Storytelling 101: Today’s business people don’t need any more information. They’re already up to their eyeballs in facts and data and pretty-but-hard-to-decipher Power Point presentations. Instead, what they need is understanding. They need to know what all that information means – to them, their companies, and their customers.

Increasingly, smart business leaders are realizing that simple stories – not high-gloss sales presentations -- are the keys to gaining that understanding. And for good reason. Ever since humans gathered around campfires to learn of the hunt, stories have been the way we make sense of the world. Whether we’re rooting for the hero, identifying with the underdog, or laughing at the crazy adventures of the fool, stories help us:
 --Find meaning
 --Understand life’s complexities
 --Learn from others
 --Become inspired
 --Understand our values (and hopes and dreams and…)

In business, the benefits of storytelling -- especially for leaders -- are starting to gain recognition. For years at Hewlett Packard, most every employee had heard the story about the time Bill Hewlett found the door to the supply room locked, snapped it open with a bolt cutter, and left a note reading: “Don’t ever lock this door again.” The moral of the story? That HP’s leaders valued trust as much as order.

Far from what is commonly believed, however, business people don’t have to be natural-born storytellers to tell effective stories. All it takes is an understanding of the kinds of stories you should be telling – and how to tell them.
 
In this highly interactive, day-long seminar, participants will learn the value of storytelling in modern organizations, and how to use stories to drive business results. The workshops, which are customized to the needs of each organization, are offered to:

1. Business leaders:  There are three primary stories all leaders need to tell: 1. Who am I? 2. Who are we? And, 3. Where are we going? This workshop will help leaders understand how to use these story templates to generate trust, communicate values and vision, decipher knowledge, and inspire employees to action. Participants will be led through exercises to help them create their own unique leadership stories and learn how to tell them effectively.

2. Marketing and brand managers: Customers choose brands that reflect who they are, what they want, and where they are going in life. In other words, they choose products that help them fulfill their own personal mythologies. For this reason, it’s important for marketing and brand managers to understand their customers’ predominant story lines. Are they 20-somethings looking to conquer life? Or are they baby boomers on a search for meaning? This workshop will help marketing professionals better understand their customer’s stories and craft persuasive storylines designed to reach those customers.
Additionally, participants will be led through exercises to help them craft three separate persuasive narratives: 1. The Organization Story; 2. the Brand Story;  and 3. the Product Story.

3. Team Leaders: At their heart, the most effective and memorable stories are those about people, especially people we can relate to. For team leaders who need to motivate, educate, communicate and inspire, there is perhaps no better tool than real stories about real people who’ve faced similar team issues. Why are such stories so effective? Because stories engage employees’ feelings and thus help bypass their defense mechanisms. This workshop will help team leaders understand their primary communication objectives and craft memorable and entertaining stories to motivate their teams into action.