Storytelling

Knowledge Center

Definition Storytelling? Meaning.

Storytelling is the ancient art of portraying real or fictitious events in words, images, and sounds. People in all times and places have told stories and storytelling is even considered to be a fundamental aspect of humanity. But a conscious narrative approach with a business purpose, to such things as strategy formulation, organizational transformation, knowledge management, corporate identity formulation, marketing mechanism and as a leadership style is still relatively new. Although it clearly is a very effective way to influence, engage, motivate and spark people into action.

Stories use verbal pictures to create interest, add variety, and change the pace of a discussion. Stories can make dull speeches sparkle and can help bridge the gap between data and knowledge. They can be used to present anecdotal evidence, clarify a point, support a point of view and to crystallize ideas.

There are many kinds of stories, such as fables, parables, myths, and legends. Stories are of many moods, such as humorous, inspirational, educative, frightening, tragic, romantic.

According to Stephen Dunning, author of The Springboard, How Storytelling Ignites Action in Knowledge-Era Organizations (2000), "Storytelling gets inside the minds of the individuals who collectively make up the organization and affects how they think, worry, wonder, agonize and dream about themselves and in the process create and recreate their organization. Storytelling enables individuals in an organization to see themselves and the organization in a different light, and accordingly take decisions and change their behavior in accordance with these new perceptions, insights and identities".

Storytelling in Strategy formulation. History

Pierre Wack, a French oil executive with a personal affinity for Indian mystics, realized that strategy as it had been practiced in The Western world -- straight-line extrapolations from the past, forecasts captured in three-ring binders -- did little to frame the choices that would define the future. In his view, the true role of strategy was to describe a future worth creating -- and then to reap the competitive advantages of preparing for it and making it happen. Strategy, in other words, was about telling stories. Under Wack's influence, Royal Dutch/Shell learned the art of strategy as storytelling -- creating scenarios about the future.

Steps in Storytelling. Basics and Process

A comprehensive FAQ on Storytelling by Tim Sheppard offered the following useful advice:

1. Pretend you're confident. Don't apologize as you start, either with words or a cowed body.
2. Relax, breathe, play. It's a fun game that everyone wants to play with you, not an ordeal.
3. Tell in your own words. If you try to memorize the words of the story, you set yourself up for failure and confusion. Just remember the few lines of plot, and feel free to let them come out differently - no matter how hard you try the story you learned won't be the story you tell. Let your imagination work - that's what will create the magic, not your feats of memory.
4. If you get stuck, keep going. Don't frown, curse, stop, or apologize. Simply describe details of sounds, colors, smells, clothes, atmosphere etc. to play for time - this is also a psychological trick because it stimulates your imagination and mental images, and keeps your energy up, which are the best way to trigger your memory. Or stay silent and still engaged with people's eyes and they'll think it's a dramatic pause, as you let inspiration return (don't look at the floor to remember). Nobody but you knows what you were going to say, so they will never spot your departures from it - there are no 'mistakes'. New improvised details or observations can be gems to keep in for next time.
5. Keep your stories to ten minutes long or less, to begin with. Time yourself beforehand - just three pages in a book might end up taking 15 minutes to tell. It takes much more skill both to keep people's level of attention and to control the pacing through longer stories.
6. Take time to finish. Look at people, smile, and listen to their applause - do not run away or gesture to dismiss it, the applause is their chance to give you something back, and the instinctive hiding gestures that most people fall into appear as a little insulting. Accept that they liked it!

Strengths of Storytelling. Benefits

• Natural.

• Easy.

• Entertaining.

• Energizing. See also: Charismatic Leadership

• Help to understand complexity.

• Can enhance or change perceptions.

• Easy to remember.

• Inherently non-adversarial and non-hierarchical.

• Can bypass normal defense mechanisms and engage our feelings.

Forum Forum about Storytelling. Below you can ask a question about this topic, share your experiences, report a new development, or explain something. Start a new topic about Storytelling Share your knowledge here (or ask a question)   Story Telling - in the Corporate Setting Story telling, like songs or poetry, often remain in our memories far longer than a bunch of facts. In the corporate setting stories can speak volumes about the corporate culture, 'how things are done... 8   1 comments Fake News and Storytelling Ethics It is often said that we humans are hardwired for story, and story has become a much more used business and social medium. While ancient civilizations and indigenous peoples have used stories for good... 8   7 comments What are the Disadvantages of Storytelling? In a turbulent world, characterized by uncertainty about the future, failures, stress, etc., storytelling as a management tool can, probably, bring about positive interactions between actors in a busi... 8   2 comments Story Telling is Amazing In many long speeches people get bored, but when the speech begins with story telling it keeps the audience interested throughout the speech. Amazing... Amazing is also that people of all groups pay ... 8   2 comments Storytelling is a Part of Sensemaking Concept I think that storytelling, which is a retrospective view of events that build the culture of an organisation, is a part of the sensemaking process, which was well described in Sensemaking in Organizat... 5   Storytelling in Childhood My first lessons about society in general before I started school at age seven (to learn to read, count and write) were through stories told and shared around the fire place: they would be told with s... 5   2 comments Ericksonian Hypnosis Some time ago, I became interested in Ericksonian Hypnosis. One worry I had referred to scripts: what to say and how to say words to induce trance. Once I understood how to do it, everything became pr... 4   Story Telling and Organizational Learning Story telling adds to informal and incidental Organizational Learning in organizations or social groups. It is a powerful means to build a desired culture in an organization where the stories told are... 4   1 comments Using Idioms or Sayings in Story Telling Idioms and sayings are rules of the thumb. If one can bring them into the context of business objectives by citing experiences it can make a good short story. In the Gita, Krishna says that yoga is t... 4   🔥 NEW Story Telling: Red Thread Tool The marketer is a story builder and story teller. Being able to 'market' our strategic plans internally is as critical a skill as to acquire clients externally via stories in advertising and promotion... 3   1 comments Storytelling is a Personalization and Socialization Tool for Knowledge Management I believe that stories as a tool can be helpful for personalizing and socializing knowledge in organizations and in their business processes. For example, if personnel have a passive character in the... 3   Subjectivity in Storytelling: Storyselling Much of the past literature about storytelling assumes stories as neutral objects instead of seeing it as an object of which the perception and acceptance depends on the way the story is formulated an... 2   What is Storytelling - Definitions Excellent page.. Who has a good definition of storytelling? Thanks.... 2   3 comments The Object of a Story in Storytelling In story telling the main intention is outside the story. One should not underestimate the impact that an apt analogy makes on the sensibility of a listener. Thus the object of a story is to deliver a... 1   Storytelling in Neuroscience There is important emerging work in neuroscience that suggests storymaking is a fundamental left hemisphere brain function. It is how we make sense of the potentially chaotic flow of sensory events.... 1   Storytelling about Successes and Mistakes In storytelling, we can also talk about learning from the failures and successes the organization had experienced. This is interesting to take into consideration in strategy formulation.... 1   Management Approaches for Adventurous Organizations In regards to an organization that is adventure based. I am currently looking for any relevant management theories I could take into account. Help will be appreciated, thanks :).... 1   2 comments Storytelling in Appreciative Inquiry A very informative and well written article. I have witnessed the power of storytelling - the impact of the person who is telling his or story and the impact on the audience - in appreciative inquiry.... 0

Best Practices The best, top-rated topics about Storytelling. Here you will find the most valuable ideas and practical suggestions. 🥇 Applications of Story Telling. Usages I have used story telling in business as a means to convey learnings, and use existing children stories that already have the lesson interwoven that may not be obvious. Dr. Seuss is one of my favorite... 17   17 comments 🥈 Fundamentals of Storytelling - Basics What in your view are the basics of storytelling any teller should master before being able to advance into the more complex skills and aspects? Thank you...... 15   18 comments 🥉 Cases of Storytelling | Storytelling Cases Good information! Who can contribute a good success case of business storytelling? Thanks...... 8   4 comments Books on Professional Storytelling Who can recommend good books about professional organizational storytelling? Thanks...... 5   6 comments

Expert Tips Advanced insights about Storytelling. Here you will find professional advices by experts. How to Tell your Startup Story to Venture Capitalists? Stage Presence Storytelling, Corporate Pitch, Pitching an Idea, Entrepreneurship, Assessing Pitches, Showrunners, Artists, Neophytes How do you deliver a very good pitch for some business idea or venture you want to sell? Kimberly D. Elsbach, who has a... The Role of Rhetorical Competence in Charismatic Leadership Charismatic Leadership, Storytelling, Visionary Leadership In past research, only little attention was paid to the relationship that exists between Charismatic Leadership and Rhet... Organodynamics: the 3 Laws at the Basis of Performance in Organizations Strategic Performance Management, Leadership, Corporate Mission, Corporate Culture Sherwood (2014) introduces the concept of organodynamics, a concept that explores the level of performance that can be a... The Role of the CEO in Strategic Change Initiation Communicating Strategic Change In management literature the role of the CEO in formulating and implementing strategic change has often been emphasized....

Information Sources Various sources of information regarding Storytelling. Here you will find powerpoints, videos, news, etc. to use in your own lectures and workshops. Introduction to Organizational Culture and Climate Organizational Culture, Organizational Climate Presentation about organizational culture and climate, including the following sections: 1. Learning objectives 2. Bas... Storytelling for Leaders and Senior Managers Storytelling, Leadership, Strategy Presentation as an introduction into storytelling for efficiënt leadership. It includes the following sections: 1. Intr... Summary by Deepak Chopra on 'True, Enlightened Leadership' True Leadership, Enlightened Leadership, Servant Leadership, Authentic Leadership, Visionary Leadership, Leadership Valu Indian writer of many alternative and spiritual books Deepak Chopra explains what he believes is "True Leadership": Grea... Speech Steve Jobs on Connecting the Dots How to Create a Revolutionary Vision: 'Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish' Legendary speech by former Apple CEO and innovation guru Steve Jobs in which he tells 3 stories that together explain wh...

Research Links Jump to further research sources regarding Storytelling. News Videos Presentations   Books Academic More

Compare with: Management Metaphors  |  EPIC ADVISERS  |  Vision Statement  |  Appreciative Inquiry  |  Tacit Knowledge  |  Changing Organization Cultures  |  Action Learning  |  Scenario Planning  |  Framing  |  Cognitive Bias  |  Positioning  |  Strategy Maps  |  Mind Mapping  |  Active Listening  |  Covert Leadership  |  Spiral of Silence  |  Core Groups  |  Strategic Vision

Return to Management Hub: Change & Organization  |  Communication & Skills  |  Ethics & Responsibility  |  Knowledge & Intangibles  |  Leadership  |  Marketing & Sales  |  Strategy & Innovation

More on Management  |  Return to Management Dictionary

This ends our Storytelling summary and forum.