What is Storytelling?

I’ve been telling stories my entire life. Yet, when I thought about how I define storytelling, I was challenged to find words to describe one of the oldest forms of communication.

My approach is probably much like yours when you need quick information. Google it! I have to say, the definition that powerfully captures my thoughts and feelings on the topic comes from Olivier Serrat. “Storytelling is the vivid description of ideas, beliefs, personal experiences, and life lessons through stories or narratives that evoke powerful emotions and insights.”

This definition effectively covers the various aspects of storytelling. It inspires connection and imagination. It puts the speaker in command of their audience, and they hang on to each word with great attention. It gives storytelling a purpose.

Effective Storytelling

Storytelling is as old as humanity itself. Before the advent of paper and ink, stories were passed on from generation to generation. Sitting around telling stories was a way of passing history and sharing wisdom. I recall my grandfather’s wonderful stories about the horse that tried to get away and how he wrangled that mare into submission and got her to “simmer down” and fall in line with the rest of the horses on the family farm.

Evolving from the oldest form of communication, cave drawings transitioned to the spoken and then written word over time. It has since advanced to electronic mediums and through song, dance, cinematic treatments, and live theater. Living here in New York, I get numerous opportunities to see live theater and experience the telling of story in a multi-media treatment that includes song, dance, projected images, live performance, and other high-tech ways of bringing the story to life for the audience.

Effective storytelling is achieved by a number of devices, techniques, and processes. Back to that Google Search on what makes a compelling story. The results show some common themes.

  • A story must have a purpose. Otherwise, you are just speaking to be heard. When a CEO presents a concept to their company, the purpose is to motivate the team and increase the bottom line. To do this, the CEO sets the foundation with a story. It defines the why.
  • The story has to be geared toward a specific audience. Storytelling builds a relationship with the listener. Should your audience be software engineers, talking about baking cookies will probably not fly (I suppose this does depend on how well you tell a story.).
  • A story should connect you, your product, and your audience. Compelling stories resonate with the listener and evoke emotion. Pull your audience into the story by emphasizing what’s in it for them.
  • Cater your story to the medium you are using. You can use facial features and gestures to get your point across should you tell a story in person (or through a video). Use personal narratives and visual representation in the event you tell a story through email or print. Grab the audience’s attention and leave a lasting impression.
  • To sell a story, the most compelling message tends to come from your heart. You are the storyteller, and you are what makes the story authentic.

Importance of Your Story

We share our culture, beliefs, and ways of life through stories. We champion our strengths and successes, teach life lessons, and expose our vulnerabilities and shortcomings. These are the stories of leaders.

As people, we are believed to be hardwired to respond to stories most over alternative forms we use to share information. What’s more effective, a list of dry facts and figures or an interwoven story that puts us in the heart of the action?

The resulting impact of the story on the brain contributes to the production of “oxytocin.” The hormone, often referred to as the “love hormone,” increases during hugging and orgasm. It also benefits us in treating depression, anxiety, and intestinal discomforts. Oxytocin also contributes to maternal behavior and social bonding.

Oxytocin also builds trust, which is one of storytelling’s primary goals. I experience this when working with groups of leaders within an organization. When I share personal stories, each with a clear point focused on the topic, a connection emerges from the group that allows them to trust whatever lesson I am teaching at that given moment.

Case in point: I recently watched a short series on Netflix titled Luckiest Girl Alive. The lead character, TifAni, tells the story of how she was raped in a private boarding school. Soon after her essay is published in the New York Times Magazine, Ani (the shortened name she goes by as an adult) receives one message after another from other women praising her for her courage to tell the truth. This prompts each of the women who message her to share their own stories of being taken advantage of at some point in their lives.

Storytelling to Create Change

As we move from one extreme to another, we are granted the gift of a story to tell of how we journey as people in our personal lives and leaders in our business or community lives. We tell of our evolution as man and womankind and all the variation in between.

Here are some examples of extremes we may face in our lives and how we can journey from one to the other through story. These experiences impact us in specific ways and define our story. The examples below are just a few of my own that spark stories that brought me from one extreme to another:

Move awayGo ToFor the purpose of
Private TransportationPublic TransportationContributing to fewer emissions issues
ArguingReasoningLimiting unproductive fighting
RushingTaking our TimeLimiting the number of missteps or reducing anxiety
JudgingAffirmingBenefiting from greater curiosity
IndifferenceCompassionDemonstrating care for others
TextingTalkingDeveloping a more human connection
TalkingListeningAllowing others to be heard

How Does Your Story Define You?

Let’s say, for example, that you grew up with some challenges. You could look at your story in one of two ways. Either you are resentful that you didn’t have all of the advantages you felt you should have, OR you picked yourself up, brushed off the dust and moved forward in the face of adversity.

Same circumstances, yet two different stories can emerge. It’s all in the way you tell your story. An example is when I tell the story of visiting the family farm and accompanying my grandmother to gather eggs. It was the event I learned that one must take risks to move ahead in life. Told differently, it could also convey the importance of listening to your elders.

I encourage you to take some time to think about how you present your story to others/your audience. Is your story holding you back, or is it propelling you forward?

Here are some thoughts to get you thinking about your story:

  • How did you get to where you are today?
  • What traumas or triumphs have you experienced?
  • Who was your inspiration?
  • Why did you choose this career path?
  • Why should I listen to you?

No one has the same story – use this to your advantage – to bring a unique perspective to your leadership role.

“Leadership is autobiographical. If I don’t know your life story, I don’t know a thing about you as a leader.”

-Noel Tichy

If you are struggling in your role, defining your story can be a catalyst for change. It can unlock deeper relationships and unearth untapped resources.

Telling a More Effective Story

Want to learn how to tell a compelling story? Begin by telling your story to a child. They forgive your ability while you hone your technique. They will keep you honest when you stray from the tale. Children will also reflect back on what you may want to attend to most when telling them a story.

Draw stories from your experiences in life that have been impacted by where you’ve lived or traveled. Gain inspiration from those who have supported you or let you down. Take your listener on a journey through the events and watershed moments that have contributed to who you are today and map how you’ve come to this moment.

Use stories to convince others to take action in sticky situations, interpret the past, shape the future, address issues, resolve conflicts, or face challenges. Structure your story to fit your objectives and nail the delivery.

Impact of Storytelling

Whether it’s the 70% of companies investing in one form of content marketing or another to transfer knowledge about products, or the 65% of our social conversations that are grounded in personal sharing and gossip, we rely on a story as our main medium of telling our tales that speak to our humanity and our spirituality.

Storytelling can sell a product or alienate a brand. It can raise awareness of social issues and change the course of society. Storytelling can make complex topics more manageable.

Storytelling is a powerful tool when used correctly. Relating facts is not enough. Interweave those facts into something your audience can care for – is invested in. Deliver the story with impact.

Tell Me Your Story

You’re never going to kill storytelling because it’s built in the human plan. We come with it.”

-Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale

Those who have followed me may be familiar with my story and what brought me to this point in my career. In the event a Google Search landed you on this article, welcome! Click here to read my story.

My purpose here is to help you discover your gift of storytelling. Whether you tell your own story or use storytelling to accomplish a goal, there is no doubt that a well (or effectively) told story can make an incredible difference in perceptions and enthusiasm.

I’d love to hear your story. Click Here to book a 1:1 Executive Women Breakthrough Session – together, we can explore ways your story can benefit you in the boardroom.

Founder’s Corner

I recently spoke at a conference in Chicago on the topic of Navigating Bold Communication where the topic of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion were not the lead language desired. Instead the focus was on what makes us different and how we can boldly communicate in sometimes challenging conversations despite our differences without needing to turn to human resources for support. It was such a refreshing environment to work with a group who would like to avoid the need to reach out to the corporate mommy and daddy to facilitate how this should be done.

It was during that conference that I began to consider all the ways I am different and how all of us are different from one another along with those ways in which we are similar. That consideration brought me to ponder how differently we each address our capacity for change, learning, leading, and by being curious regarding what we don’t know of one another.

In this month’s blog as we celebrate the American Indian Heritage, I’m struck by how much change we have experienced in this country since 1776 when the US was renamed from its original, “United Colonies.” While the notion of “united” has wavered over time, there continues to be an effort to find new ways to reunite as we also continue to navigate our differences.

It all comes down to capacity for me and so goes what that means about our ability and aptitude to lead well. We all bring different skills, abilities and points of view to how we get work done. That is also true regarding how we lead.

So this month, I want to focus on how we can find ways to expand our capacity to lead, be open and curious about one another and ultimately remind ourselves that we can always learn more, grow more and lead more effectively as we flex our capacity to fit the needs presented to us at any given moment.

Leadership Capacity

What does Leadership Capacity mean? The term has several definitions. Envision a pitcher of water, and the capacity of thatcontainer is how much water it can hold. Capacity also addresses how much a machine (or person) can produce – they are operating at their full, maximum amount. A third definition is how capacity speaks to a person’s role or position.

Leadership Capacity encompasses all of the definitions in one way or another. It can mean many things to many different people. As a business environment ebbs and flows, so does a leader’s capacity.