Team Building Tips

Stories are more than just cocktail party conversations or nice additions to after-dinner toasts. They are an extremely effective tool of influence and persuasion in the workplace.

In fact, they are the very means by which we impact others. If you aren’t using stories in the workplace, you are missing out on a key ingredient to help you attract, retain, and manage your employees. You are missing out on a necessary asset to your presentations and speeches. You are missing out on the power you have to tap into your client’s emotions which is what drives all business decisions. You are not using the most vital technique to motivate someone to take action or to inspire them to see beyond their current situation. To succeed in business you must have the ability to tell a good story. Let’s look at some ways that stories can be used in the workplace.

Stories Engage

The very least that a well-told story can do is to get someone’s attention and keep it. Pay attention the next time that you are sitting in a presentation, speech, or even a sermon. Watch what happens when the speaker starts a story. You can actually feel the mood of the room lighten as people lean in and listen. If your story is constructed well, you can keep their attention longer than when simply conveying information. When you give information to someone - whether from a platform or behind a desk - it takes on the manner of a pushing action. When you tell a story, it becomes a pulling action. If you don’t think stories are engaging, look at the movie, book, and entertainment industry. It’s all about the story.

Stories Gain Trust and Respect

In any position where our desire is to influence others, we must gain their trust first. Telling someone to “trust me” has absolutely no benefit. You must show them that you can be trusted. An easy and quick way to do this is by telling a story that shows them you can be trusted instead of telling them you can be trusted. When you tell a story, the power and wisdom of that story is transferred onto you. You take on the wisdom of that story. People associate you with your truth. How cool is that?

Stories Allow People to Think for Themselves

Stories don’t force information on people but rather gives them a chance to come to their own conclusions. When you present a fact to someone you run the risk that their acceptance of that fact will be based on their combined life experiences and assumptions and feelings. Give them a story first, and you bypass their barriers and get to their emotional core. I might, for example, have some preconceived assumptions about homeless people and the decisions they made to get them there. If you tell me to give money to help the homeless, I am going to process that information using my preconceived assumptions. But if you tell me a story of someone homeless and the events that led up to their state, you are bypassing my barriers and going straight to my emotional core.

Stories are Easier to Remember and Recall

We tend to forget the facts. But we never forget the story. It’s easier to remember and recall. Though we may not remember every detail, we remember the necessary pieces. And even more importantly, we remember the motivation behind the story. My mother always warned me never to write down anything I didn’t want anyone else to read. That would have probably gone into the land of other forgotten advice had my mother not told me a story of the time she learned that the hard way. I never forgot that story, and actually learned my lesson from it.

Stories Show Instead of Tell

Stories don’t just relay a truth. They show the truth as it applies to real life. It proves that what you’re saying is true. That’s why stories are such effective teaching tools.

Stories Lighten Tension

There is nothing better than a funny story to relieve tension. It’s hard to be angry when you’re laughing. Stories are a great way to break up heavy content in your speeches or to follow a serious topic.

Stories Validate

In the workplace, as anywhere else in life, it is important that we are able to show others that they are valued. Stories are a powerful way to validate someone – to show them their importance.

Stories Touch the Heart

Information reaches the mind. Stories touch the heart. Stories get into the emotions of the listener – that place that drives all of our important decisions. We have enough information. We want things to make sense. Stories help life make sense.

Stories Show Views From Different Perspectives

This is a great tool for revealing problems and resolving conflict in non-threatening way. Stories show all sides. They allow someone the opportunity not just to hear your vision but to see it.

Stories Connect us as Human Beings

Stories allow us to walk in someone else’s shoes – to see life from where they sit. Stories allow you to bond with someone else based on those things that we have in common despite our differences. They reveal our humanity.

Kelly Swanson -- It's all fun and games 'til the hair gets messed up http://www.kellyswanson.net