9 books to help you become an amazing storyteller
Whether you’re a top exec at a large company, an entrepreneur bursting your way into startup-life, or a graduate entering the workforce, developing the skill to tell a compelling story will be an incredibly valuable endeavour.
Storytelling, when done right, amplifies your voice, it engages and captivates people, and makes your audience want to come back again. This one skill may be what separates good leaders from great ones.
We’ve collected some of the best books on this topic, to help you develop your storytelling abilities. See you at the top!
Stories That Stick
How Storytelling Can Captivate Customers, Influence Audiences, and Transform Your Business
by Kindra Hall
Why read?
You probably hear how story is the latest-and-greatest business tool, and that storytelling can do everything from helping leaders better communicate to motivating sales teams and winning customers away from competitors.
So, what stories should you tell, and how do you do it?
In Stories That Stick, Kindra Hall, professional storyteller and nationally-known speaker, reveals four unique stories you can use to differentiate, captivate, and elevate.
240 pages, HarperCollins Leadership 2019
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Resonate
Present Visual Stories that Transform Audiences
by Nancy Duarte
Why read?
Presentations are meant to inform, inspire, and persuade audiences. So why then do so many audiences leave feeling like they’ve wasted their time? All too often, presentations don’t resonate with the audience and move them to transformative action.
Resonate helps you make a strong connection with your audience and lead them to purposeful action.
272 pages, John Wiley and Sons 2010
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Long Story Short
The Only Storytelling Guide You’ll Ever Need
by Margot Leitman
Why read?
Using a fun, irreverent, and infographic approach, Long Story Short breaks a story into concrete components. From content and structure to emotional impact and delivery, Leitman guides you through the entire storytelling process, providing personal anecdotes, relatable examples, and practical exercises along the way.
320 pages, Sasquatch Books 2015
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The Storytelling Method
Steps To Maximize a Simple Story and Make It Powerful, Inspiring, and Unforgettable
by Matt Morris
Why read?
The author, Matt Morris has learned how to tell stories after mastering the art of storytelling from mentors such as John Truby, and Richard Maxwell. Now he’s taken what works and turned it into a simple, easy to understand book that he calls the Storytelling Method.
This storytelling guide is a proven method. You can use it not only for presentations and speeches, but also in everyday life situations too.
36 pages, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform 2014
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Wired for Story
The Writer’s Guide to Using Brain Science to Hook Readers from the Very First Sentence
by Lisa Cron
Why read?
Imagine knowing what the brain craves from every tale it encounters, what fuels the success of any great story, and what keeps readers transfixed. Wired for Story reveals these cognitive secrets — and it’s a game-changer for anyone who has ever set pen to paper.
Backed by recent breakthroughs in neuroscience as well as examples from novels, screenplays, and short stories, Wired for Story offers a revolutionary look at story as the brain experiences it.
274 pages, Ten Speed Press 2012
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Building a Storybrand
Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen
by Donald Miller
Why read?
Donald Miller’s StoryBrand process is a proven solution to the struggle business leaders face when talking about their businesses. This revolutionary method for connecting with customers provides readers with the ultimate competitive advantage.
Building a StoryBrand does this by teaching readers the seven universal story points all humans respond to.
240 pages, HarperCollins Leadership 2018
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Putting Stories to Work
Mastering Business Storytelling
by Shawn Callahan
Why read?
The most successful leaders are storytellers. By mastering business storytelling, they achieve extraordinary business results. In Putting Stories to Work, Shawn Callahan gives you a clear process for mastering business storytelling. He demolishes the thinking that storytelling has no place at work, reminding us that sharing stories is what we all do naturally, every day, and that it’s one of the most powerful tools for getting things done. You just need to adapt this natural superpower to boost your business.
267 pages, Pepperberg Press 2016
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Contagious
Why Things Catch On
by Jonah Berger
Why read?
Why are some products and ideas talked about more than others? Why do some articles make the most emailed list? Why do some YouTube videos go viral? Word-of-mouth. Whether through face-to-face conversations, emails from friends, or online product reviews, the information and opinions we get from others have a strong impact on our own behaviour.
257 pages, Simon & Schuster 2013
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Made to Stick
Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die
by Chip Heath & Dan Heath
Why read?
In Made to Stick, Chip and Dan Heath reveal the anatomy of ideas that stick and explain ways to make ideas stickier, such as applying the human scale principle, using the Velcro Theory of Memory, and creating curiosity gaps.
Made to Stick will transform the way you communicate. Provocative, eye-opening, and often surprisingly funny, Made to Stick shows us the vital principles of winning ideas — and tells us how we can apply these rules to making our own messages stick.
291 pages, Random House 2007
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