Stories are one of the most powerful communication tools humans have developed. From the earliest days of human civilization, stories, myths, and legends have served to educate, inform, connect, inspire, and persuade.
In recent years, brain science has proved what humans have known all along. Recent studies show that the brain waves of people listening to a narrative will begin to mirror the brain waves of the storyteller; the greater the listener’s comprehension, the more closely the brain waves will mirror each other.
Despite the power of stories, business leaders may not use them to their full advantage. Different kinds of stories resonate with different people, and when leaders only focus on one type of story, they may miss the opportunity to connect with up to 80% of their audience.
Before we talk about how to use stories to your greatest advantage, let’s look at the five different kinds of stories leaders can tell that will influence hearts and minds.
- Company: The company story focuses on beating the competition, industry leadership, or investor or board direction.
- Society: This story focuses on improving the world, stewarding resources, and building community.
- Customer: Customer stories focus on providing better products or services and improving the overall customer experience.
- Team: The team story revolves around creating a culture of belonging and working together efficiently and effectively in a caring environment.
- Individual: The individual story involves personal development and the benefits of working at the company, including giving people the power to act.
Imagine you’re a leader addressing the entire organization with an update on the business. If you focus only on company metrics—profits, sales, industry position, or strategic initiatives—you can count on that story resonating with about 20% of your audience.
The other 80% of your audience?
They may be thinking about the work that awaits back at their desks, wondering whether you’re going to address urgent customer concerns or mentally updating their resumes.
To motivate change across your organization, it’s vital to find ways to connect with each member of your audience through different kinds of stories. Here are four ways to harness the power of narratives to connect, inspire, and motivate your entire organization:
1. Invite Others Into the Process
During companywide updates, invite other leaders to share the kind of stories that resonate with other team members. For example, if the company sponsors a community charity or has a key focus on reducing environmental impact, ask the leaders of those initiatives to share progress toward goals. Make room in company updates for each kind of story.
2. Get Creative About Methodology
You don’t have to tell every story from behind a lectern or a webcam. Consider filming customer success stories to post on the company website. Ask individuals to tell their personal development or success stories through blog posts or videos. Share various stories on Slack and other internal messaging platforms.
3. Encourage Storytelling Across the Organization
Ask leaders and individual contributors at every level to engage and connect with others through the different types of stories. Team leaders and managers should look for ways to bring storytelling into as many interactions as possible.
4. Make it Personal
The story is often most potent when it’s a personal narrative. Don’t be afraid to tell personal stories about the business—how an affinity group impacted you, the experience of solving a challenging customer problem, or why you feel personally connected to your team. People connect through stories, and compelling narratives can build loyalty and pride.
Storytelling can be one of the most powerful tools for winning the hearts and minds of the people in your organization. While sharing facts, figures, and other objective metrics is important, those metrics should tie into your overall organizational narrative—one that connects with the other 80% of your audience.
Self-check:
- What is one kind of story you could use more effectively with your team?
- What is one personal story about your experience with your company that you could share?
- Is there an appropriate platform for sharing stories across the organization? How can you encourage that?
