Gabrielle Dolan's Stories for Work will help you discover the art of storytelling in business. Master Work Practice Where to Share Your Stories Make Your Stories Work Part 2: Share Your Stories.
About the author
Acknowledgements
They continue to support me, give me time to write and let me write about them too.
Introduction
Hearing these kinds of questions and observations from so many different leaders, managers, and executives at all levels, in all industries and corporations, all over the world, was the catalyst behind this book. My goal is to show you the science behind why storytelling really works—because it does, as the many examples in this book will show.
Shaping your stories
The science of storytelling
The brain behind the story
We love a good story
Stories build trust and credibility
Emotions drive our decisions
Yet science says that we decide on the kinds of questions I listed based on our emotions and how we feel about something. While many of us believe that logic determines our choices, the reality is that we have already made an emotional decision and then use logic to justify the choice – to ourselves and to others.
Influence and impact
Attention, please!
Remember when …
The security industry has been decades ahead of the rest of the business when it comes to memorable campaigns and messages - in particular, Air New Zealand. If you haven't seen them, you can easily find them with a quick YouTube search.
Make your stories work
Four types of stories you need in business
Outlining the four story types
Triumph stories
It's also important to look for stories that show how you've helped others succeed. You should also look for stories that show when you have helped the wider community.
Tragedy stories
When it comes to telling stories, understand that you, as the storyteller, decide what stories to share and who to share them with. This is true for all four types of stories, but especially for those related to tragedy, as these stories in particular can evoke strong emotions that you may not feel comfortable sharing in a work situation.
Tension stories
Transition stories
The most powerful transition stories take the audience through what you were thinking and feeling at that moment. Your goal is to choose a variety of different transition stories, so look for that too if you've chosen the change.
Stories that work
Authenticity
Purpose
In the next chapter, we explore how to find these four types of stories to share at work.
How to find stories for work
Two ways of finding stories
- Finding work-related stories
- Work-related Stories
- Finding non-work-related stories
- Non-work-related Stories
The table on the next page shows an example of how you can start filling out your work-related story table. The following illustration shows an example of how you can begin to fill out your non-work related storyboard.
Reviewing your tables
Adding to your collection
After a few minutes of this, Jess, who was 12 at the time, asked in a very confused voice.
What story, when?
From trivial to triumph
How to construct and share your stories
The beginning
The middle
Be disciplined with the detail
Name the main characters
One day a mentor who was from King's College told a story about how the King's College bar was losing money. What happened was that all the other student bars closed at 11pm so King's was open until midnight, people left the other bars when they were closing and went to King's and actually many people started going there, so that there would be no need to continue them when all the other bars closed.
Keep your language real
When it closed at 10 p.m., someone suggested keeping it open until 11 p.m., would not cost much more, and they would then have an extra hour in which to sell things. Someone then suggested that they keep the bar open until midnight - which was abruptly ridiculed by the linear thinkers, who believed that if it lost more money by keeping the bar open for an extra hour, then keeping it open would further increase the losses open for one more hour.
The end
The bridge
The link
The pause
Practice makes perfect
Where to share your stories
You then need to refine and practice speaking your stories out loud to ensure they are concise, relevant and impactful. Once you've done that, you can look at where you can share your stories.
Sharing your stories
Online is a great place to share stories if you don't yet feel comfortable or confident enough to share your story in person. They show how much flexibility and creativity you have, where and how you share your stories and with whom.
Stories that work for presentations
Start well …
And don’t stop there
Money matters
Story
At the age of 50, my mother was lucky enough to receive a modest inheritance that allowed her to buy her own home. As Suzanne says, "It reinforced the power of stories and gave me more confidence to use storytelling to connect and convey messages".
Big blue whale
It was quite scary to share this in front of the management team and I was a little nervous going in. It was also important to find my own way of telling the story, using my own tone and language, so it didn't feel off. too practiced or unlike me.
Trust your horse
And then suddenly Sharon comes very close behind me and says, 'Okay, I'm going to give Cleo a good blow and you're going to gallop to the top of the mountain. I galloped to the top of the mountain and shouted, “Woohoo!” I felt so light and like anything was possible.
Don’t be a donkey
You know, a donkey – whines, whines, 'Eeyore, Eeyore,'" he said, referring to the pessimistic and negative donkey character in AA Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh books. With that advice delivered, Joe said goodbye to me and directed me to the conference room to meet the leadership team and begin my work.
Stories that work for change
Storytelling for organisational change
The ripple effect
Surf’s up
While she was in the shallows and really trying to get to me, she was even further away from me. Just then, my son, Danny, and a 10-year-old girl who was swimming nearby got caught in the same rip.
Pay it forward
With the fear of failure in the background, but the will to succeed even stronger, I embarked on what would turn out to be a life-changing decision. To my amazement, the two most experienced men on the team shed tears and choked up as they and each of the team answered my questions at the end,” she says.
Resting grumpy face
He shares this story to help change their mindset and behavior around safety issues in the organization. In the same way that I turned my belief about people with resting grumpy faces into one that serves me better, I know it would serve us remarkably if we discovered and turned around some of our disempowering beliefs about safety.
Know your priorities
What I learned about my father that day was that he knew how to emphasize important things. If you find a way to make the really important things stand out, you're more likely to get those things done and fight for your priorities.
Stories that work for sales
Three ways to identify stories for sales
Show product benefits
Demonstrate your values
Address any potential concerns
Baby cries
He's nervous but already excited about the product, having done a bit of his own research. In just a few sentences, Keith's story summarizes the special feature of the product (24-hour amplification) and how it changed the life of one of his patients.
Keith Chittleborough has one of the toughest sales jobs in the world: selling a product people need but don't want. One of the best ways to encourage people to test drive you is to write a blog.
Lessons from Dad
As Dad taught me, 'You can let them down once and you can be forgiven. When she shares this story, she often gets comments like, "You can definitely say you're your father's daughter" and "This explains why you have such compassion and a no-excuses attitude."
David and Goliath
Stories that work for values and vision
Where’s the value?
Heard it through the …
Go to the moon
I had to travel every week to the eastern states and it started to take its toll. Living in Adelaide most of my life and then moving from Perth to Melbourne literally made me want to go to the moon but you know what.
Mosquito nets and Borneo
I can think of other situations throughout my life when it has been like going to the moon, and it made me think that every day we have the opportunity to go to the moon. It's not overly sentimental, but it seems to really resonate with many of us as we're reminded of times when we didn't live up to our own values - and we regretted it.
Make our nanas proud
Speak up
Miranda shared this story at one such event where the topic was about disrupting the norm. But first, let's move on to the next chapter and see how you can use stories to communicate your own personal brand – what you stand for and why.
Stories that work for your personal brand
SEA your brand
Strategy
Evolution
It takes three
Father’s Day
My father (and mother) asked me the right questions and I knew they would support me unconditionally no matter what I chose. Although I have had many other mentors along the way and hope to continue mentoring others in the years to come, I will always remain grateful for this early experience that challenged me in the right way at the right time.
Marathon mindset
It was an innocent pact when my friends and I challenged each other to push our physical limits and run 26.2 miles in the next NYC Marathon. My marathon experience fueled my mental determination, and although I didn't "win" the NYC Marathon because I just couldn't physically do it, I threw my hands in the air, looked up and smiled when I crossed the finish line at 4:00: 23:19.
Life is too short to iron tea towels
Move teams, move organizations and remember that it's okay to say 'no' to your colleagues. She called me her superhero and although I still feel like I don't deserve that comment, I'm glad I survived – to share my story and.
The disruptive butterfly
While their intent may have been to inspire others to action, they are also a great representation of how you can use stories to demonstrate your own personal values and brand to engage and connect with others. In the next chapter, we look at how you can use stories to help you in coaching situations.
Stories that work for coaching
Shortly after we took off from home, with me at the wheel as I tried to change gears without issue, we managed to avoid an accident (or two). Georgina got really good feedback on the story and has now used it on several occasions.
Strike three, you’re out!
This was invaluable advice that sounds a lot like 'Fake it until you make it' - or, as TED star Amy Cuddy says, 'Fake it 'til you become it'. I'm sharing this with you today because it's exactly the same when you walk on stage.
Seize the moment and cherish it
These types of stories also show that you have empathy for the person because you've been in their exact situation before, thought the same thing, and felt the same anxiety. But above all, don't think that work is your world - your life and experiences are.
The cost of trust
He says he has better discussions when he shares this story than when he hasn't in the past. In the next chapter, we'll look at how you can use your four types of stories in a job interview to help you land your dream job.
Stories that work for job interviews
Moving with the times
How stories help
Immigrating to Ireland
But one event sparked my commitment to work on cultural change and in some small way become a part of the change I wanted to see in the world. Although other women in the group felt the same way, as did some of the men, most did not feel comfortable voicing their opinions.
Up for the challenge
I also found them offensive, disparaging of women, and representative of the broader organizational culture that diminished the valuable contributions of women – the minority of the workforce – and reinforced harmful gender stereotypes throughout society. Time was the only thing standing in the way of my finisher's medal, followed by dinner.
Let’s dance
I didn't actually run in the time I wanted for either race, but it didn't really matter. Every time we do, those who are not criticized are on the sidelines cheering and clapping.
Stories that work for newsletters and blogs
Reframe
Peter notices a difference in the responses he gets from his blogs when he uses personal stories: “The blogs I write with personal stories are the ones that get the biggest responses. As a general rule of thumb, adding a personal story doubles the response, including my kids in the story doubles it again, and if there are pictures of my kids, it's exponential.
Uneven sideburns
So when I tell the story, the message evolves.’ Still, the story will come first. Sometimes something happens that I just have to share, and then the message just falls out of the story.'.
Two hats
And don't let the little things get in the way of going to market and selling things. Often I'll think of a point I want to make, and then find the story that supports that message.
Authentic leadership
It took me a while to adjust and realize that sharing yourself was just as, if not more, impactful in the workplace. In the next part, we look at three organizations that have incorporated storytelling into their entire workplace and culture.
Storytelling case studies
Australia Post Case Study
The challenge
The opportunity
The process
The Grapevine stories
My partner, Clayton, joined us and it was a great day to be part of Australia Post. And every day I improved either the speed or the amount of time to the point that, one day, I was walking and I got up to 10 kilometers per hour and I thought I could go faster.
The outcome
Australia Post: Grapevine survey
It is very reassuring to know that Australia Post is committed to change and cultural value. The success of Grapevine has seen Lauren Trethowan and the Culture team shortlisted for the 2016 Australian HR Awards and the APS Workplace Excellence Awards.
Bupa Case Study
The values were to be communicated globally, but first introduced in Australia and New Zealand during a two-day leadership conference in early February 2015. A goal of the global IC team was to embed the values through the lens of.
Bupa’s super seven stories
It also reminds us to be authentic, because again as parents we have a hard time faking it. These needed to be replaced because they were dangerous to stock trucks and families, but the county didn't have enough.
Spark case study
This process has helped create a strong sense of ownership and a personal connection to employee values and purpose – because they are written “by the people, for the people.” The storytelling approach was first tested in July 2015 at Spark's business customer conference.
Spark stories
People would often lean up to me afterwards and say, 'Really glad you brought that up - that's what we all thought but wouldn't say'. I've never experienced this level of uptake for a skills building event before - it seriously sold out faster than our Christmas event.
Conclusion
Secrets to make your stories work
Embrace vulnerability
Keep it succinct
I once shared a story with the board and after 10 minutes someone told me to get to the point.
Use humour wisely
Be prepared
This will help you determine what detail you put in and what detail you leave out. It will also help you make sure you have the right story for the right message.
Have a variety
Next steps
Index
Connect and share
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