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7/22/12 10:18 PM
The Leadership Playlist: Crafting the irresistible narrative - On ...
http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist...
Crafting the irresistible narrative
Allen Schoer is founder and CEO of The TAI
Group, a boutique consulting firm pioneering
new directions in executive leadership and
organizational change.
This article is the third in a series on becoming a
"Chief Story Teller": Previous columns were
"Part one, the challenge", and "Mastering the
three 'I's' of story-telling."
"Marley was dead: to begin with."
Dickens' dramatic opening to A Christmas Carol
immediately grabs our attention. We must read on.
In creating your own story for employees and clients, you
have to grab interest in a similarly dramatic way. I started
this series saying now's the time for beleaguered CEOs to
reframe how they're seen and what they want -- and
powerful storytelling is one of the most effective ways of
accomplishing this. Here are the essentials to riveting your
audience.
Excite instant attention. For maximum impact, your story
has to immediately galvanize your listeners.
First, consider this powerful opener:
Yesterday, December 7, 1941 -- a date which will
live in infamy -- the United States of America was
suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and
air forces of the Empire of Japan.
If, like Roosevelt, you can be bold and dramatic from the
start your audience will feel the urgency of the moment.
They'll feel your sense of mission to fix something that's out
of balance. Don't leave this thinking to your advisors. Own
your message and say what you stand for.
As part of a plan to lift company-wide performance, I
recently encouraged a client to take control of the speeches
he made to his worldwide leadership team. As a former
division head, he knew his people better than anyone else.
And when he spoke about his own values, he immediately
grew in stature and authority. "My speechwriters could never
have come up with anything this meaningful," he later told
me.
Engage their emotions. When you pose a strong challenge
at the outset, you have to stimulate everyone's emotions in
a way that inspires them to action. Intellectual concepts
aren't enough.
In Elie Wiesel's "Perils of Indifference" speech, he boldly
evoked the senses to raise the consciousness of the world
against Genocide: "Over there, behind the black gates of
Auschwitz, the most tragic of all prisoners were... wrapped
in their torn blankets, they would sit or lie on the ground,
staring vacantly into space, unaware of who or where they
were, strangers to their surroundings. They no longer felt
pain, hunger, thirst. They feared nothing. They felt nothing."
These harrowing images and excruciating details
immediately add real and evocative texture.
Whatever your message, evocative details create a visceral
experience for your listeners -- even though they haven't
moved from their seats.
Make it personal. To achieve buy in, articulate what the
message really means to you.
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The Leadership Playlist: Crafting the irresistible narrative - On ...
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"Winning isn't everything; it's the only thing," legendary
football coach Vince Lombardi famously said. We knew
exactly where he came from. Don't offer vague, generic
concepts. What's your personal stake in the mission? How
does it connect to your values?
By truly personalizing what you have to say, the audience
feels your demand to them to feel personally about the issue
as well. It challenges them to confront their own hopes and
fears -- and honestly consider their individual investment in
their role.
If you are serious about getting buy-in, ownership,
collaboration, enhanced innovation and productivity, then
you have to show up as fully engaged yourself.
Dare to inspire. Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz titled his
book: Pour Your Heart into It. Good advice.
That means stepping back from the grind of cash flow and
targets. It's your essential principles and ethics that give
work inspiration and meaning. That's what others need to
know about. How do your personal qualities carry over into
work?
When you're disciplined about this self-reflection, you'll find
out what drives you towards greater achievement. And when
you start telling stories that illustrate these "essential
drivers," others start to understand who you really are. This
motivates them to explore the meaning of their own
contributions -- and to find their own inspiration.
Practice time. These are the core ingredients of your
irresistible story. Get that pencil out again. Before your next
team meeting:
• Turn the core of your message into an opening statement
of a sentence or two.
• Frame it so that it compels others to follow.
• Practice ahead of time with someone you trust to find out if
it's working. What's the impact? Are they intrigued?
When you've got the opening down, consider the mission:
What's the challenge and how exactly do you want to inspire
the audience? Tell everyone directly why what you're saying
is important.
Finally, in telling your story, remember your role as Chief
Investigator. Ask people how they relate to it and what
they're going to do now.
When we return after the holidays, I'll tell you how to help
people create their own stories and bring them all into
alignment.
BY ALLEN SCHOER | DECEMBER 17, 2009; 6:14 AM ET | CATEGORY:
COMMUNICATION SKILLS
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Comments
Please email us to report offensive comments.
This blog and some of the comments, have prompted me to
revisit the importance of the "narrative" in a broader sense.
It seems to me that every business, every political party and
every social issue is shaped and guided by the "narrative"
that dominates it. The questions in each and every case are
what are the forces that influence the shaping of a particular
narrative, and how can competing narratives be heard?
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Schoer touched on this in an earlier blog when he talked
about employees making up there own stories if you don't
articulate your own. In this day and age the dominant
"narratives" sadly stifle, rather than stimulate, most debate whether the issue is health care, war in Afghanistan, or
climate change.
POSTED BY: GRMHORWOOD1 | DECEMBER 21, 2009 9:50 AM
Mr. Schoer provides examples of famous speeches
delivered during critical moments. I would like to see
examples from speeches like the client he guided to speak
his own values. Finding stories for less than glamorous
industries facing the day-to-day realities of running a
business seems to require lots of imagination!
POSTED BY: SCAREY2 | DECEMBER 18, 2009 10:27 PM
Thank you for the reminder that we can find practical, daily
lessons in literature and great speeches. We need this
reminder in an era of glibness.
"Turn the core of your message into an opening statement
of a sentence or two." -- this first piece of advice regarding
practicing strikes me as really important. So often you end
up with many brainstormed ideas that need focus and
shaping - and giving yourself a limit of one or two sentences
to work within sounds like an excellent way to begin to distill
the essence of your message. It might be useful to also
create two or three 'opening statements' in an effort to see
which captures best what you have to say.
POSTED BY: ATNY06 | DECEMBER 18, 2009 3:55 PM
Storytelling is a skill in demand in so many settings. Very
mindful to discuss this in our business lives as it is so
frequently neglected.
@Tenten1 -- as uncomfortable as it feels at first, rehearsing
internally and externally is necessary to develop the
muscles of storytelling. Your wife, colleagues, even Fido can
make great audiences; even using a painting or piece of
furniture can work. You've identified a very real concern with
developing these skills -- it feels really awkward at first!
POSTED BY: ATNY06 | DECEMBER 18, 2009 3:35 PM
I know there's a lot of skepticism about this idea of storytelling. It's obviously not a cure-all for the failings of the
corporate world. And sure, it can sound contrived, especially
from one not practiced in doing this. We even have a
connotation for the word "story" that is negative, as in "what
kind of story is that?" or "Sure, tell me another story."
I don't think this is what is being suggested here at all, that
this idea of story-telling be used in disingenuous ways.
Rather the opposite, that crafting and delivering a
memorable narrative can serve to reveal deeper motivations
that inspire and hook us. Especially these days, with the
massive amount of raw information coming at us 24/7, we
need all the help we can get to guide us through the morass.
A good story might be exactly what we need.
POSTED BY: MATTSTERN | DECEMBER 18, 2009 3:00 PM
In some contexts, efforts to apply this storytelling advice had
best be leavened with a bit of humor lest it come across as
contrived and pompous. Most listeners can intuitively sense
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when someone is trying to manipulate them rather than
communicate with them, though they may not be able to
articulate the reason for their discomfort.
POSTED BY: DOUGLASLBARBER | DECEMBER 17, 2009 8:04 PM
Storytelling seems to be the flavor of the moment. How can
you help people connect with the power of storytelling
without having it seem simply trendy? And how can you
teach people how and when stories can be used? It seems
to me the most vital value is in knowing how to use these
new ideas well. That really takes practice.
POSTED BY: EMONTOPS | DECEMBER 17, 2009 7:27 PM
I continue to find this series an intriguing
exploration of leader as storyteller - modern day chief,
shaman if you will - it conjures up some wonderful images.
The tips in this installment seem quite practical and doable.
Thanks for this!
POSTED BY: SHEILABW1 | DECEMBER 17, 2009 5:36 PM
A light bulb just went off! I am giving my CEO a book of well
written speeches by famous politicians for the Holidays. I am
positive he would never buy something like this for himself.
The only speech writing he has had is a tutorial on
PowerPoint. Can anyone suggest a book or a collection of
good speeches?
POSTED BY: MARSDENTHOMAS | DECEMBER 17, 2009 5:20 PM
Does it have to be a narrative? Meaning, in response to the
comment about playing opposite your natural 'dry' style, it is
intimidating to me to tell a narrative, but if I can think of
opening in a different way, using a quotation or an image, it
is easier to feel I could acheive 'storyteller' status in my own
way.
POSTED BY: JEOROURKE69 | DECEMBER 17, 2009 3:01 PM
I agree wholeheartedly about using emotions, speaking from
a personal point of view and making one's opening
memorable. When leaders influence me, this is what they
do. Of course, my staff deserves the same. The part that
concerns me is that all the above require risk taking. I know
what risks to take and what risks not to take for my
business. But trying a more bold communication style takes
a big risk, especially in a conservative firm. Has anyone
cracked the code on how to assess when such risks will
have a payback?
POSTED BY: SIMPLICITY38 | DECEMBER 17, 2009 1:50 PM
I enjoyed the article and find this advice very helpful. My one
concern relates to the last piece of advice. Practicing. Who
should I practice with? Internally, I don't feel comfortable
actually "rehearsing" my "piece" And externally...who? My
wife? A friend?
Also - I am the kind of leader who is frank but was told I am
kind of dry. So how can I suddenly show up as this powerful
person with a strong opening and a story?
POSTED BY: TENTEN1 | DECEMBER 17, 2009 1:24 PM
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Intriguing article. I am curious how, and if, effective
storytelling can dispel a corporate cultural myth or less than
desirable legacy.
POSTED BY: FTASSOCIATES | DECEMBER 17, 2009 12:43 PM
I kept coming back to this article as I was intrigued with the
idea of engaging an audience in a more dynamic way. After
sitting through some of the most incredibly boring
PowerPoint presentations it struck me that I usually leave
these presentations retaining nothing. I can imagine that dry,
detailed information wrapped in a narrative would allow the
listener a way into this data and allow more retention of this
information. There is a challenge here in how presentations
and speeches are developed. The comment above about
speeches being written by committee is a sad fact of
corporate America right now. How thrilling would it be if
these committees made speeches from the place of
engaging and energizing the audience rather than simply
doing due diligence.
POSTED BY: JAMJAM333 | DECEMBER 17, 2009 12:26 PM
This seems well and good when you work for a Starbucks or
Apple or Microsoft or even smaller firms producing
interesting products or services. What about the majority of
executives like myself who work in companies without
"stories"? I'm an executive for a large manufacturing
company. I don't have inspirational messages to deliver.
POSTED BY: THOMSWITLEY | DECEMBER 17, 2009 11:20 AM
Easier, I think, for entrepreneurs, like Schultz at Starbucks,
who chart their own courses. More difficult to personalize
remarks at large multi-nationals where one has to navigate
the legal and political terrain more carefully and speeches
are written by committee...
POSTED BY: VP382 | DECEMBER 17, 2009 10:29 AM
This reminds me of a client who just took over as a new
CEO. In planning his first address to his team, he had all the
right ideas, but in the wrong order. Schoer's comments
about openings seem particularly important. How do you
hook them, and how do you make sure to carry your story
line through? An important consideration in any CEO's
addresses, it seems to me.
POSTED BY: LIDAVARUS | DECEMBER 17, 2009 9:58 AM
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