Storytelling is not only a powerful tool for engaging your audience, but also for creating a sense of community among your team. By sharing stories that reflect your values, vision, and culture, you can foster trust, collaboration, and belonging among your team members. Here are some ways you can use storytelling to build a strong and cohesive team.
Your core stories are the ones that define who you are, what you do, and why you do it. They can be about your origin, your mission, your achievements, your challenges, or your aspirations. These stories should be authentic, consistent, and relevant to your team. They should also convey a clear message and a call to action. You can use your core stories to inspire, motivate, and guide your team towards a common goal.
Each day have so many experiences that can be a good story to tell but it's very important to filter what suits the need of the hour. Creating categories as per the audience, atmosphere and objective is vital. We can share an amazing story but if it is not resonating with the objective or the audience, the impact will be less.
Give your team members a platform to share their stories, allow them to have a voice. That's how you get some of the greatest stories. Open room for even the junior person in your team
Core stories define the work you're currently doing. For instance - - I am a Storyteller. I wrote my first story in 4th grade which got me a huge star from the English teacher - I enjoy telling stories. When my family ever wants to recall a funny incident at a gathering, I am pushed forward to tell it. - My first criticism - Had a conversation with a long time author, who helped me understand that my characters lacked emotion. What did I learn from her. Stories relate. They make people feel that 'Hey, thank God I'm not the only one this happened to.
Consultative Sales , Story telling, Business Development, Marketing Strategy, Luxury Sales and Marketing Strategies Niche Marketing Public Relations Customer Experience
These should align with your values so that there is a deep attachment to them that comes across to the listener/reader in the telling of the stories. You also need to find a connection between your stories and the audience so that they have a frame of reference and will be more willing to come along for the ride.
Your team members are also storytellers, and they have their own experiences, perspectives, and insights to offer. By inviting them to share their stories, you can create a space for dialogue, feedback, and learning. You can also acknowledge their contributions, celebrate their successes, and support their growth. You can use different formats and platforms to encourage storytelling, such as meetings, newsletters, blogs, podcasts, or videos.
Storytelling is the most natural way for humans to connect. All our mythology has been narrated as stories before paper was invented. The same applies for corporate stories. There are lots of stories that are not known to people and when told it adds trust, pride and respect to relationships at the corporate level. If we are to go by the book 'sapiens' storytelling is the most basic ability that distinguishes humans from animals. Storytelling is the most powerful tool for employees and stake holders to connect and strive towards a common dream/ goal/ purpose
A story bank is a collection of stories that you can use for different purposes and occasions. It can help you save time, avoid repetition, and adapt to different contexts. You can create a story bank by documenting and organizing your stories according to themes, categories, or objectives. You can also involve your team in the process, and ask them to suggest or submit stories that they find useful or interesting.
I have a dozen or so stories that I can change some language to fit the target audience. For example stories of commercial companies using our technology do not land well with a public sector audience because even though the use case is similar the words they use and the drivers for adoption are different. With a core group of stories it is easier to always have one at hand to tell
Your values are the principles that guide your actions and decisions. They are also the foundation of your culture and identity. You can use stories to reinforce your values and show how they are applied in practice. You can also use stories to illustrate how your values differentiate you from others, and how they create value for your stakeholders. You can use stories to reinforce your values in your internal communication, such as newsletters, reports, or presentations.
Every team faces challenges, such as conflicts, changes, or crises. You can use stories to address these challenges and help your team overcome them. You can use stories to acknowledge the problem, explain the situation, share the solution, or highlight the outcome. You can also use stories to show empathy, compassion, and resilience. You can use stories to address challenges in your internal communication, such as emails, announcements, or webinars.
In legacy companies, each SOP is documented. Live case scenarios are documented as incident reports. Processes are then changed to ensure a failure is not repeated. These unique stories, make processes fool proof. Hence, -Document everything -Have a clear communication channel. -Have a story telling narrative. -Encourage your team to train and evolve.
Your achievements are the results of your hard work, dedication, and teamwork. You can use stories to celebrate your achievements and recognize your team's efforts. You can use stories to showcase the impact, the benefits, or the lessons learned from your achievements. You can also use stories to express gratitude, appreciation, and pride. You can use stories to celebrate achievements in your internal communication, such as awards, testimonials, or case studies.
Customers or constituents will tell you what problems they need solved or challenges that they’re having if you listen. So then all you need do is pick the right story that shows how your product or service addresses those challenges or needs. The biggest mistake I see people make using stories, is they use stories that are not relevant to the current situation.