Storytelling for Leaders
Bite sized leadership advice
Storytelling is a skill worth learning.
Stories are familiar, we are trained to understand them. They work.
Storytelling is how the socially acceptable behaviours were codified before we had pens, paper and books.
Stories were passed from one story teller to another, village to village, person to person. At the heart of each was a message, something that informed the listener.
To catch the attention of the villagers, the story teller would wrap vivid and memorable details around the moral or point that they were trying to make, using senses and emotions to convey the good versus the bad.
As humans we are more likely to remember short, impactful communications which touch our emotions and which connect the dots.
Some practical advice
- Keep it short, this is not war and peace
- Be clear on how you want the audience to feel as a result
- Use rich analogies, the senses and emotional connection for maximum success
- Avoid a formulaic or mechanical approach, it shows.
- The hardest step is the first one. Work on a great opening line
This is part of our Leadership Wizdom series, bite sized leadership advice for leaders who wish to improve their leadership, but don’t have much time. For more indepth articles check out The Change Wizard.
We coach leaders and help their organisations become more adaptable at www.thechangewizard.com
