Leadership & Storytelling

“Storytelling is inherently suited to the task of leadership.”
—Stephen Denning, The Leader’s Guide to Storytelling

“There are no new ideas. There are only new ways of making them felt.”
—Audre Lorde, poet

“We need to tell stories in the course of our work to build relationships, unite constituencies, name problems, describe solutions and mobilize people.”
—Doyle Canning & Patrick Reinsborough, RE:Imagining Change.

You have an important story to tell, or you wouldn’t be doing what you’re doing. It is thru stories – and only thru stories – that you move minds, sell products and ideas, and change the world. People don’t buy your idea or your solution – they buy the story that’s attached to it.

Take Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple. His claim to fame wasn’t being a technologist who dazzled with his command of product attributes and digital wizardry. His brilliance was revealed as a storyteller who artfully crafted stories about how his products would change your life by enhancing your happiness and personal fulfillment.

No movement, organization, change agent, marketer, candidate or leader goes far or lasts long without finding and telling their stories in powerful and compelling prose. Without the story, there is no emotional engagement of your audience. And without the emotional engagement, there is no opportunity to inspire, persuade, motivate and mobilize.

I coach spokespeople and leaders in the art of story-craft and storytelling. During our sessions you will learn…

• The essential elements of a story & how to find them in your organization, business, products or issues.
• How to put the elements together in a compelling story.
• What type of story suites your message & your audience.
• How to tell your story in a way that creates emotion & moves minds.

I tailor every engagement to meet the specific needs of each client, individual or group, and build in time for one-on-one coaching. Each participant receives a year of follow-up coaching to be sure the techniques they learned are being implemented and are serving their purpose. Videos of good and bad presentation performances are also incorporated as teaching aids. If requested by the client, each session can be recorded for later review and critique.