Storytelling Methodology
Everything and everyone has a story. Throughout the ages Storytelling has been how all cultures have passed on knowledge and history in an effort to maintain their values and beliefs and to guide them forward into new territory. Story was and still is how we learn and make sense of the world around us.
Stories communicate the language of the heart and express all our emotions and feelings. Stories are used to communicate ideas and concepts and by creating an emotional link, it adds an impact that in turns helps us to remember.
In more modern times cultures have become even more fragmented into the corporate subculture. Within the corporate environment they have their own subcultures. When communicating information across these varied landscapes story can provide the ultimate vehicle for influencing more effectively.
Stories have and always will exist within an organisation. You can determine the health of an organisation by its stories. It is only when you acknowledge the value of experiences and recognise them as stories that we are able to use them in a constructive manner towards continual improvement and growth of your organisation.
Most decisions and choices that people make in the work environment are emotional not rational. So Story is your most powerful tool when your goal is to influence others. Presenting facts alone without Story loses the emotional link required for someone to consider what is being said.
Why do we tell Stories?
There are many ways why we may tell a Story and this list is by no means an exhaustible one:
* To inspire and motivate people
* To connect and emotionally engage with people
* To influence people
* To create faith for your vision
* To build and maintain relationships
* To share knowledge and experiences for upskilling
* To resolve mistrust/conflict within teams/clients
When do we tell Stories?
We tell Stories all the time, whether it's formal or informal.
The following is just a few examples where Storytelling can be used in an organisation:
* Presentations (around a table or to an auditorium)
* Selling a service and/or product
* Introducing your self/company to a new client
* Focusing a team on the goal and/or to get team buy-in
* Managing team/client relationships
* Company induction programmes
Story Styles
In Organisational Storytelling there are two categories of Stories; Generic and Company Stories. Stories exist in many forms within these two categories.
Generic Stories – These are Stories not related to the company specific. They can be parables, proverbs, fables, folktales, myths & legends, fairytales, historical stories, even some jokes can be used as appropriate stories.
Company Stories – These are Stories that are personal to the company. An example of a Company Story is the story of what happened when the #1 salesperson won over a difficult client from their competition. It is from these Stories that knowledge is shared and people are inspired within the organisation.
Stories can be as long as a Shakespearean play (they CAN be but are probably more effective if they're not) or as short as explaining around the water cooler what happened to the cat last night.
Story Meanings:
A story can have as many different meanings as there are people listening to it.
The meaning of a Story is guided by the Storyteller and the frame they put on the Story and the context they put the Story in.
The new Pokemon Toy has sold out in record time.
This can be good news for the Toy Shop owner, bad news for the six year old who thought of buying one, great news for the designer who has another model they want to develop, disastrous news for the parent who had forgotten it was top of the want list for their son's birthday list, distressing news for the manufacturer who hadn't counted on the record number of sales and is suffering a missed opportunity and so on.
Who needs to be able to tell Stories?
The quick and correct answer is EVERYONE!!!
Storytelling is a requirement for people right across the organisation from CEO's and Senior Executives to Sales & Marketing teams to Receptionists and other Directors of First Impressions.
Story Example:
Aesop's Fable – The Sun and the Wind
The Wind was quarrelling with the Sun saying that the Wind was more powerful than the Sun. They saw a man walking below and the Wind said they would prove who was stronger by having a bet as to which of the two of them would be able to make a man take his jacket off.
The Wind went first, blowing fiercely against the man. Yet as the man grew colder and colder, he only wrapped himself up more snugly in his jacket, clutching at it tightly so as to keep a firm grip no matter how hard the wind might be blowing.
Thus the Wind did the man no harm at all and failed to make him take off his jacket.
Next, the Sun began to shine upon the man so brightly that the very air of the day grew hotter and hotter. The man immediately took off his jacket and threw it over his shoulder.
The Storyteller may use this generic Story if her goal is to let someone know that:
i) It's better to use positive action over force/criticism to influence others
or
ii) It's more effective and practical to take a humble approach over making noisy and empty boasts
or
iii) It's beneficial to stand strong against adversity and to adapt to your environment
or
iv) Good things often follow the bad
or
v) People shut down and dig their toes in when confronted but open up in a safe setting
or
vi) Any other meanings you can think are appropriate