Esther Choy, Author at Leadership Story Lab

A Better Presentation Deck Starts with Storytelling

“I had information I could have talked for hours about,” says Daniela Garza-Sokolowski, Director of Marketing at InnovaFlavors, as she reflects on a recent talk she gave. The only problem? She didn’t have hours to talk. She had a matter of minutes and needed to craft a better presentation deck. Her five-to-ten minute talks were…

What’s the Story Behind This: Asking for Stories

Furious typing. That was usually what greeted my friend, Heather, each morning when she walked into the office she shared with her boss. Heather would head to her desk and see her boss hunched over her keyboard, elbows out, clattering away. Then her boss would hit the final key like she was striking the…

Big Data for a General Audience: “What Do I Want To Leave With Them?”

“What do I want to leave with them?” That is the question Vinodh Balaraman, a principal and senior partner at ZS Associates found himself asking as he prepared to give a talk at the world’s largest hospitality technology conference. The topic for his talk was complex: “Maximizing the Impact of Customer Reviews and Ratings Sentiment…

Overcome Incongruence and Align Words, Actions, and Emotional Presence

We have all witnessed moments of incongruence: those times when a person’s words and body language don’t match—when we almost suspect they have their fingers crossed behind their backs. Or when the speaker at the front of the room isn’t sending out the emotional signals the situation requires—maybe by appearing too cheery during a somber…

Metaphor: As Simple As A Piece of Velcro

As much as everyone loves a good story, one misconception persists. When my clients hear the word ‘story,’ they often imagine popcorns, soft drinks, and at least two hours of their lives coming and going. Many of them don’t have two minutes to spare, let alone two hours. So the thought of having to set…

Crafting Your Founder’s Story: Where To Start

A founder’s story case study with Morningstar CEO Joe Mansueto’s Story. “Let’s start at the very beginning,” sings Maria in The Sound of Music, strumming her guitar in an Austrian meadow. But when you are telling a story from your life—or the life of your company—the “very beginning” might have been a long time ago,…

Convey Compassionate Leadership With Stories

Telling stories makes us more compassionate leaders. It sharpens our own emotional intelligence as we look back and explore what our experiences have meant to us. It helps us sort out difficult situations from the past so that we can move forward with greater grace and understanding. And it helps us use the meaningful…

Data Presentations: How Storytelling Makes Your Job Easier

Four years ago my family and I moved into a bigger house. This move left me with lots of interior decorating tasks. Though the process itself was fun, working with the decorator could be frustrating. Why did it frustrate me? I couldn’t articulate the reasons until two weeks ago, when I had an in-depth conversation…

Telling Family Stories: Why Capturing Family Memories Matters

May 7, 2015 – A personal notebook entry reads, “Tonight the girls are trying to go to sleep with Dad keeping them company in the rocking chair. All of a sudden Alina (my six-year-old) sits up on her bed and begins a dramatic episode of ‘I’m-too-scared-to-sleep.’ Then, Melia (my three-year-old) lifts herself halfway up and…

How to Merge Story And Data

Karen Kane attended a storytelling workshop last year. She recently was honored by a Chicago charity that provides early education programs. We are delighted to share her speech as an example of how to merge story and data. Many of you know I work in financial management. I am as they say … a numbers…