¿Cómo puedes usar la narración de historias para comunicar tu visión y valores como líder?

Stories play a crucial role in shaping and reinforcing company culture. Leaders who communicate their values, mission, and history through stories allow teams to feel connected by a common mission or purpose.

The art of storytelling is a gamechanger in educational leadership as it highlights the human element. As humans, we are drawn by our similar interests, connections and relationships. Having positive human connections with a common focus on students will create a recipe for success.

Emotions impact knowledge acquisition and retention. In our day to day, we don't experience our world as a set of fact and statements, we experiences our lives as a story unfolding in front of us. Telling stories connects people to the context, clarifies expectations, and brings people into the vision so they can relate to it.

A story evokes emotion and gets your audience engaged. It allows them to resonate and relate easily with the presenter. In this modern age with access to unlimited information, it is important to leverage stories to engage better with the audience.

Research in neuroscience also suggests that storytelling lights up different areas of our brain compared to fact-based or more tactical communication styles. However, I think it's important to note that data and evidence should also shape the story leaders tell. And, it's critical to pay attention to the audience whom you're trying to appeal to -- some audiences may resonate more with certain styles compared to others.

The stories that make audiences want to listen will contain an emotional connection that resonates with all cultures and classes of people. Everybody has been embarrassed at some time in their lives, or afraid, or fallen in love, or been angry. Everyone has gotten lost on their way to somewhere when they are already late. Everyone has worried about making the grade, public speaking, falling behind, falling short. Everyone has shed a tear, either for happiness, sadness, or nostalgia. Connect your story to archetypal experiences that stand the test of time, and you'll connect to your audience.

You need three things in my opinion. 1) Start your story knowing the WHY behind it. 2) Structurally, you need a clear beginning, middle, and end. 3) Make sure your story is relatable to your audience.

We've found it is extremely valuable to use consultative storytelling to capture attention and assure our message relate to the audience. Do your homework and first understand the needs of your audience. Especially when helping clients with their needs, it is critical for us as internal or external consultants to share how we have helped other clients with the same needs. It brings comfort to the listener when they realize you understand and relate to their situation (emotional intelligence) and are in a position to help.

Infomercials provide an example of using and structuring storytelling to move people to action. The story begins with a problem statement and a few examples of those experiencing the stayed problem. The majority of the story is made up of testimonials of overcoming the stated problem. The story concludes by signposting to the solution being sold, with a prompt for immediate call to action. This story sequence is repeated over the duration of the infomercial.

Some of the best stories start with a compelling hook. What can you say in the first 10-15 seconds to capture your audience’s attention? Our attention spans are limited - and seemingly getting shorter - so it's imperative to grab your audience's attention fast!

DO👏🏼NOT👏🏼LEAVE OUT👏🏼THE👏🏼FAILURES!👏🏼 Sorry, I had to yell it! The most compelling story is sharing the mistakes and failures that you have experienced. People can't relate if your story is all about success because people inherently make mistakes. However, the value is when you share what you did after you fell flat on your face meeting a project deadline. How to get up, brush it off, learn, and then move forward. This will give others insight into you and encourage others not to give up. Everyone can relate to having mistakes in their careers. If not, please message me so you can pick up my lotto ticket tonight because you are lucky!

After three decades of presenting to small and large audiences, I've learned that people want to hear stories about change. Why? Because they're wrestling with change themselves and for their companies. The stories that captivate people the most are about people and brands that changed too quickly (say Mark Zuckerberg and Meta, Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX) or people that didn't change fast enough (say Kodak, Sears, or Blackberry). I've also learned that audiences don't like to be "told" a story as much as they like to "recognize" a story that has happened to them or is playing out in their lives currently. I use parables about my dad, who is slow to change, and my mom, who is fast to change, to pull my audience into stories.

If you aren't prepared to put your all into the story, don't tell it. Storytelling is about human connection and your audience can tell if you don't believe the story and if you're simply going through the motions. This is your chance to inspire, engage, and motivate.

Speak from the heart. There is strength in vulnerability, particularly when you are sharing a story about a difficult time in your life or career. Even when when you are sharing a story about a successful time in your career, letting your audience know how you felt in the days and months leading up to that moment can be helpful. Perhaps you were sure that your idea would work, but you weren't supported, or you were actually discouraged by your colleagues. Perhaps you were gripped by insecurity and had to persevere despite your fears. Success is often built on failure and disappointment. Teaching others how to keep pressing forward when they feel like quitting, is the mark of a good leader.

When you experience the difference between someone who holds your attention and someone you can’t wait to escape from, it’s like night and day.

One of the best ways to get better at storytelling is just to start telling more stories. Its similar to how comedians get better at delivering their material - they go to open mic nights and pitch it. Finding small ways throughout your work day or week to try on stories to see how they land and resonate can get you small pieces of feedback that you can use to refine and improve your stories

You need to know how real people will respond to your story. Once you're comfortable, share it with trustworthy advisors who will give you a combination of tough and encouraging feedback. Ideally, you'd gather a small group of individuals with different POVs so you get a wider variety of feedback.

We're all expert storytellers, story listeners, and story processors because we do these daily activities, whether talking with coworkers in the break room, our buddies at the bar, or our friends over text messages. So the best way to master the art of storytelling is to 1) pay conscious attention to how your friends, family, and coworkers tell stories that pull you in versus those that disinterest you and 2) pay attention to how you tell stories that pull others in or lose their interest. If I have an important message, idea, concept, or pitch I want to convey to others, I practice telling everyone I meet to see how it sticks or piques their interest. Like a comedian practicing a joke, I keep working on the setup, timing, and punchline.

In storytelling, a systematic approach enhances impact and effectiveness. Before diving into the narrative, familiarize yourself with the variables: the purpose, emotional connection, and takeaway for the audience. Next, present your story to a select group of influential individuals, such as directors, managers, administrators, and an L&D representative. Seek their thoughts, feedback, and make necessary adjustments. Then, present it again to the core group. Identify a champion within the core group who shares your enthusiasm. This person will help amplify your message to other stakeholders, fostering buy-in for your story's purpose. This process harnesses storytelling's power, engaging the audience on a deeper level to achieve objectives.

There is nothing worse than listening to someone ramble on with a story that seems to have no end and no point. If you tell these types of stories, you might soon find your audience nodding off.

One of my favorite examples of how stories have been applied comes from the software world. Technology companies in the software business (ex: Salesforce) realized that when they were talking to potential customers, it was so much easier to sell to customers when they stopped talking about their product, the features and the benefits, and when they started telling stories about other salesforce customers and how they were using salesforce to run their business. Fundamentally, we are wired to make meaning and that is why stories matter so much, selling software is just one of the many applications where stories work

People tell me my stories are funny, moving, and memorable, but then they complain that they don't have any good stories to tell. We all have great stories but don't always recognize them as stories. No matter where we are—walking, driving, or sleeping—we all think about things that excite, bother, concern, confuse, or motivate us. Those thoughts include the value-laden issues of right versus wrong, good versus evil, fair versus unfair, joy versus fear, etc., which is at the root of any good story. We also can't help but think about things that happened to us in the past. Those are stories too. Keep a notebook of these stories and values for your files. Don't judge them or worry about how they fit in. Just wait for the right opportunity.

Be relatable. A great story that your audience cannot decipher or for whom the message is lost will only confuse your listeners. I have heard some great stories, that had nothing to do with the topic. And it left me wondering... why tell this story?

Stories are a great way to SHOW, NOT TELL your values. As a leader, I believe it's most powerful to tell stories about other people on the team that reveal little-known strengths and paint them as heroes. One should be careful about telling stories about oneself as it can come across as self-centered. In the appropriate context, telling stories about yourself can be helpful if it's meant to illustrate a painful lesson you've learned or a time you made a mistake or hit a low point. Any story you tell - whether about you or about someone else should be for a reason - and the reason should be to lift people up, inspire them, give them courage, cheer them up, make them feel understood and safe. Don't tell stories just to brag.

Stories of overcoming adversity establish a powerful emotional connection. One of my mentors shares how he grew up on the streets of São Paulo, Brazil, when his father was shot dead by criminals. Today he is very successful in business and has devoted his life to empowering others to succeed, especially youth. He gives away valuable advice for free and mentors those who are willing to be mentored. Once this emotional connection has been established, he can get his message across without any internal resistance.

Picture the life of most leaders. They are bouncing from meeting to meeting, putting their brains to the test every single moment. Naturally, their brain needs a breather. Be the person who helps by structuring the conversation in a way they can easily digest. Simplify things so they can see your worth with ease. Imagine a world where complex conversations are clear and simple to grasp. Ever faced questions like: "Why are you telling me this?", "Is there something you need me to do?", "I’m not sure what to do with that information." If yes, your narrative needs a bit of restructuring. It's time to make your message easy for leadership to comprehend, interpret, and care about. Have clarity, know your audience, and assert your value.

Giving life to experience through words, that's storytelling. Storytelling is a tool to share experience and/or ideas. Yet, when giving part of yourself, sharing your experience, and then it resonates with another's experience, that is why storytelling changes hearts and moves people, hopefully. If you are compelled to share your story, ask, who will this impact and how. It breathes new life into what you learned. Experience isn't always wisdom. Go for the higher knowledge application.

Part of your job as a storyteller is to paint a picture for your listeners. Ask them to imagine something specific in your story. "Can you picture me..." is a good phrase to get you started.