Esther Choy, Author at Leadership Story Lab

5 Leadership Storytelling Quotes For Keeping Audiences In Suspense

Many leaders wonder what they can do to keep audiences hanging on their every word during presentations. These five leadership storytelling quotes provide the answers. 1. “Good suspense… is really about creating situations that are relatable, and throwing a wrench in it and watching how people respond.” – Jason Blum, filmmaker and producer Your story…

3 Secrets To Building Trust With Your Virtual Team

It’s Monday morning. Your team of 18 is ready to meet at 10:00AM, Eastern time. Seven of them are in your office in New York City. Two of them are in Atlanta, while another three are in San Francisco and in Chicago. The rest are in Tokyo. Depending on your business, you may be working…

Made a Mistake? Here Are The 4 Best Professional Apology Strategies

What happens when you move forward on a project thinking you have permission but you really don’t? That’s what happened to Moore DM Group, a fundraising marketing organization. “We thought we’d received permission to use a quote related to a charity’s work in a fundraising solicitation,” says Geoffrey W. Peters, Chair of Moore DM Group.…

Why Visuals Are A Crazy Way of Storytelling

At every wedding, “There are so many little moments,” says photographer Erika Dely of LuvED Photography. “I try to find the beauty in all of it.” In fact, Dely says she is “obsessed” with trying to find moments like the one with this bride slurping from a soft drink cup, and feels a surge of…

The #1 Business Storytelling Tool That Instantly Improves Relationships

“Welcome! We’re here today to discuss the upcoming product shipment and get all hands on deck. Thanks, everyone, for being here on time. Let’s get started!” This is often the way business meetings begin: efficiency and professionalism are front and center. But what if we started more like this? “Welcome! Before we get started,…

The Best Business Storytelling Questions to Build Relationships

Leadership Story Lab Certified Storytelling Facilitators Rissa Reddan and Donna Bauman have both seen striking results in their work contexts when they have taken the risk of asking business storytelling questions that make people reflect. They’ve seen how the conversations that result from these questions can do three things: Improve wellbeing during the pandemic Reveal people’s…

Avoid Post-Lockdown Business Communication Blunders

Don’t donate your professional clothes to the thrift shop just yet. Despite the advantages of saving money on office space, cutting employees’ commute times, and potentially creating a happier workforce, a recent survey shows that most CEOs of major global companies plan to call remote workers back to the office once it’s safe to do so. The survey…

Major Donors Reveal How To Request Donations

U.S. nonprofits have long struggled for funding, even before the pandemic. In 2019, the National Council of Nonprofits reported that roughly 50% of U.S. nonprofits “have less than one month of cash reserves.” This means crucial services hang in the balance for the vast numbers of people that America’s 1.3 million charitable nonprofit organizations support. Here’s a quick snapshot of…

Major Donors Want You To Break This Fundraising Taboo

The flip side of knowing your donor’s stories is being able to tell your own story. I know. This is a total fundraising taboo in nonprofit circles. Nonprofits are all about the cause and the clients’ stories, not the employees’ individual stories. This is particularly true for employees whose backgrounds are dissimilar from the clients…

An Honest Conversation About Wealth and Philanthropy

“What kind of terrible world have we entered?” This is how Lisa Greer, a panelist in the ”Inside Out” webinar Leadership Story Lab recently co-hosted with ALUMinate, ended her poignant, personal story about realizing how differently her family was being treated solely because of their wealth. It’s a feeling many first generation wealth creators experience…