STORY TIME AT THE OFFICE

Everyone loves a story. 

This little fact about human nature is underused in the world of business. Managers give speeches full of information, write reports full of numbers, and issue memos full of directives. They tell their people what they want them to do, how they want them to do it, and, occasionally, even why they want them to do it. But what they hardly ever tell are stories, the one thing people love to hear. Just think how effective it would be if they did.

Stories are one of the most powerful ways of influencing people. They capture people’s attention because they are entertaining, and they create understanding because they put things into a context that people can relate to. Most importantly, stories can motivate people to do things if those people can identify with the characters in the story.

Because a story is very simple - there are some people, they are somewhere, and some things happen to them - it is easy for you to use this effective communication tool in your workplace. The first step in telling a story is to decide what the story will be about, and the best way to do this, is to begin at the end. Ask yourself, “What outcome am I looking for? How do I want people to think and behave after they have heard the story?” You might decide, for example, that after hearing the story, your listeners will understand that when things go wrong, it is important to be honest with customers at all times; that it is better to tell them the bad news up front, rather than submit them to a death by a thousand lies. Having a clear point to your story is so important that it is a good idea to work out the ending of the story first.

Next, create a setting. Where does the story take place? When does it happen? Who is involved? The setting is the context that allows people to become involved with the story. It is what brings the message alive. You might begin, for example, by telling your audience: “The other day I was flying from Hobart to Melbourne on Ansett. The plane was delayed due to morning fog, and then again because of a flat tyre. It was a beautiful day outside but we were stuck in the small crowded lounge waiting for the flight that never came.”

The third step is to relate the details about what happened. This is the heart of the story and requires some planning. You must be clear in your mind about which events took place in what order. But most importantly, you must select the few important details from the trivial many. The fact we arrived 90 minutes before the flight was due to depart (as instructed), were told the flight was delayed by 60 minutes, then discovered it was delayed by a further 30 minutes (no one told us), then discovered it was delayed by another 30 minutes (again no one told us), had to point out that this would mean we would miss the connect-ing flight to New Zealand (they hadn’t figured that out), the flight finally left 150 minutes late and then they could not offer tea and coffee because their urns weren’t working, are some of the impor-tant details. What I ate and drank; what I read and wrote are not. There is a limit as to how much people can take in and how long they can listen. Make sure you use your window of opportunity effectively.

Finally, add some colour to your story. There are two ways you can this. The first is by relating dialogue. Published authors know that it is better to show readers rather than to tell them. Thus telling your listeners: “They were confused and had lost the plot,” is not nearly as effective as saying: “‘Excuse me,’ I said to a passing staff member. ‘Is flight 583 the incoming counterpart of flight 584?’ She said it was. ‘Then how do you expect to board 584 at 1640,’ I asked her pointing to the monitor, ‘when you don’t expect flight 583 to arrive until 1655?’

‘Oh,’ she cried. ‘We forgot to change it,’ and she ran into the back room. Ten minutes later the monitor showed us boarding at 1705.”

The second way to add colour is to tell the story with some feeling. To do this you must first think about how you felt (or how the main characters felt if the story is not about you) and then how you will convey this to the listener. Strong or even colourful language will help you do this. For example, you might tell your audience:

“I looked at the monitor and it said they would board the flight 10 minutes after it landed. I asked counter staff whether they had ever been able to turn a plane around in 10 minutes and they admitted they hadn’t. ‘Then why do you lie to your customers? How do you expect people ever to trust you, when you tell lies?’ He looked very embarrassed.”

Follow these steps and you, too, can become an effective storyteller. It is worth doing because everyone loves a story. They are an effective way of communicating ideas and a powerful way to influence how people think and behave. So throw away those dull speeches, boring memos and imperious directives. Tell your staff stories instead.

Now, did I ever tell you the time I was flying from Hobart to Melbourne? The plane was late due to morning fog and ....