A good story brings ideas to life and inspires listeners to imagine themselves in the storyteller’s place as events unfold and lessons are learned. The vicarious experiences audiences feel when hearing stories can build an emotional connection – sensory details, actions and language that are part of a good story make the message memorable and impactful.
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Sometimes leaders get so caught up with grabbing an audience’s attention that they miss the point. For instance, a personal anecdote is great but only if it connects to what you’re trying to communicate. In other words: It doesn’t really matter if your son won the state high school basketball tournament unless his game-winning shot says something about what your company team needs to do every day.
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While it’s great to see leaders embrace stories, it’s so important to realize that simply storytelling—without the goal of teaching employees what they need to do in their work—defeats your purpose.
I’ve had several moments with clients when the power of storytelling really hits home with their teams. One recent experience stands out. It was one of those times when a light bulb clearly went on.
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Employees don’t want to follow leaders who they don’t really know and understand. You can’t get anywhere with your team if they don’t see you as a real person who’s not perfect but who has a real vision for the company.
Tags: Employee Engagement, Storytelling
We all tell stories naturally that illustrate who we are as a person, what we do, and what we believe in. Think of your last conversation with a friend, someone in your family, or a neighbor at a barbeque. “Once upon a time” (or a spin on that) is an everyday, multiple-times-a-day occurrence.
Yet at work, something happens when we “badge in” at our organizations. Stories get lost, and pie charts and copy-heavy slides take over.
Tags: Leadership Communication, Internal Communication, Storytelling
For leaders in today’s business world, effective communication is a differentiator. With so much information flying around from so many places, the ability to ensure you’re understood and employees are prepared to take action on your path forward is critical to your individual and organizational success.
And yet time and time again I’ve heard the excuse, “Communicating effectively is too tough.”
Tags: Communication Skills, Storytelling
I heard an interesting comparison recently. When you see people on the street talking to themselves, they are often classified as “insane.” Yet what do we call it when we talk to ourselves inside organizations? “Marketing or communications.”
Tags: Employee Engagement, Communication Skills, Storytelling
You’ve drafted an email or remarks to share at an upcoming team meeting and are ready to hit send or present, respectively. How do you know that you haven’t made the most common messaging blunders?
See whether creating a clear and compelling communication is as simple as cleaning up your own act.
Here are 5 messaging blunders to avoid in your communications:
Tags: Communication Skills, Storytelling
I recently had a parent-teacher conference about my youngest daughter, Noa, with her kindergarten teacher who’s a rock star. We were talking about how Noa’s very capable overall, and is a child who does things when she’s ready, and on her terms. “Her terms” is the key phrase, which Steve and I wholeheartedly support.
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It’s been said that if you don’t toot your own horn, then you can’t complain when there’s no music. A bit blunt perhaps, but very true, and applicable today more than ever in the context of corporate social responsibility (CSR).
On the surface, CSR is comprised of the efforts and initiatives a company takes to assess and hold responsibility for its impact on the environment and social wellbeing at large.
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