A Sense of Story
My favorite CFO — I think of him as ââ¬Åmy sometimes-irritating, little brother.ââ¬Â you would, too, if you heard him say, ââ¬ÅThis is the second iteration of my lunch.ââ¬Â — says that I talk in stories and sound bytes.
When he says sound bytes, he means quick points, analogies, and metaphors. It’s a habit that I learned from my dad. I use stories, sound bytes, metaphors, and analogies because they make it easier to explain what I’m trying to say.
We get a sense of story when we are really small. Our parents tell us stories to teach things. We learn about our family and friends through stories. We watch stories that are movies and tell stories that really happened to us and other people.
Stories help us communicate for many reasons.
- People listen more closely to stories than they do to someone talking. People know a story has a point. Even more, a story has a beginning, middle, and an end -ââ¬â and the end is usually satisfying. So we invest more in a story, because of the payoff at the end.
- Stories bring an overlay of meaning and memories. A story told now reminds us of stories we heard as children and what we enjoyed about them then. Any story I tell gets the benefit of any well-told story that came before it. I only have to make sure that my story is told well.
- Sound bytes, metaphors, and analogies offer quick information firmly packed. I can get a point across more quickly and more powerfully. On the day of the Famous Canoe Analogy had I said, ââ¬ÅItââ¬â¢s time to stop talking about the past.ââ¬Â The words would have sounded an impatient opinion. Fewer words, some humor, and a shocking mental image was what got attention.
- Storytelling, sound bytes, and analogies work because they move the problem from literal to figurative. People can explore an idea or a situation and test plans of action, sloshing through muddy waters without splashing the personalities involved. After all, we’re only telling stories.
Stories, sound bytes, and analogies can be a kinder and
more expedient way to get a point across.
Who doesn’t like to hear a story that has a great ending? Like this one — that’s over now. . . . ?
–ME “Liz” Strauss
Check out the Perfect Virtual Manager on the Work with Liz!! page in the sidebar.
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Liz, I have the same habit of story telling. Just today I asked a HR director, what if we get lucky and I find the perfect person for your company to hire? The HR director said, well I am not going to hire some one today, I said OK what if someone gave you a lottery ticket and you win a billion dollars, he said, then I will not be worried about hiring. I said excatly, you have a plan and he laugh and explained the process to me. By telling a story, we are painting a picture,or providing a mataphor. Great stuff, thanks
Hi Jim!
So great to see you!
A story often gets me there so much faster, and let me tell you, people really appreciate that . . . I have this habit of talking in tangents otherwise. Did I tell you? 🙂
Tangent: (1) a line which touches or intersects a curve at one point in the immediate vicinity of the point (in the case of a circle, it touches the curve only once); (2) a trigonometric ratio defined, in terms of a right triangle… blah, blah, blah…
Another Definition: Straight Track.
Thanks for the reminder. I often think of stories but tell them poorly and I really, really, really go of that straight track a lot. The point seems to be, get on the tangent to begin with and don’t take any side tracks.
Did you gather I like trains? LoL
Hi Dave!
I like trains too! I like tangents even more. Speaking of which, my friend Peg says I speak in 656 nested ifs.
Gy the way, the reason it took me so long to answer this is that I started to, but I got drawn off onto a tangent. 🙂
Stories; that’s what makes you so good Liz! Just like Annika Sorenstam, Tiger Woods and Peyton Manning…we know they are good, we see their results, we read your stuff, we get what you say. We just don’t realize what it takes to get there. Your stories and delivery are endless days spent in the gym, on the driving range and in the weight room. They make it happen!
Hi Dave,
Thank you — you sure leave a great comment to wake up to. It sets a goal for the rest of the day, if not a lifetime. 🙂
I had a storytelling dad. He was an introvert, like I am, but when he wanted to talk to anyone, especially his daughter, he’d tell a story or weave his thoughts into one.
Stories keep me from talking about the 97,378,654,932, 442,781.5072298 other things going through my mind. 🙂
I certainly agree. I often use analogy and stories to bring home a point – especially if the point is likely to draw out an emotional response. It can often soften ‘the blow.’
Another effect way to use analogy is when explaining some new, difficult concept. You can describe the new concept using more a more familiar topic.
Say I’m helping a client defining their web objectives. That might be difficult for a client to identify the importance of clear objectives in creating the web results they want. Yet if I compare web objectives to a recipe for a cake, I can easily help my clients get their minds around why each ‘ingredient’ (objective) to their ‘cake’ (web business) is necessary and important.
Hi Dawud,
I agree about stories making issues easier to talk about. That’s what makes reading young literature with middle school kids so powerful. They can look at their own life situations without having to talk about themselves.
I find analogies help to make ideas I have more concise and more concrete so that people can “see” what I’m talking about, and they can “see” it in fewer words. For me, analogis and metaphors are more efficient. 🙂
When I started reading about how you work with your clients, I thought what a great analogy. I use analogies from the other direction. I listen to what folks are saying and try to fit an analogy to it to make sure I’ve truly captured their feelings.
It kind of works like this, “So, what you is something like a tailor who alters suits differently for each invidual dlient you serve. Is that right?” or “It felt something like the person had just taken you to the ‘It’s Small, Small World exhibit at Disneyland and made you listen to that song for a whole week? Does that describe it?”
🙂
Liz.
Absolutely. Think of it like coaching a bunch of 8 year-old girls in basketball. For many, this would be the first time they’ve played. Yet some will know how to play and be good at it while others will struggle. The key is to get them all working as a team toward a common goal. All while helping each one get the most out of their basketball experience. Some will go on to play high school varsity or even college basketball. For others, this will just be another life experience. The question is, how do you meet each girl’s need in a way that will allow this experience to add to her overall life success?
I see my clients in similar terms (though not as 8 year old girls). So really, I’m as much of an educator than I am a coach/consultant/web developer.
Oh, Dawud,
That’s funny. I often say “We’re all 7 years old.” I’m right with you on the diversity of levels. Did you know I’m a first grade teacher? Yep.
We’re all teachers. The problem is that we don’t always know what it is that folks are taking away from what we’re trying to teach. 🙂