Awesome storytellers are not born, they are made
Stories abound every day. A religious sect staging a rally on a major thoroughfare and keeping traffic at a standstill; crimes on and off the street at an alarming level; political wannabes being asked to explain certain issues thrown at them; overseas Filipino workers up in arms questioning the intent of a government bureau in opening the boxes they send to their families in the Philippines; the Christmas season ushered in by the “ber” months; and threats of El Niño or a dry spell.
With stories come storytelling, whether you’re writing a news or PR story to project the positive attributes of your company or defending it against the negatives coming its way.
Storytelling is important. It is the primary form of communication and cuts across cultures, it is universal in application and involves oral, listening and narrative skills. It predates the alphabet, the printing press and modern-day technologies that are widely used today to connect to people.
A story has inherent physiological impact. It stimulates the senses, triggers brain pictures as neurons fire, allows recall and sensory pattern identification and opens potentials for accumulated thought and acquired behavior. A story is rooted in memory and imagination and the reasoning skills it brings compensates for weaker sight, paler sound, scrawnier touch, punier smell and poorer taste. As Kouzes and Posner state, “A great story provides mental and sensory maps that allow people to know what is important and how things are to be achieved.”
Creating a good corporate story and telling it well will help you make sense. It is a source of meaning that enriches your reasoning and judgment skills as it links your deliberate and random acts over time. It transports cause and effect as it builds up your wisdom for learning, reporting, exposition, and knowledge transfer.
Hansen and Kahnweiler verbalized the idea that “a story is a tribal code for establishing order in all societies.” Daniel Taylor extended this thought when he said, “The ability to see life as a story rather than an unrelated, random event increases the possibility for significant and purposeful action.”
The Torah, Koran and the Bible are immense examples of great stories. They are, in fact, master narratives that are unalterable and unassailable in their truth telling. They are the foundations of fundamental beliefs that their respective followers heed.
• Must-read master narratives present their views from a truth standpoint. As such they should be shared, discussed and reflected on if only for the views, which are presented as truth. They offer consumable, quotable, informative lines of thought on how you can or should see the world. They build emotions (hopefully positive ones) and generate a sense of logic based on the facts available. Distinguished writers agree that one good story is worth over a thousand emails. Readers react, negatively or positively, share their own take on the story, and at best pass it on to others.
• From a business angle, organizations are storytelling systems. They use print or electronic modes for effectiveness and efficiency. They use strategic, focused and creative approaches to tell corporate stories like “The HP Way,” “In the Service of the Filipino Worldwide,” “We Build Communities,” or “Think Different.”
• Storytelling is an organizational communication tool that helps motivate employees to perform their best. It opens channels for dialogue between management and the rank and file, uncovers venues for people to get heard, and compels groups and individuals to take appropriate action. Its organizational applications cover defining, writing and projecting the corporate history (how the company got to where it is right now); define visions (where the company is going) and missions (how the company goals will be accomplished). Specific organizational stories can be classified as external (the corporate story), internal (management and leadership stories), problem solving, conflict resolution, decision making, team building. Storytelling can also talk about subtleties and complex ideas, disparate facts and real experiences and understanding and control of problems and solutions within the organization.
• Great employee communication explains in a clear, concise, and truthful way how things are done in the company. To effectively connect, employee stories must be presented in a compelling manner and be received as truth. When talking to employees, the rule of plausibility is critical. Your messages must be believable, clear, honest, and carry a theme. Common story themes may revolve around these questions: Did I break the rule? Is the big boss human? Can the little person make it to the top? Will I get fired? Will the organization help me? What happens if I make a mistake? How does the organization deal with obstacles?
• A good corporate storyteller is not born; he is made. The talent for good storytelling can be acquired. You can be effective at it by learning about the narrative form, applying storytelling concepts, facilitating story-building activities, finding influential tales that prompt action, measuring the impact of storytelling on action, and practicing narrative sense making.
• To learn the techniques of great storytelling, start by trying not to hard-sell. Know how to engage your audience, not manipulate it. Read books on non-fiction writing and journalism. Adopt what you believe can work for you and find someone who has no vested interest in your story and tell it. Make that person critique your work. Be prepared for what that person has to say. In comedy, the saying is, “If they don’t laugh, it’s not funny.” The same holds true in business. If your audience doesn’t get it, they won’t buy it.
When writing the organizational narratives, be attentive to your storyline, plot, characters — heroes, villains, trailblazers, scoundrels, innocents, the intended outcome you want to realize and other peripheral issues — moral, social, and psychological, among others.
Darren Entwistle wrote in The Vancouver Sun an excellent example of an employee story. It goes like this: “When you look at a Telus team member, that person, vis-à-vis our competition, is a little bit smarter, a little bit more customer-focused, is a little bit hungrier to make it happen in the marketplace for our customers.”
Here’s another illustration: “Our people are our most valuable asset. They work harder, they try harder and they are a little more competitive. With people like that, at the end of the day you’ll find yourself very resilient to competitive intrusions.”
What’s the best storytelling tip? Know your story, know your readers or viewers, and tell your story better than anyone else. And don’t forget a sincere greeting or a warm smile.
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Email bongosorio@yahoo.com for comments, questions or suggestions. Thank you for communicating.
