Posts by Esther Choy
Why Great Leadership Needs Both Storytelling And Story Facilitation
What Kind of Leader Are You? You might have heard that there are two kinds of leadership styles: The leaders who are the sage on stage versus the guide on the side. The sage on stage is the storyteller with executive presence. He knows how to tell a brief, brilliant story that inspires a room…
Read MoreWant A New Way To Transform Communication? Try Story Facilitation
Effective communication skills are listed as a must-have on most job applications. And this is for good reason. A study conducted by The Harris Poll found employees spend as much as 88% of their workweek communicating. Of the 1,002 knowledge workers and 253 business leaders surveyed, 100% said they experienced miscommunication on a weekly basis.…
Read More6 Mistakes Leaders Make When Using AI for Storytelling
Have you ever been disappointed by the response AI gave you? Maybe the writing sounded polished but generic. Perhaps it missed the context entirely. Or maybe it was technically good, but sounded so robotic. There’s a reason this happens. When we use AI for storytelling, it’s tempting to hand over the hardest part: Here is…
Read MoreStorytelling Is A Critical Communication Skill For Business Leaders
Open communication is a trending topic on LinkedIn right now. Leaders want to have the communication skills that cut through the noise and move past the surface to understand what is being left unsaid. They want to know how to build trust that allows everyone on the team to express ideas that are important, even…
Read MoreEnergize Your Networking Skills With 3 Proven Storytelling Tips
Networking doesn’t have to be a transaction. It can be a conversation worth having. That’s what my client Susan discovered at an ERG networking event, where story-prompting questions moved her and her partner past small talk and into real stories about their careers, upbringings, and experiences of imposter syndrome at work. Many people dread networking,…
Read MoreHow To Improve Team Communication By Learning To Speak Up
Jeannie walked out of Monday’s meeting feeling energized. Her team had just landed a promising new project, and everyone seemed locked in on the vision they’d pitch to the client on Friday. So when they reconvened Thursday to review the slides, she expected their team to prepare slides that reflected their shared vision, sharpened and…
Read MoreWhy You Need To Prepare For A Fantastic Performance Review Now
Summer is the smartest time to prep for your year-end performance review. Here’s why: even the best managers forget. Writing performance evaluations is hard, and buried under a busy year, the moments that made you shine may have long faded in your manager’s memory. Recency bias — giving more value to recent events, over events…
Read MoreHow To Ensure Professional Development Actually Empowers Your Team
“I’m not here to sell you anything.” That’s what Amy — Sawyer Products’s lead salesperson — said when she walked into her first in-person meeting at a major retailer’s headquarters. Amy exemplified a communication tool she had learned in her company’s professional development courses. The buyers looked confused. True to her words, Amy didn’t have…
Read More4 Summer Books That Will Make You A Better Leader
Summer is a great time to catch up on your “to be read” shelf AND to brush up on your leadership communication skills. But this doesn’t mean you must read management and leadership books. Reading fiction is a proven way to build your empathy muscle — a key ingredient to being a better leader and…
Read MoreMake Your LinkedIn Profile Better With A Simple Shift In Your Mindset
Let me give you an example: Because May is my birthday month, I was recalling my most recent birthday parties. Two years ago, when I was celebrating a milestone birthday, my husband and I planned a big party — with friends flying in from out of town and a delicious dinner. We played music, sang,…
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