Carol Lempert Speaking LLC

Spent Friday with a group of high potential #leaders teaching #storytelling. What they craved most was a repeatable structure they could follow. And so (drum roll) I present Kenn Adam's story spine. Used by Pixar—and all skilled business storytellers. The most important element for a business story is the moral. What is the message you want your audience to leave with? Make it crystal clear. Here's how. End your story like this: - What I realized from this experience was.. - The reason I'm sharing that with you today is... Now. Go tell some stories! #businessstorytelling #businessstory #storyteller #storytellers #storytellingforbusiness #story #leadershipdevelopment

It's #ReflectionFriday. Today is the 46th Friday of 2024. Only 6 more Fridays left. Think back to January. What were your goals for the year? How are you doing with them? If you're crushing it. Yay you! But if you've lost momentum, remember, it's never too late to start again. The first step to getting anywhere is to decide you aren't going to stay where you are.

Want to make attending networking events easier on yourself—and improve your personal brand at the same time? Here’s a technique to help. It’s called: Sprinkling Authority. HOW IT WORKS ➡️ Step One. Attend the event with a colleague. ➡️ Step Two. When someone approaches you and your colleague, introduce yourself with your name and role/company. Your colleague does the same. ➡️ Step Three: After your colleague has introduced themselves, add a few details about how they add value. For example: “They are being humble. They are also really good at X.” Your colleague does the same. 5 BENEFITS TO THIS APPROACH 1️⃣ When you signal that your colleague is a superstar, you are amplifying your authority as the arbiter of taste of what makes a superstar. This is good for your personal brand. It shows you are generous AND have a point of view. 2️⃣ It showcases your relationship building skills. You take time to get to know people well. 3️⃣ It demonstrates your commitment to teamwork. Teamwork isn’t just a slogan. When you articulate something positive about a colleague you are demonstrating — in real time — what it means to be a team focused person. 4️⃣ It makes it easier for both of you to shine, without sounding arrogant. You brag about your colleague. Your colleague brags about you! 5️⃣ It provides social proof. When someone else says you are great, it validates that you are. At your next networking event, give it a try. Let me know how it goes.

It’s #ReflectionFriday. One of the major reasons I show up in your LinkedIn feed every Friday, and encourage you to reflect on your accomplishments for the week, is to help you be prepared for your end-of-year performance review. Today I’ve a more targeted reflection assignment for you. STEP ONE 🖊️ Grab a pen and paper. Or open a document on your computer. STEP TWO 🖊️ Write down a list of all of the activities you were asked to do this year. STEP THREE 🖊️ Now, review your job description. If there's a big enough difference between your existing job description and what you’ve actually accomplished this year, then your upcoming performance review is the perfect time to broach the subject of: ·     A raise ·     A promotion ·     Getting your title expanded Stop putting your career in someone else’s hands.

It’s #ReflectionFriday and today I want to encourage you to reflect on how much mental rest you give yourself. The science is pretty clear. We all need 42%. That’s the percentage of time your body and brain need to recharge. It’s about 10 hours out of every 24. It doesn’t have to be every day; it can average out over a week or a month. But, yeah. That much. Now you may be thinking :“That’s ridiculous! I don’t have that kind of time!” I thought you may be thinking that. Emily Nagoski and Amelie Nagoski, authors of Burnout: The Secret To Solving The Stress Cycle, have written: “We’re not saying you should take 42 percent of your time to rest; we’re saying if you DON’T take the 42 percent, the 42 percent will take you. It will grab you by the face, shove you to the ground, put its foot on your chest, and declare itself the victor.” So here is my suggestion for the simplest thing you can start to do. TAKE. A. LUNCH. BREAK. AWAY. FROM. YOUR. COMPUTER. AND. YOUR. PHONE. Do that today. Go sit in a café—or your kitchen—and enjoy your meal while letting your mind wander. You deserve it. And you need it.

It’s #SelfCareSaturday. Here’s a simple #selfcare item I’ve been using for years to make preparing to travel a tad less stressful. I keep a checklist of items I may need permanently in my luggage. Each time I open my suitcase to pack, I’m grateful I don’t have to spend brain power worrying I might forget something. Last week I was in Charlottesville, VA. Thanks to my checklist I was relieved I remembered to bring an extra charger for my phone. I figure if checklists are good enough for pilots, divers, and hospitals, they are good enough for me!

Life doesn’t come with a printed handbook signed by the author. We learn how to live—and how to lead—from other people. Someone will tell you a story about what worked for them and now you too know what to do in that same situation. I teach storytelling as a competency for leaders because I believe stories — told with intent —are the single best tool available to instruct people on how to lead. There are 6 different types of stories your team needs to hear from you: 1.    The best piece of career advice you ever received 2.    How you learned to cope with an unexpected change 3.    A time you took a risk—and it worked to your advantage 4.    A time you spoke your truth—and it helped you get ahead 5.    A spectacular failure—and what you learned from the experience 6.    When you said no to a request—and it didn’t damage your reputation The instruction manual for life is other people’s stories. If you want to prepare the next generation of leaders in your company the fastest way to do it is to get your People Leaders to share their experiences and the lessons from those experiences. #storytelling #stories #businessstorytelling

I usually post #selfcare tips on Saturday, but since today is #InternationalSelfcareDay, I thought I’d re-share one of my most popular posts on the topic. It’s title: Always pack a sandwich. In September of 2021 my husband had hip replacement surgery. As a result, I spent a lot of time in the hospital. We discovered every process or procedure in a hospital takes longer than they tell you it will. 🕰️ Surgery booked for 8:30 starts at 9 am 🕰️ Physical Therapist coming at noon, shows up at 1:20 pm 🕰️ Discharge scheduled at 11 am, doesn’t happen until 3 pm This is not to complain about the healthcare industry. This is to underscore that in EVERY industry we think our plans are going to be reality. But in practice, it often doesn’t work out that way. There are important self-care lessons in this observation. LESSON ONE: MINDSET Don’t be angry or disappointed when things take longer than promised. Expect they will—and practice patience. LESSON TWO: ALWAYS PACK A SANDWICH If you expect to be discharged at 11 am, but don’t leave the hospital until 3 pm, you will become very hungry. In life it pays to be prepared. Bring food. Bring a bottle of water. Bring something to do. Bring a positive attitude. Bring whatever you need to keep yourself going. Waiting is a skill. Learn to do it with grace.

If you follow me on a regular basis, you’ll know I believe in the power of stories and storytelling for leaders. If you are in Business Development, Sales, or in charge of Growth, you may not have thought about how you can use stories to establish trust and credibility with customers and potential customers too. There are 4 key stories to have in your library that help move the sales process along. They are: THE STORY OF US This story differentiates you from your competition. ·     What does your company stand for? ·     Why will that be a game changer for your clients? ·     Why did you chose to work there over any other place? THE I-AM-NOT-WHO-YOU-THINK-I-AM STORY Potential customers are used to being ‘sold’ to. When they meet a sales professional for the first time they are on guard. Your job is to establish trust and signal that you are not there to sell. You are there to help. ·     Start this story by saying: “What I really love about my work is….” ·     Then give an example of when you got to do that thing. CUSTOMER SUCCESS STORIES   This story provides social proof to clients. Others have trusted you they should too. This story DOES NOT include charts and graphs and numbers. This story takes a potential customer through the emotional journey a past customer — with the same problem they have — went through in deciding to do business with you. OVERCOMING OBJECTIONS STORY There are 4 simultaneous relationships happening during any sales conversation: 1. Your company --> Their company 2. You as a person --> Their company 3. Them as a person --> Your company 4. You as a person --> Them as a person When they bring up an objection, let’s say a price objection, they have moved the relationship to the first category. Their company vs your company. You job is to move it down to the fourth category. You as a person and them as a person. They way to do this is to tell a story about a time you personally invested more in a product or service than you originally thought you would because you knew you’d get better value that way. A business developer I know often tells the story of the time she and her husband went shopping for a car seat for their first child. They’d found one online for $50.00. They ended up buying one for $180 because it had a higher safety rating, it was simple to install, and was easy to clean. #Stories deepen relationships. Relationships help close the deal. #storytelling

My husband has been teaching a weekly improv class every Tuesday night in Manhattan for the last 10 years. Originally, he assumed his students would be young and aspiring actors wanting to sharpen their comedy chops. What surprised him was who actually signed up: ➡️ A Project Manager from Prudential ➡️ A New York City Police Detective ➡️ A Surgeon from South Africa ➡️ A Teacher from the Bronx ➡️ An IT consultant He came home from one of his first classes and wondered aloud: “What in the world is attracting all of these people to improvisation?” It turns out people are hungry to learn how to be more spontaneous. In this tech heavy, social media world, they also crave insight into how to be in-the-moment and think on their feet. There are 3 main principles he covers in class: 1️⃣ Support the physical and verbal reality of the scene 2️⃣ Make active and positive choices 3️⃣ Don’t be afraid of mistakes These principles apply to actors performing improv for your entertainment. They also apply to leaders who need to show up with a strong executive presence and motivate their teams. If you are interested in taking your own leadership to a new level, I strongly recommend taking an acting or improv class. Wikipedia has a great list of Comedy and Improv Theatre companies across the US and Canada. Most local colleges offer classes too. Of course, if you are ever in Manhattan on a Tuesday, register for my husband’s class. (Or bring us into your company and we’ll customize the experience!) #improv #improvisation #executivepresence