The Art of Story Telling

Have you been held spellbound as you have heard a deep baritone voice describe a situation or narrate an anecdote or explain a complex concept or present an idea in simple but powerful language? Have you seen the impact they have on their audience in terms of influencing their thinking and decision making? Have you seen how when they speak, powerful people like senior management or customer decision makers tend to listen carefully? Have you also felt wistful wondering why you could not have the same impact on your listeners despite having the knowledge?

I have known or heard only a few such people over my 25 years of working because storytelling like great coaching in my earlier piece is not often seen. I am sure some day some brain scientist like a V S Ramachandran will figure out what makes some brains tick that way from birth. He has already posited in one of his works that brain partitions otherwise unlinked if wired together by mutation or other genetic quirks (a condition called Synesthesia) may explain the proven ability of some people to be great artists or have unique skills like seeing particular numbers in a different color (you read that right!) or hearing a particular note in their minds when they see a particular color. It may well be that some form of such synesthesia underpins the ability of the type 2 people I mentioned in my earlier post. Such a hypothesis if proven over time may help explain why some people make great story tellers. That however may not necessarily help others who long for such skill.

This piece therefore is not about conceptual models of story tellers’ brains but on a more earthy note, describing what one observes anecdotally as common traits among great story tellers and how most of these traits are learnable for the lay public. Again, I reiterate I have only come across a few, maybe a dozen, who were truly good at it so this is not a scientific sample in as much as an extrapolation of observations from a smallish sample. However, I do believe the strong presence of these traits in these few people does indicate there is a hypothesis there waiting to be tested by some management school using a larger sample set.

So getting on to the traits, I have observed 2 distinct patterns among these great story tellers (let us call them ST’s from here on). These patterns are one, a set of attitudinal traits and the second, a set of specific tools and tricks of the trade. Let us start with the attitudinal traits. While there are many, I am focusing on 3 that I saw were common to most if not all the STs I have observed and hence may well have the greatest contribution to their story telling abilities.

Firstly, the STs tend to be very interested in life and what happens around them. In some cases it is natural while in others they have trained themselves to every day look at a few things they would not normally look at or speak to a few people they may otherwise never bother to chat with or read something from a source they would normally not touch. This gives them a richer perspective on what else is happening in the world that most people in their own personal thought bubbles may ignore.

I recently heard an interesting perspective from one of the STs who lives here in India. She told me she had to stand in an interminable line at an ATM (India went for a massive anti-corruption drive in the form of demonetization of high face value currency notes). She (like most of us) has seldom had to do that and even when she did, it was in malls or near her office or near the swank colony she stays in where the lines are short and the people in line were “like her”. However with the demonetization drive, most of these ATMs have been cashless for a while as the government has focused on partial re-monetization by putting in new currency into circulation. The government has instead focused on ATMs accessed by the common man i.e., in less up market areas. So she was in line with people she would rarely be exposed to otherwise (some of the well heeled have money mules standing in line at the banks for them with checks to withdraw cash but she decided for whatever reason not to do so.). She is not an extrovert by nature but she was listening all the same to the slightly irritated banter that characterizes any Indian queue as people bandied black humor intermingled with homegrown wisdom as to why the PM may have initiated such a drastic move. What struck her was that someone commented that as a indirect fallout of demonetization, for the first time a lot of common people who were honest but otherwise nondescript are now grudgingly admired by street smart people who have evaded tax through a number of loopholes. In the past, the honest lot often looked on envyingly at the street smart folks (called “Jugadoos” in Delhi Hindi) but now it was the other way around. She used that insight in a presentation she had to do later that week on the fillip that demonetization is expected to have on cashless transactions and got a lot of laughs and sage nods thanks to using this story. Those are the moments the STs win their audience. Those are the moments when a key audience person thinks he should talk to the ST after the session to take an idea further.

Secondly, regardless of what they are expounding on, be it just relating a personal experience or speaking in public or making a business justification presentation to an internal audience or just joking with friends at a party, they bring a deep intensity to their communication. You rarely see them just chit chatting indolently. In sporting parlance, they are bringing their “A Game” so to speak regardless of the situation. Ergo, they always do a great job of communicating when the situation demands it because that trait is always on. Funnily enough, not all the STs (I know a couple of them quite well) are otherwise the extroverted personalities (like the lady from the earlier example) that one would take them for as that would be a natural mental association to make. The STs I know well are intensely personal people who if left to themselves would just sit back and read something or watch a movie. Linking this to the earlier point about training themselves to talk to someone outside their normal circles, one suspects they have tremendous self awareness to know they need external input to broaden their mental horizons.

I bumped into a trainer I knew who was many years my senior in college and had moved from an engineering job to doing soft skills training, He conducted an offsite training for us some years ago. He was brilliant in his ability to relate stories of how he had seen others develop and you could literally envision their journeys in your mind’s eye as he related his tales. It was downright inspiring. He had infectious energy and took time to listen and respond with respect and terrific eye contact and everyone was able to relate to him. Anyone asking him an offline question was impressed with the sincerity with which he answered the questions and how he went out of his way to ensure his insight was communicated well. The same night when there was a campfire with the ahem “usual celebrations” that accompany such offsite trainings, he was nowhere to be seen. I went looking for him and saw him happily reading a book under a battery operated light. When I asked him to join the festivities, he politely declined saying he needed the time off with his book to recharge as such sessions drained what he called his introverted personality. The next day when I spoke to him about it, he said he had practiced the art of switching on his intensity and ability to relate to people when required but also switching it off when done to recharge. He was being very sincere and not a put on as he genuinely wanted to help people but wanted his down time as well. He went on to explain that it took a while for him to reach such a state of mind and that it took some practice but was well worth the effort. Other common friends confirmed this point that he was genuine in that he was no trying to manipulate anyone by appearing sincere and personable. It is just something he does as part of his job and is honest about it.

Thirdly, even as they are intensely telling their story, they are constantly scanning the audiences for cues on how the conversation / talk is going and can adapt by thinking on their feet. I would suspect that the best stand up comedians have the same trait to stay attuned to their audiences.

I remember a great ST once presenting to some sales reps on a technical topic. He saw that the audience was getting a tad bored as he was the 5th or 6th speaker and they had been droned to death by the earlier monologues. So he simply kept on his title slide but did not continue with the ppt. Instead he talked a bit about his personal experiences working with reps in other regions. He then smoothly shifted to talking about a customer that he was personally involved in selling the same product to in another country and took them through the mental processes of the rep in that country – how he decided this particular customer may be worth targeting with this product in the first place, how he did some initial discovery to confirm his hypothesis, how he built a clear attack plan for the opportunity, how brought in the right resources from across the company and sold them the idea so that they helped him and finally how he navigated the choppy waters in the customer’s company to push the idea through. He had the audience in thrall and eating out of his hand at the end of the talk. I happened to be there as a facilitator for the training and it was a revelation for me that someone from another country (he was not even from Asia but from our HQ in the USA) could quickly feel the pulse of his audience and alter his story line at the drop of a hat and yet completely sell them with just his story telling style. Many of the hard boiled cynical reps in the room could be seen pulling themselves up in their seats and intently focusing on him as his story evolved. It was a master class in storytelling.

Can these traits be developed? I don’t think all can develop it to the same extent but all can have some degree of ability in this regard. Further, these traits in my view are not related to classic IQ measures as I have seen STs develop from lesser mortals so to speak to becoming good STs. I am also seeing some people who are STs in the making developing these skills along the way who are smart but not at 125+ IQ levels.

On the first trait of keeping your eyes and ears open to new experiences we all do it at some point or the other even if we are in a bubble otherwise like when we go on vacation or a tour of some facility or take a child to an amusement park. So it is a trait we all have but I suspect this trait oftentimes goes dormant as we get caught up in our own thoughts. Practicing the same even if it means setting an alarm to get up in office every day at some point to walk around and talk to some people (not the same people everyday though) may be worth it I suspect.

Regarding the “A Game”, I think again it is a matter of discipline and the so-called golden rule (“Do unto others as you want done unto yourself.”). If we make it a point to close the laptop when someone walks up to us or stop fiddling with the phone or whatever, that automatically helps focus on the other person. That way, any communication we do (including explaining some complex idea or resolving some complaint or whatever) would bring our “A Game” to the fore. Clearing your mind with a couple of slow breaths even as you start the conversation helps I have noticed. And yes, reminding oneself of the golden rule helps (I often do it if someone comes for advise or help when I may not always be in the mood because I have also been on the receiving end of those that did not give me undivided attention when I badly needed it, so….).

Lastly regarding keeping an eye on the listeners is again not very tough to do if you can practice it. A trick I have used in the past is asking a team member to sit in on my presentations or customer discovery sessions to tell me later where I may have droned off leaving my listeners behind. It definitely helps if the team member believes you are sincere in asking for the feedback.

So, 3 things. One, "Being open to new experiences", two, "Bringing your A Game to every interaction" and third, "Assessing the audience constantly". Next, moving on to the tools and tricks of the trade.

Great STs first and foremost remember that they are talking to humans, not machines. Ergo, the brain can only process 1 kind of input at a time and at its own pace. So before they start any formal session (does not apply to casual conversations where someone walks in to take pot luck), they make clear the objective of the interaction, the timing and what they expect from the listeners so that no one is wondering during the interaction what it is all about or how long it would take. This is not rocket science and anyone can develop this trait if they put their minds to it.

A corollary is that good STs also adapt to the people they are speaking to. If they already know the people, they know what works with them – getting to the point early or building the argument, cultural nuances, using data or anecdotes, whether jokes work and if yes, which sort of jokes etc. If they don’t know the people you can see them gingerly assessing the audience by probing for common areas of interest or common contacts / friends before they plunge in. Most people relate well to a good ST but it helps to know / probe these points lest you commit a faux pas.

Next, they speak at a reasonable pace (too slow and it looks odd while too fast means you may lose the listeners) and don’t use messy slides or hand outs that can distract listeners even as they are speaking. They don’t use complex language or very long sentences. That way your mind is able to stay apace with their speech. If you had to ponder over what they just said, chances are you will not hear something important they are saying. Recording and reviewing yourself or asking for feedback from trusted colleagues/friends from time to time can make you conscious of your speed and help you stay on the right pace.

That said, they also assume that listeners despite their best efforts may lose their concentration from time to time. So they tend to summarize each sub-topic before proceeding to the next topic and they tend to do an overall summary at the end before calling them to specific action points. Again, this is a matter of discipline and practice. The best public speaker I ever knew (Roland Slee who was at Oracle and is now the MD of Bravura APAC) who I will always be grateful to, drilled into us the need to be disciplined in reviewing what we were going to say or show, dry running to stay within time and on message, ensuring we were not using “filler” words etc.

If in a formal setting that needs a ppt, they tend to use simple slides with a lot of images (more on that later), not more than 4-5 bullets per slide (not full sentences in the bullets) with a lot of white spaces. Their slides either naturally read from the top left or right (depending on the local culture) or use call outs / slide building if they want the listener to focus elsewhere. When they make a point using a slide, they give the listeners a few moments of silence to absorb it before graying / blanking out the slide to continue speaking. Point is that they don’t expect you to use your eyes and ears at the same time especially for complex concepts. As Roland once told me, remember that you and what you say must be the focus, not the slide. The slide is merely a prop but a confusing slide will reverse the roles.

They tend to choose their words for visual impact / imagery. When they have any conversation with you, regardless of the context, chances are they will use strong words and picturesque language (without being flowery) that evoke strong images, thereby ensuring the conversation stays with you for long. For example, saying “It was an awesome action movie. We enjoyed it a lot. The action was continuous and the special effects were very realistic so we had fun throughout!” Is okay but not memorable as the words or not strong or evocative and “awesome” is now used so often that it is no longer really strong. A more memorable way to communicate the same may be “The movie set our pulses racing. Our eyes were riveted to the screen. The action scenes were truly eye popping and had us on the edge of our seats!”. You get the idea… This does take some practice as not all of us realize the power of words. So consciously making the effort and listening to TED talks or the like by powerful speakers can help you get started in this regard.

A corollary to the language is that great STs also know how to use their voice well. It helps if you have a deep and powerful voice but even if you have an average voice, it helps to modulate the voice rather than settling into a monotone. They stress key words, use their hands along with strong evocative language and modulation to draw you in before delivering their punch lines. This trick of the trade can also be easily practiced with deliberate effort. Great ST’s also learn languages and to communicate like the rest of us. However with practice, they develop their tricks and tools.

To tie all these traits and tricks / tools together, while it may sound counterintuitive that a story teller would rehearse (we mentally tend to associate them with being ex tempore), in reality good STs practice formal talks / presentations a lot to stay on time and on message and ensure their body language is right. They may even record themselves for review or ask a trusted colleague to sit in on dry runs. That way they iron out kinks in their delivery and convert good practices into unconscious habits. You wont see them fidgeting during a conversation or turning their backs on the audience or not realizing that they are losing a key audience member’s attention. They don’t make rookie mistakes like having inconsistent fonts, terms on slides that they themselves are not sure of etc.

They know that flow is key to a story. So they tend to anticipate the thinking process of the audience and stay just a step ahead so that don’t have too many interruptions and even when they do, they ensure they quickly dispense with the queries / objections before getting back on track. They usually summarize the last part of the story where the interruption occurred before continuing to ensure the flow is recovered. You will see that they naturally manage to maintain this style even in casual conversations because they have internalized the traits and tricks.

As you may have noticed, none of these tools and tricks are beyond the normal person, possibly even more so than the traits in the first section. Traits can be tougher to develop but even those with effort, can be developed. Some of the tricks and tools apply in formal settings like presentations or public speaking. However, storytelling comes into play even in less structured situations like customer meetings or internal discussions to debate ideas or coaching sessions. I have noticed that If storytelling is practiced in formal settings, it tends to rub off even in informal settings. The same habits carry over to informal settings helping you hold the attention of the people you are speaking to and thereby influence their thinking towards whatever ideas you are proposing.

To summarize, great STs either naturally or with effort develop certain traits and some cool tricks and tools. The traits are constantly opening up to new experiences, bringing their “A Game” to all their interactions and constantly adapting to their audiences. The tools and tricks are solid homework / preparation on the audience and topics (where applicable), simple slides, summarizing key points, slow and well modulated speech accompanied by strong evocative words. Above all, practice makes perfect!

I cant overemphasize the last point. With solid practice, regardless of your default style, you too can become a good ST if not a great one over time. This is not a black art but a simple science. Once you understand the mechanics of good story telling and practice diligently (and hopefully meet a good / great ST you can try to emulate), it is not impossible to become one yourself. So don’t despair if you feel you don’t have impact despite having oodles of content. To paraphrase chef Gusteau from Ratatouille, while not everyone may become a great ST, a great ST can have any background!