Leadership Storytelling 101: What All Leaders Need To Know

 With back-to-school supply lists in hand and the smell of pumpkin lattes in the air, it’s time to brush up on basic leadership storytelling tools. Whether you are an experienced leader or new to the role, these storytelling tools will help you lead your team more effectively. You can use them to improve your everyday one-on-one conversations as well as your high-stakes on-stage leadership moments.

Storytelling Tool #1: A Good Hook

A common conversation starter this time of year is, “How was your summer?” This routine question doesn’t need to be answered in the expected way: “Oh, good, good. Yours?” In my book Let The Story Do The Work in a chapter on networking, I discuss why these kinds of routine conversations make our brains turn off and actually limit our ability to connect. To change the trajectory, you have to break the pattern by grabbing your conversation partner’s attention with something unexpected.

Here’s How: Prepare for these kinds of common conversations ahead of time. Fold a paper in half length wise. On the left half write down 3-5 experiences from your summer. On the right side, list the unexpected, happy surprises or personal insights you gained from those experiences.

Example: Instead of traveling this summer like I usually do, I spent this summer working to meet my publisher’s deadline. I only took one trip, and that’s only because I had to chaperone one of my kids. Spending extended time at home this summer, I was surprised to realize just how much I enjoyed being at home. What surprised you about your summer?

Storytelling Tool #2: Crazy Good Questions

You can transform any team meeting, ordinary conversation, or networking event into something meaningful with the right story-prompting questions.

Here’s how: Before an event where you are looking to connect with people, come up with one or two questions that help you cut through the small talk. You can use this list to help you get started.

Example:  Suzanne, an executive coach, shared how she’s learned to use crazy good questions to help her quickly build deeper connections with potential clients.

Before I go to a conference, I prepare a few questions I can use to learn more about people beyond their titles and resumes such as: “If you weren’t at this conference this weekend, what would you be doing?” or “What has surprised you most about being a [CEO/job title]?” These questions help me understand the person I just met in a more authentic way and opens up the conversation. 

Storytelling Tool #3: IRS

Give your story a structure. IRS is a signature storytelling framework used to help shape brief, brilliant stories. The IRS model can help you craft a compelling leadership story in just three or four sentences. The acronym stands for:

• I – intriguing beginning
• R – riveting middle
• S – satisfying end

Here’s how: Start with a question or scenario that inspires curiosity to create an intriguing beginning. To continue this story with a riveting middle, identify the central source of tension, and maintain that tension using only the necessary details. A satisfying end returns to the opening idea and answers the questions you provoked in the beginning, while leaving room for the audience members to reflect and ask their own questions.

Example: Erica Keswin, a 3X bestselling author, speaker and workplace strategist shared this story using the IRS structure during a keynote.

I: It’s 1998. I’m engaged. Jeff asks me to join him on a business trip to BERMUDA! Though I’m saving my vacation for our honeymoon, I remember I have a new device called a Blackberry that allows me to work from anywhere!

During the day, I work from the beach with my feet buried in the warm, pink sand. At night, I go to sleep feeling tanned, relaxed and productive. I say to myself, “I can’t believe this is my LIFE.”

R: Fast forward, 10 years. I have three kids and two devices: a Blackberry and an iPhone. I find myself working from ANYWHERE and EVERYWHERE. One day, I’m pushing a double stroller with my twin girls and my son strapped to my chest. One of my phones starts to ring and the other  starts to ping. I start digging through my purse to find them. This wakes my kids who start crying. In the midst of all the rings, pings and tears, I realize that I’m more upset about missing the texts and calls than I am about the kids crying. And that makes me want to cry!

S: In contrast to that blissful moment in Bermuda I say to myself: “I can’t believe THIS is my life.”

Since then, I’ve been on a mission to find the sweet spot between tech and connect. I want to understand how to leverage technology for all of its greatness and how to put that technology in its place to connect on a deeper level.

The Takeaway

With these three leadership storytelling tools you can amp up your effective communication.  The right questions, a hook, and a great story structure can turn any conversation into an opportunity to connect and learn from the people on your team in a meaningful way.

Related Articles

Leaders On Leadership: 10 Valuable Lessons That Will Make You Think

What Happened When Leaders Embraced The Power of Business Storytelling?