7 Mindshifts You Need to Make to Be a Transformational Storyteller & Achieve The Results You Desire
No kidding, story crafting is important. You absolutely do need to know how to craft a compelling story.
But if you don't have your head on straight about transformational communication and business storytelling from the start, all the crafting in the world is not going to make a difference.
So let's talk about the essential mindshifts everyone needs to make about transformational communication and transformational storytelling -- so you CAN craft amazing memorable inspiring stories, so you can knock it out of the park in delivering them, and so you can truly understand how to work with narratives in your business that increase engagement, loyalty, trust, alignment, and sales.
Here's the list of the 7 essential mindshifts you need to make:
Transformational storytelling is an experience, not a paint by numbers/fill in the template exercise
Transformational storytelling is pull technology, not a technology pushing messages to folks
Transformational storytelling is about connection, relationships, and transformation and not only about transactions
Transformational story listening is more powerful than storytelling
Transformational storytelling persuades and influences; data and information leads to debates
Transformational storytelling is about conveying visual images, not memorizing texts
Transformational storytelling is about authentic communication, not about bragging
In this blog, we need to start with #1 -- storytelling is an experience, not a paint by numbers exercise.
I know, I know -- I can hear all my engineers and analytical folks right now saying, "Please please, just give me the structure of a story so I can always craft a good one!" I will. Yet the question that begs to be answered is...what do you want to happen when someone hears your story?
"Oh, I want to inspire someone to make a change, take an action, enroll in my project, etc."
"Oh, I want more engagement and alignment among and between people in my company."
"Oh, I want to attract the perfect clients and talent to my business."
Well, if you want any of that to happen then you need to do a pivot away from "give me the story formula" to "help me create a great story experience ". A formula won't guarantee a fabulous experience for your audience that spurs them to action.
To deliver an experience figure out how you want your audience to feel when you are done.
What personal experience can you share with them? Because you see, if you can relive the experience your audience will experience it with you -- in real time while you are telling it.
What's the message you want to deliver at the end?
Don't share about the story -- get back into the actual memory and you'll be golden. You will have delivered an experience, not an artificially engineered story. Yay!
Only after you've laid out the experience you had, then do a few upgrades using story structure and essential elements tools -- just to make sure you didn't leave anything out or missed a weak spot.
Want to get better at transformational communication and storytelling? Always share personal experiences first. That's the best way to connect, build trust, be authentic, and inspire others. .
Dr. Karen Dietz is a veteran in transformational communication and business storytelling that inspire, influence and impact the bottom line. She coaches and trains leaders through her unique system. Wiley published her Business Storytelling for Dummies and she opened the 2013 TEDx Conference San Diego. Clients include: Disney, Princess Cruises, Citrix, nonprofits, and rising stars.
