Stephanie Oley

The rise of the storyteller

Stories are a powerful way to celebrate impact, share values, rethink problems and generally get teams on board with other valuable messages. But how do you become a good business storyteller?
23.03.2018
Storyteller's mask

Storyteller's mask

One of the coolest job titles to emerge in the last decade or so is Chief Storytelling Officer (currently in place at Atlassian, Microsoft and other multinationals). To me, it’s proof that numbers alone don’t cut it when it comes to arguing your case.

Stories, on the other hand, are incredibly powerful ways to celebrate impact, share values, rethink problems and generally get teams on board with other valuable messages. But how do you become a good business storyteller?

Many chief storytellers have backgrounds in journalism or comms. However, even without such training, there are simple things that will boost the cut-through of your words. These include starting with a clear objective, and knowing what your audience will relate to.

Another skill-builder is to develop a love for words. I always encourage my course participants to write and read for pleasure – not just for work. Reading boosts your vocabulary, builds general knowledge and develops your thoughts. If fiction isn’t your thing, subscribe to news sources or follow social media accounts in areas you’re interested in – whether it’s current affairs, sport, fashion or something else. Try to read slowly, taking time to observe how the sentences and phrases are crafted.

Journaling is another good way to exercise your writing muscles – although, arguably, its main benefit is to capture ideas that don’t bubble up when you’re busy. (Well they do, but they disappear forever if not set down in words). Journaling has been used to focus the ideas of leaders throughout modern history, from Thomas Edison and Frida Kahlo to Richard Branson and Oprah Winfrey.

In a way, social media is a public form of journaling, and it’s a great platform for wordsmithing. Use your personal accounts to make witty observations, analyse news stories, share challenges or recount experiences. Use your professional accounts to comment on the industry, celebrate someone’s achievements or ask probing questions.

Here are some more tips to build your confidence, as you start practicing to write more stories. They’ll build several other soft career skills in the process.

  1. Ideation – The first step is to recognise the makings of a story. All stories are essentially about growth and change in some form, told over three broad steps (and made interesting with rich details). The first step is the chronological beginning of the story, discussing what was happening before the transformation. The middle of the story is its turning point, where a challenge was grappled head-on. The final part is its resolution, where an insight or change is attained as a result of the challenges grappled.
  1. Research – The next step is to add meaningful detail. Initial battles, personal dramas, the backstory of a decision, or the engineering smarts of a new product: such details will fuel your storytelling. Research is also the antidote to writer’s block. Research skills include listening, summarising and organising. These skills are essential to almost every career, whether it’s customer service, finance, business, market research, health sciences or anything else.
  2. Symbolism – Born writers can take concepts rich in meaning, and push them to the very edges of the metaphors they suggest – concepts such as darkness, certain animals, heartbeats and so on. Symbolism and nuance is something you’ll see in almost every professional sector, from advertising to corporate coaching. This includes meaning associated with certain terms. For example, no HR practitioner can be blind to the connotations of a sentence like, ‘we need to talk about your future’. See what I mean about nuance?
  3. Characterisation – A close exploration of someone’s fears, passions, past and future is compelling stuff, as all TED fans will know. Your business stories will be more relatable when they are populated with plausible characters: angry customers, suffering patients, determined inventors, fearless leaders and so on. Understanding different personalities is also an emotional intelligence (EQ) skill, and is what sets apart standout scientists, psychologists, teachers and other professionals.
  4. Technique – Rhythm, rhyme, word play and alliteration never go unnoticed on the reader’s senses. Same goes for sophisticated sentence links that enhance logic and build momentum. And let’s not forget the basics: correct grammar and punctuation. How would colleagues respond to a workplace memo that introduced their new teammate as: ‘Danny, who likes cooking his family and his dog’? Just one little comma, and all would be saved. If you’ve ever read illogical instructions or puzzling policies, you’ll know that writing craft isn’t just important for sectors such as law or the creative industries. It’s equally important in technical, financial, hospitality and other sectors.

Start small, practice often, and never stop learning how to write better. Because no matter your career ambitions, good writing skills will set you apart from your peers.

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