Storytelling is a skill.  It’s critical for brands, leaders, managers, even politicians, in order to share a vision, build empathy and trust, gain following and bring people together.  Just take a look at how the government and its special advisers have sought to explain their strategy through ‘flattening the curve’ to stop the virus overloading our health system.

On March 11th, we held another Storytelling Workshop to share insights on why storytelling is so important, what makes a great story, and how we can all unleash the inner storyteller in us.

Laurie Castelli, a photographer, psychologist and brand strategist, began proceeding, delving deep into the psychology of storytelling.  One of his main points is that we are wired to make stories.

When we see a picture, when we hear a noise, when we find an object, we are starting to build a story around it.  A cloud formation, even a picture of a mop, we see emotions and stories out of even the most inanimate objects!

So what does Laurie see as the elements of a purposeful story?

• ‘In the past…’ – what was happening? why does it need to change?
• ‘Then something happened…’ – a triggering event; sometimes a mistake; sometimes simply an event.
• ‘So now…’ – we have had obstacles to overcome and learned something new.
• ‘In the future…’ – the vision part: what we want to happen.

We went on to do an exercise on telling your leadership or functional story in a one-minute speedy stories session (a bit like speed dating but without the clammy nervousness!), as well as exploring how organisations can use storytelling in all aspects of the employee experience, including:

• Leaders role modelling
• Managers sharing with teams
• Team meetings
• Performance development
• Employee groups
• Recruitment
• Onboarding

Get in touch to find out how we can help make storytelling a key part of your culture, from leadership to onboarding!