The Craft of Engagement

I was living in Cambridge in the early 2000's and had just finished my cricket contract with no intention to go back - that part of my life was over. As a fully qualified clinical Naturopath I had little job opportunity and with no idea where or what I would be doing from month to month so I never intended to invest in starting up my own practice as I had done in Aldgate back home in the Adelaide Hills.

I had six months left on my visa so the mission was clear - I had to find work that would sponsor me with a UK visa. In the meantime I was labouring on a building site for cash to pay the rent. With little to no network or resources I invested a few pennies into printing a bunch of copies of my CV and got my hands on a few trade magazines in traditional and allied health.

My research led me to hit the events - expos, festivals and any other gatherings where potential employees may be. I went to workshops, conferences, public talks... with nothing but hope. On reflection I had no idea what I was doing but my then youthful energy and a positive attitude paid off. Before I knew it I was being offered a job as the Education Director of a company importing and distributing natural health products across the UK. I would help to boost sales via education and training. The owners also owned a Natural Therapies college in London which I did talks and lectures at occasionally. As a part of my role I would go to health food stores and events to speak about our products and the naturopathic benefits they had.

With zero public speaking experience I was thrust up onto stages. Some with an audience of ten or twenty. Some in the hundreds. My naivety saved me from myself as I simply jumped up there with excitement and had a crack (unlike the overthinking and layers of anxiety I feel these days in such environments). Yet, this same naivety undermined my ability to engage the audience as well as I can now. I was lacking craft to match my enthusiasm. My natural energy and passionate demeanour certainly helped but my communication when presenting lacked a key ingredient I now know to be essential - the ability to communicate through the art of stories.

In the hustle and bustle of modern business we can find ourselves rushing through a bunch of facts and opinions in a hope to impress or generate favourable decisions - especially with people in power (including our clients and external stakeholders). We fall into the same traps youthful Paul did as we become overly reliant on natural talents or a combination of over-preparation and streams of data depending on your personality and wheelhouse. Generally, this can make for drab grey opaque meetings we tend to suffer through all too often. Stories have a way to engage our brain like no other and hit a part of our consciousness for resonance unachievable with any other communication vehicle. The social worker and short story author Melanie Tem says it well,  "Stories show us how to bear the unbearable, approach the unapproachable, conceive the inconceivable. Stories provide meaning, texture, layers and layers of truth."

Stories can do a great deal of heavy lifting for us. A lot of complexity, nuance and life can be packed into a story. The human brain simply cannot resist following the plot line. We can make it a communication superpower if we can reframe how to use them and any pre-conceived ideas we have of what good storytelling looks like in our meetings. The feeling of putting on a storytelling hat in such situations can feel indulgent or superfluous. And, in the years I have been teaching storytelling for executives and sales professionals some common themes have emerged which stop us from ever bringing this tool of influence into our way of working:

I don't have time!

It is my deep belief we can communicate a lot more in a short time than we think we can. It is similar to an inbound pass in basketball. A player has five seconds to throw the ball back into play. This can feel like a short time and some players rush themselves and make poor decisions under the time stress. But, the reality is: five seconds is a long time. Those that understand this allow team mates to make runs and create space for a good quality pass. Conversations are the same. We can speak slowly and powerfully in ten or fifteen seconds to land a point of view. If we have something to say which is relevant, helpful or valuable in anyway then people will always make time (when packaged well). Storytelling doesn't take more time, it creates it.

I don't have any stories!

Yes you do. Your life is full of them. We are not putting together a Lord of the Rings trilogy here (ie. there is no need to tell spell bounding intricate stories). We are taking small relevant situations in our lives and sharing them to illustrate a clear and well defined point. Spend a moment and curate your own day-to-day observations and you'll find hundreds of stories. From the funny little interaction on the train this morning, to the thing that happened when you met with a client last week, to the time when your mother taught you how to tie up your shoelaces. These experiences can be weaved into our communication to articulate our perspectives like no other. They are all around us so start gathering them up.

I don't know how to!     

Being able to tell a story and tell a joke - these are the two things that have petrified me throughout most of my life (along with heights and horror movies). I have jumped off bridges, abseiled down building, and had cricket balls hurled at me at 140kmph. But, getting through a story (and being listened to) has been tough for me. I still can't tell a joke, but learning how to tell stories has opened a whole world of opportunity and fun. I have invested in books, workshops, and learning experiences to hone this craft. I watch TV shows, movies and sporting contests through a storytelling lens. I write and practice as much as I can. I answer questions in interviews and coaching sessions in stories. I think in stories often. We have brilliant storytelling experts locally and globally to learn from and in this modern age there are many options to learn. It is a topic with much depth and nuance, yet I find simple to be beautiful. Digging into simple structures is my approach in programs I run and tends to be relevant to the common interactions we have in our modern workplaces.

Having all the facts and figures is important. Doing the research and being prepared is critical. But, rushing through a bunch of bullet points rarely cuts through when the stakes are high. Adding or weaving in stories can take a well researched business case and elevate it into a compelling argument. One which is difficult to ignore and can influence audiences more than we can imagine.