As someone that mentors and coaches leaders and friends, I’m often asked what one skill should I focus on mastering.. my answer STORYTELLING!

Storytelling to me isn’t about writing a novel or publishing a blog or good social media posts…. It is a tool in your toolkit that is useful in every part of your life as we all want to convey what we are thinking in a way that others understand yet many do it better than others.264516c

“Storytelling: the world’s second oldest profession. ”- Danny Harris

Growing up I realized that many things in life aren’t about who’s faster or smarter or has better grammar or who’s the better test-taker but often times it’s those who are can relate well with others and are memorable.

After college I studied great leaders and innovators and what about them enabled them to inspire and motivate others to do things they never dreamed were possible. Nancy Duarte’s Ted Talk review of “Steve Jobs’s keynote presenting the iPhone to the world”dissects every aspect of his speech from the flow and presentation style to what was on the screen and also how he used silence as a tool in his presentation. This skill isn’t required be a leader but it can be the difference between coming across as someone who is talking at your audience or someone inspiring and talking with their audience.

“People buy from People” you must be memorable, allow others to relate to you and make people believe in your vision! Thats the value of great storytelling! – Brian Fanzo (Tweet this)

Great Storytelling can be the difference in…

Someone getting your order right at a fast food joint.

A recruiter understanding what and who you are by just reading your resume.

Your friends rallying around a facebook post that you shared vs a facebook post that gets no likes or comments.

Between a successful sales opportunity and a pushy rude sales pitch!

slide-22-638Storytelling is by far the most underrated skill in business. ”— Gary Vaynerchuck

  • Show, don’t tell.
    Get people to listen. Engage with visual content and combine it with other effective content.
  • Make sure your message doesn’t get skimmed.
    Frame it as a story, with a strong title and interesting hook to get your audience.
  • Manage information for your audience.
    Don’t rely on your audience to piece your story together for themselves. Tell them the story you want them to hear.
  • Don’t let your brand get lost in marketing overload.
    Make your story memorable the same way writers make memorable their characters.
  • Don’t let your information get lost in different place
    Package all information together into a narrative to make sure it’s heard.
I’m a geek for studying the human condition and researching ways that I can become a better storyteller myself as well as improving my presentation skills. I’ve including some resources, infographics and links below that I reference often when talking about storytelling. Would love to know what sites and books you reference for storytelling.  Please include them in the comment section below and I will add them to this post!
Infographics: (hyperlinked)

Some great Storytelling blog posts:

The Power of Community Storytelling | Innovation Insights | WIRED

“5 Keys to Great Storytelling: Lessons from Barbara Corcoran” by @DaveKerpen on @LinkedIn

Content Marketing and Storytelling: How Chipotle is Raising the Bar

Originally posted to Linkedin Publisher