In the last few years, the word storytelling has become extremely popular in the business world, referring to the technique of using a story in various business communication aspects. Storytelling was the first form of communication developed by Homo sapiens, and as such it was crucial for the development of our species. The discovery of fire impacted not only food preparation but also brought about one significant communication benefit to the human community and its well-being. While people were gathered around the fire, they shared and exchanged their experiences, feelings, and their ways of understanding the world, thus creating the first stories. What emerged from stories later were myths, which were used to develop entire ideologies as bases of social arrangements. One could say that we have always been programmed for story-based communication.
Just think back on how you spent your childhood. In addition to having fun playing and exploring the world around you, you also listened to various stories that your parents and grandparents told you. We experienced the world in a direct manner, but also by absorbing stories — be it family stories told around the table during lunch, bedtime stories or stories told as life lessons. While growing up, the first thing we develop as a communication skill is not speaking but listening — and that is listening to stories. In that way we first become listeners, and then storytellers. Thus, even when we grow up, listening to stories always brings us back to what is primary and natural to us, and that is the communication pattern with which we resonate best. The power of storytelling is based on this exact fact.
According to research, a whopping 65% of our daily conversation is made up of storytelling. All of us are telling stories in our daily lives. For example, when we come from work, we start the conversation by saying “guess what happened to me today?” By doing so, we unknowingly use the communication form of the story in everyday conversation. Why is this the case? Because storytelling is the easiest and fastest form of expressing ourselves, becoming close to one another and it is the best way of achieving mutual understanding.
This is confirmed by neuroscientific research, which shows that our brain is organised to best receive and remember information through stories, and that it develops feelings, builds connections with others, and develops attitudes in the same way. It was also established that with storytelling, a faster and better connection between people is generated, and that this connection is further strengthened through storytelling, thus making the process of building trust easier.
Stories also shape the way others see and experience us. Research also proves that the stories that others tell about us affect the perception of ourselves in the eyes of others around us. Even in the business world, people assess whether they want to work with us and whether they want to buy from us based on the stories they have heard.
“Storytelling is as old as the campfire, and as young as a tweet.” This is a statement that Richard Branson made about using the storytelling technique in business, which he believes helped him realise many business achievements. This extremely successful British businessman who has established more than 500 companies claims that successful entrepreneurs, leaders, and salespeople are in fact — professional storytellers. Therefore, he believes that what lies behind the success of their companies, services and products is the ability to tell persuasive stories. In business communication, storytelling is the best possible way to express your own perspective on a topic and to highlight the characteristics that distinguish you and your ideas, your company, your services, and products from others on the market, but also to highlight the special features that you offer.
We can use stories as key tools for persuasion because, when we are telling a story, people stop, slow down and listen. Is it not powerful to have somebody listen to you? Stories arouse interest, influence the behaviour of our interlocutors, associates, bosses, and clients, and change other people’s attitudes and beliefs, and at the same time encourage others to act a certain way. The neuroscientific fact that our brain processes information conveyed in the form of a story better than the data listed on the slide or in the Excel spreadsheet speaks in favour of that fact. When we bring dull facts to life through visualisation, feelings, authenticity and other elements of the story, the interlocutor connects more easily with the content and is able to relate to what we convey through the story. In that way, we can use stories as a form of communication, in business meetings, for example, and thus we can ensure greater identification of interlocutors, stronger engagement and faster understanding and reaching even better agreements.
The three most important factors of a good business story are purpose, authenticity, and call to action. When you incorporate the listed factors into your business story, you will get your own signature story. This is the story you will tell repeatedly and often and due to which your interlocutors will perceive you differently and connect with you faster, thus enabling all of you to come closer to achieving your business goals. Allow your story to evolve over time, and to adapt and be upgraded depending on the person you are telling it to and the circumstances in which you are telling it. Take sales for example – if you cannot tell a story that your potential customers are able to understand in a quick and easy manner, a story that you yourself would be interested in listening to, and the story that you would like to be in yourself, then you will not be able to sell them your products in the long run.
Numerous studies have repeatedly confirmed that people prefer to do business with people they know and have already established a certain relationship with. There is no better and more effective way to connect with your interlocutors faster than by telling stories — precisely because stories enable us to build strong connections. When we are sharing our own stories or stories from our surroundings, people tend to see us as more authentic and they feel like they are really getting to know us as flesh and blood, and as individuals who are faced with certain problems and who are trying their best to find the way to solve them.
In any of the first meetings with my clients, I have noticed that they struggle the most when it comes to introducing themselves. It turns out that we are embarrassed to say what we are good at and what makes us great and unique, and therefore it seems that the most difficult task we can give someone is to introduce themselves. What we should be doing in this kind of situation is using the power of our own story which can help us to present the purpose of our action in the best, simple and authentic way in order to arise the interest of our interlocutor, to build a connection with them and to show them the benefits that they can achieve by cooperating with us.
Even though storytelling is our most natural form of communication, we use it more often unconsciously than intentionally, and we do not use its full potential in business-related situations. As any other communication skill, storytelling must be developed and honed. It is important to adopt the very communication techniques and tools that can help us to quickly and efficiently structure business stories regardless of whether they are talking about us, our business, our visions, suggestions, services, or products. By doing so, our goal is to be able to tell our signature stories anytime, anywhere and to anyone, and to develop productive business relationships and achieve our business goals.
Lastly, I would like you to consider which stories you should stop telling and which ones you should start telling. Life is full of noise, but we must listen carefully in order to hear the signal. The stories you are telling and the stories that others are telling about you are signals. Make sure that these become your signature stories, the stories that will help other see you as an authentic person, the stories that will expand the purpose of your business and ultimately motivate your interlocutors — be it your colleagues, bosses, or clients — to cooperate with you. In order to break through this noise called life and become successful in business communication and achieving your goals, you must continuously hone your stories and share them on all communication channels.