions. Infuse your story with the right kind of emotional quality, and you will more likely achieve your intended outcome.
3. “Over the years I have become convinced that we learn best—and change—from hearing stories that strike a chord within us… Those in leadership positions who fail to grasp or use the power of stories risk failure for their companies and for themselves.”
(John Kotter, Harvard Business School Professor and author of Leading Change)
Enough said.
4. “Given the choice between trivial material brilliantly told versus profound materials badly told, an audience will always choose the trivial told brilliantly.”
(Robert McKee, screenwriting lecturer and author of Story)
You don’t have to invent Google or eradicate malaria to earn your place to tell your stories. You’re already sitting on a goldmine called life. Just use the right tools, practice deliberately, and seek feedback.
5. “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
(Maya Angelou, poet and civil rights activist)
The most important person in leadership storytelling is your audience. Tell your story from their point of view.
The second most important person is you. How would you want to leave your audience feeling at the end of your story?
These five quotes are the start of everything: nurturing a storytelling culture in your workplace, engaging your audience’s emotions, mining material from your own life and staying tuned in to your audience’s point of view. Let the stories begin!
Want to begin telling stories? Contact us for business storytelling training!
This article first appeared on Forbes.
Better Every Story
"This is an amazing and insightful post! I hadn’t thought of that so you broadened my perspective. I always appreciate your insight!" - Dan B.
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