How can you use EI to coach others on developing their storytelling skills?

1 What is EI and why does it matter for storytelling?

Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand and manage your own emotions, and to recognize and influence the emotions of others. EI is essential for storytelling because it helps you to craft stories that resonate with your listeners, appeal to their values and emotions, and motivate them to take action. EI also helps you to adapt your stories to different situations, audiences, and goals, and to handle any challenges or feedback that may arise.

2 How to assess your coachee's storytelling skills

Before you can coach someone on their storytelling skills, you need to have a clear picture of their strengths and weaknesses, and their areas of improvement. To do this, observe them in action, listen to their stories, and ask them questions about their storytelling process and goals. Some of the aspects you can assess include the clarity and structure of their stories, their use of language, voice, and body language, the relevance and impact of their stories, how well they connect with their audience, and their confidence and authenticity as storytellers.

3 How to give constructive feedback on storytelling

Giving constructive feedback on storytelling can be challenging, but it is a crucial part of coaching. To ensure success, use your emotional intelligence skills to create a safe and supportive environment. Additionally, balance praise and criticism, and focus on specific and actionable suggestions. When giving feedback, it is important to start by asking for permission and setting expectations. Use the sandwich method to begin and end with positive feedback while sandwiching the negative in between. Be specific and objective by using examples and evidence to support your comments, while avoiding vague or personal remarks. Show empathy towards their feelings, appreciate their efforts, and avoid harsh or judgmental language. Lastly, be collaborative and solution-oriented by asking for their input, offering resources and guidance, as well as helping them create a plan for improvement.

4 How to teach storytelling techniques and strategies

Feedback alone is not enough to help someone improve their storytelling skills. You need to use your EI skills to tailor your teaching to their needs, preferences, and goals in order to create a positive and interactive learning experience. For example, introduce them to some proven storytelling models and frameworks like the hero's journey, the STAR method, or the three-act structure. Share examples of good and bad storytelling so they can analyze what makes them work or fail. Give them exercises and prompts to practice their storytelling skills. Stimulate their creativity and confidence with storytelling challenges and games. Finally, encourage them to seek and give feedback to others, and reflect on their own storytelling progress and challenges.

5 How to support your coachee's storytelling growth

Coaching is an ongoing process that requires continual support and encouragement to help the coachee's storytelling growth. You should use your EI skills to monitor progress, celebrate achievements, and address challenges. To do this, set SMART goals and milestones to track performance and results. Recognize their efforts and accomplishments with incentives and rewards. Provide coaching sessions and mentoring opportunities with feedback and guidance to help them learn from mistakes. Share resources and tools to enhance storytelling skills, and give them opportunities to showcase stories and apply learning.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?