Here's how you can utilize storytelling to excel in a Partnership career.

Rapport building is crucial in any role where you have to communicate with people, and it's probably the number 1 skill of a good partnership manager. This is what allows you to build a relationship from the start and that is instrumental in being able to ask questions and get answers. Building good rapport at the beginning is going to set you up for the rest of the call and will dictate the outcome.

Storytelling is a crucial, yet often underutilized, tool in partnerships. Without a compelling vision, quantitative information is likely to get lost. Chris Brogan said, "Stories are how we learn best. We absorb numbers and facts and details, but we keep them all glued into our heads with stories." But, don’t overlook quantifying the potential and unique value each partnership brings. Tell a story, but ground it in fact and mutual impact. Highlight the destination first (that's why you're engaging with your partner, after all). Start with the ambitious end state and then break it into smaller phases toward that end—how you'll leverage strengths, measure success, learn and adjust toward clearing checkpoints and going deeper.

Communicate Vision and Strategy: Partnerships thrive on a shared vision and aligned objectives. Storytelling provides a compelling medium to communicate overarching goals, strategic direction, and the rationale behind key decisions. By crafting narratives that illustrate the 'big picture,' you engage partners emotionally and intellectually, rallying them behind common goals.

Storytelling is really helpful when you’re trying to build partnerships. I recommend talking about times you’ve come up with creative solutions to problems. These stories show off your ability to problem solving and think outside the box, which is what potential partners usually look for. It builds trust and helps them see how working and partnering with you could lead to successful outcomes.

Storytelling can definitely play a role but I find it much better to ask questions that will help me understand each partner's needs, what they're doing, what they're trying to solve and then a good story can take place. Then you can mention Oh one of our other partners mentioned this to me also and then elaborate on how you helped them. Telling a story for the sake of telling one isn't the way to go and most people won't find themselves that easily in a story right off the bat.

I love talking about traveling, recent trips, camping etc those are some great convo openers and everyone can relate to them.