Posts by Esther Choy
Global Business Storytelling: Insights From 6 Countries
In 2016, I gave a talk on business storytelling in Switzerland at the invitation of the Swiss Finance Institute. The auditorium was packed. The audience seemed satisfied. But afterwards, one attendee approached me to say, “Storytelling seems useful, but it also sounds so much like some BS marketing ploy that Americans have come up with.” I…
Read MoreBiden Used A Key Leadership Storytelling Tool To Unite America Against Covid
When facing a tough audience, many leaders fail to fully acknowledge that audience’s views. Sure, they might explain the opposing position. But usually they will quickly follow it up by saying “here’s why I respectfully disagree,” and then launching into mountains of data to support their own argument. That approach always fails. It was a relief, then, to…
Read More7 Steps for Writing Business Stories Quickly
How do you begin to rebuild your company after your industry lost more than $35 billion in 2020 in the U.S. alone? How do you inspire confidence when your industry continues to lose $150 million a day? This is the challenge U.S. airlines face right now. They must spend money even while they are losing money,…
Read MoreTell Yourself the Right Story About the Impact of Your Work
All I dared to ask for was a quote. After all, I was approaching the Paul Sullivan, world-renowned wealth columnist for a newspaper many people recognize nearly as well as they recognize their own face in the mirror: The New York Times. I hoped Paul Sullivan would answer a few questions that would show others…
Read More7 Storytelling Tips for Virtual Networking Events
That virtual networking event you’ve spent weeks planning is probably missing a huge opportunity. Online meetings fall into patterns that few of us question. But Eva Niewiadomski, founder of Catalyst Ranch, a creative meeting and event space in Chicago, has observed that it’s commonplace to squander the first few minutes of virtual networking events. “I haven’t seen…
Read MoreWhy Leadership Storytelling Revolutionizes Team Building
One of the many repercussions of the pandemic is the way it has destabilized workplace culture. “In a situation like this, everybody is in their little bubbles,” Cynthia Wang, a clinical professor of management and organizations at Kellogg School of Management, told Kellogg Insight recently, “and it’s hard to actually reinforce the shared values and goals of people…
Read More4 Reasons Leadership Storytelling Matters Now
How do you convince a healthcare customer that your product can cover everything they need in order to capture and calculate daily Covid screenings for their entire staff? And not only that… to be able to visualize this data for their leadership? And then, in the end, to be able to share meaningful data with…
Read MoreUse Storytelling In The Workplace Every Day
Our workshop participants work hard to master key storytelling techniques they can use in their workplace. Once they have this tool in their leadership kit, they often ask me how they can make the most of every opportunity to tell stories. After all, once you’ve invested in learning a skill, it only makes sense to…
Read MoreBest Practices for Performance Reviews: 12 Tips
Performance reviews can be nerve-wracking for everyone involved. Massive career decisions hinge on the results. When we are the ones being evaluated, can we make the process less anxiety-inducing? More importantly, are there ways we can make sure our accomplishments get the notice they deserve? Fortunately, the answer to both questions is a resounding “yes”–…
Read MoreThe Best Storytelling Technique For Overcoming Imposter Syndrome
As you advance as a leader, people will often ask you to offer intelligent opinions on subjects you know very little about. And you will often need to hold your own with experts and ask them astute questions. You may feel like you need to earn a Ph.D. before you dare to offer an opinion…
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