Why and how to use storytelling to present IT Initiatives?

A team of senior executives had to persuade their top leadership to provide the support and resources they needed for a couple of innovative projects in the emerging technologies domain. They gathered all the relevant data on market dynamics, AI trends, key metrics, competitor analysis and so on. They knew these initiatives could make a measurable impact on the bottom line. They practiced and rehearsed for a few days. On the D-day, when they pitched their ideas, the top leadership did not feel compelled to prioritize these initiatives over others.

What happened? A few minutes into the presentation, they lost their audience.

You don’t win people by presenting lot of facts, argument, logic or reasoning but you can influence them by communicating what is meaningful and why it is important to them.

It’s not about the facts; it’s about how one can relate to the facts.

IT Initiatives are critical to drive innovation, improve customer experiences, increase operational efficiencies, meet regulatory obligations and deliver on key business outcomes.

Yet many IT initiatives fail to deliver on its promise. One of the reasons is ineffective communication. Many executives struggle to communicate the value and impact of those initiatives.

An essential part of good communication is story.

Stories are effective because stories are about people, they move us, and they inspire us to take action. We are hardwired for stories. We believe that logical arguments are compelling, but facts and figures don’t inspire action as much as a good story does.

The essence of storytelling is telling a story of transformation.

Most effective stories have a beginning, middle and end and have three parts.

???????? Beginning - This is where you introduce the subject. ?Taking the example mentioned above, this could be: ‘The role the new AI initiative can play in streamlining operations.'

???????? Middle -

1. Setup – Set the frame on why the subject is important and how it is relevant to the audience. For example: How the new AI initiative can free their time for high value tasks and achieve productivity gains.
2. Conflict – Here you present the challenge you are facing like data fragmentation, unavailability of resources and access to funding. This creates tension and suspense.
3. Resolution – Present the solution on how you plan to address the challenge. In this case by creating a single source of data, dashboards and so on.

???????? End – You close by summarizing the specific actions they can take to contribute to the project success. Eg: How their support will help to deliver the required outcomes.

Understanding how story works, and how to tell good stories, is critical for communicating strategic initiatives.

Hope these guidelines offer you a way to look at your initiatives through the lens of your audience and inspire them to support your initiatives with the stories you choose to tell and hopefully make you a better communicator.

Good story telling can not only make you a much more effective communicator but also a great strategic leader because effective communication is the foundation of effective strategy execution.