Posts by Esther Choy
Your Storytelling Holiday Survival Guide
The holiday season can always be stressful, and 2020 comes with extra challenges. Every invitation requires a risk analysis. And if we “go virtual” with friends and family, we may worry about finding true connections. Not only that, grief and loneliness may surface. These are stressful times. Storytelling can’t turn the clock back to earlier…
Read MoreDon’t Overlook Key Leadership Storytelling Moments
Nobel laureate and economist Robert J. Schiller’s new book, Narrative Economics, argues that economic narratives– contagious stories that can alter people’s economic planning– are so influential they are worthy of serious academic study. Not only that, Shiller has explained exactly how to create a contagious economic narrative (more on that here). For leaders, the point…
Read MoreAre You Making These Common Job Interview Mistakes?
For a few days about ten years ago, I felt like I was stuck inside a version of the movie Groundhog Day. Except instead of being in the sleepy little town of Punxsutawney, I was in a Hilton hotel in downtown Seoul, South Korea. But I was experiencing a feeling of deja vu quite similar…
Read MoreBetter Conversations Start With 3 Listening Skills from StoryCorps
Conversation patterns reinforce relational roles. A manager with 20 years more industry experience than her average team member will likely default to “expert” role, doling out work-related advice (maybe even life-related advice) while non-experts listen. From colleagues to friends to family members, we tend to lock into these roles. Patterns offer comfort, letting us know…
Read MoreBreak Out Of Unproductive Conversation Patterns
My good friend–let’s call her Jane–is the life of the party, someone everybody wants to be around. She is funny and social, a talker who uses her eyes, face, hands, and voice to pull you in and keep you listening, no matter the topic. It’s a match made in heaven because, as a well-adjusted introvert,…
Read MoreAre You Squandering Your GivingTuesday Campaign?
Picture this. It’s early Tuesday morning after Thanksgiving. You are thankful that you didn’t overeat during the holiday, and you eagerly open your email inbox to welcome an avalanche of solicitation emails that are part of every organization’s GivingTuesday campaign. Credit card ready, you can’t wait to read through each message carefully and let the…
Read More3 Similarities Of All Effective GivingTuesday Campaigns
In my most recent Forbes article, I went over the five pitfalls to avoid in GivingTuesday campaigns. In this article, I will go over three “must-dos” instead. Here are three things the most effective GivingTuesday campaigns do. 1. They speak to the donor’s identity What makes donors, volunteers and participants feel like insiders in your…
Read MoreUsing Metaphors? Beware Of The Drawbacks
Part 2 in a series on using metaphors to explain complex ideas. Like every powerful tool (PowerPoint anyone?), metaphors can be misused and abused. First, it’s important to consider your audience. What metaphors will resonate? For instance, I love Charles Wheelan’s Lebron James metaphor: “The Central Limit Theorem is the Lebron James of statistics–if Lebron…
Read MoreThe Secret to Clarifying Complex Ideas
“CRM is like your birth control,” I remember Brittany Hodak, co-founder of The Superfan Company, saying on stage. Perplexed but very intrigued, I listened on. I could sense the ballroom, filled with nearly four hundred attendees at the most recent Brand Manage Camp, wondering the same question. How on earth is CRM like birth control?!…
Read MoreHow To Write Emails People Will Want To Read
I’m often asked how I define a story. Is presentation a story? Is a business pitch a story? While defining a story, especially in a modern world, would take an entirely separate article, I know when a story works. It works when your audience sees themselves in your story and wants to do something about…
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