Grab Them And Hold Them – Tell Business Stories That Move People
This just in: Current business buzz is all about “storytelling.” Some companies consider it the number one business skill leaders should master. Why? Stories engage people and motivate change. They make people feel and act! Here are some new storytelling techniques to move people, audiences and business.
Let Me Tell You a Story
One of my favorite episodes of the classic Twilight Zone TV show is “One For The Angels.”
Lou is an old sidewalk pitchman selling trinkets and sundries out of a suitcase on legs. He works the street corners of a narrow neighborhood in the city. He’s gentle and loved by every child on the block.
One evening, Lou is slowly trudging home after a long day. His back is sore from toting the suitcase, and his feet hurt from the hard pavement. Suddenly, a little girl – one of his good friends – is hit by a truck. It’s as if the entire neighborhood is holding its breath as she’s carried inside.
It’s dark, and Lou is waiting outside as a man walks up. As they talk about the child, Lou realizes that this is Mr. Death and he’s come for the girl. Mr. Death must be in her room by midnight to take her. As Death is speaking, Lou slowly straightens and sets his face into a smile. His pains are forgotten as he opens his case.
Pulling out shoelaces, matches and playing cards, he starts telling stories. He describes each item as special and one of a kind. Death is drawn in, and soon the stone steps around him are cluttered with the items he’s buying.
Just as Death greedily says, “Give me everything you have,” the town clock chimes midnight. He’s too late. Lou has beaten Death and saved the child by telling stories and making the greatest sales pitch of his life – One For The Angels.
Everyone Listens to a Good Story
If I did my job well, you imagined the street corner and saw Lou and Mr. Death talking. That’s the power of storytelling. Great stories are inspiring and motivating. Stories can actually change the way people think and act because they instantly engage us and make us feel.
“Those who tell the stories, rule the world.”
Hopi American Indian proverb
Tell Business Stories That Move People
Today, great storytelling is a sure bet to fill a workshop at any corporate conference. How do you do it? Well, I like to keep storytelling simple. If you are writing a screenplay or a novel, then you must worry about how a story arches, dramatic tension, conflict and release. That’s too complicated for a meeting or event. Just ask yourself a few quick questions:
Where was I?
Who was with me?
What happened?
How did I feel then?
How do I feel now?
Make stories the focus and not the spice of an event or presentation. They are far too powerful to be rationed. In fact, the same strengths that make storytelling powerful can actually provide the structure of your entire event or association conference.
6 Steps to Use Storytelling to Design an Event
Great stories AND great events are:
• Authentic
• Engaging
• Personal
• Simple
The fact is, the best events aren’t built around isolated blocks of content divided by coffee breaks and meals. They are experiences. So tell some stories! Here’s your 6-step strategy for structuring an event around stories and storytellers:
1. Pick three big things or themes – what the overall event is about and the desired results.
2. Select storytellers instead of speakers – these people can be anyone, not just the obvious executives. The goal is to find individuals with authentic stories that bring a part of the content to life.
3. Have lots of ways to tell the stories – have people speak live, tell stories through music, video, role plays, improv … use all the tools to tell the stories.
4. Let the executives comment on the stories – they add their reactions and some business perspective. Imagine the response if the CEO shared his reactions to a significant story and what it means instead of the standard presentation?
5. Give people time and a place to talk and share – break up the flow with breaks that are long enough to let people talk, network and share their own stories.
6. Write the story of the event – in the closing, explain how all the stories weave together. Now the audience is writing a new story that begins right now. They are motivated, engaged and ready to go.
Don’t make the common mistake of focusing exclusively on event mechanics and execution. The goal is to create authentic moments that are meaningful to an audience and motivate them to do what you want them to do.
4 Steps to Use Storytelling to Create a Presentation
To develop your presentation, start by collecting stories. Find strong stories that make your points and let them drive the communication. Great business stories take facts and data and put them in the background. The speaker recreates an emotional experience and shares it with the audience. Then all the details and data become personal, memorable and actionable.
Here’s your 4-step strategy for using storytelling to design your presentation.
1. “Once upon a time …”
Don’t back into a story. Announce that you’re telling one. Explain what the story is about. You need to convince the audience that the tale is going to be interesting and worth their time. Don’t give away the ending, but give them a little hint about the message.
2. Talk about people and change.
Great stories are about change. The characters find themselves in a situation that requires them to do something or change. The story is about what they do, why they do it, what happens and the change that results. What the change means determines if it’s a happy ending. In a great story, the characters change – and that can help the audience change.
3. Make it personal and dramatic.
Make it personal to you and the audience. A great story is about people, and you are telling it to people. So allow yourself to be open, personal and real. Help them listen and relate to you by sparking some kind of emotion. And be sure to add some suspense and drama. Half of the fun of any story is wondering what’s going to happen next and how it ends!
4. And the moral is …
Help the audience understand why the story is important to them and how it fits into the overall point of your presentation. Reinforce the person-to-person connection.
How would you feel if this happened to you?
What would you do if this happened to you?
Remember, not every story has to be upbeat or have a happy ending. But every story does have to mean something.
Instead of attempting to tell one long, major story, try sharing several small ones. Use children’s stories as a guide. No subplots, very little backstory, just simple and easy to follow. Oh, and sometimes pictures help.
Every Day is Story Day
I’m sure you’ve figured out that you also can take these same principles and use them every day on the job. Just remember three things.
• Grab attention quickly.
• Tell a simple story.
• Explain what it means.
Stories are Even Good for Your Health
Scientific research at Claremont Graduate University has shown that we have a physical reaction to stories. Watching, hearing or seeing a great story triggers the release of oxytocin, the substance that’s been nicknamed “the love hormone.” Talk about a crowd pleaser! The hormone is linked to just about every pleasurable experience from friendship – to sexual intimacy – to social bonding. That’s another reason why we can’t resist them. We just can’t help loving stories!
