I SPOKE one time at a church, and I talked about a man who carried water from a well to their house in broken pots, and how the side of the road where the water had dripped produced a row of flowers after some time. I explained how even in our brokenness, we can do good work, and hopefully that work could help others find inspiration. A few months later, a nine-year-old girl came up to me and told me she still remembered that story. It was a minor point in my talk, but I was surprised she remembered.
Stories have that power—they carry grains of truth which can stay with you and if allowed to germinate and grow, they can help you have a different perspective of your environment.
In a world of competing ideas and fake news, stories can help filter out the noise and focus attention to what are essential. As leaders, you can use it to help you motivate people and inspire them to move toward a common goal. I remember a teacher who instead of directly asking people to help during the pandemic, he shared his story on social media and was surprised to receive help from anonymous donors who saw his need and responded even if they were not asked. Leaders can learn from this. They do not always have to direct and command their team. They can use stories to persuade people to do more and go beyond what they are normally willing to give.
Another story I came across recently was a thread in social media of a woman who described their experience of looking for an available hospital that would take in their sick father. They ended up waiting outside of an emergency room where their father lay on a stretcher, and there he died surrounded by others waiting to be treated. Stories have a way of putting a face to an issue and makes it more relatable because the issue just might hit close to home. It allows people to see lives more just than numbers, appreciate the effort and dedication more than occupation, and feel the heart more than the act. People understand an issue better when contextualized through the experiences of another person.
Similarly, as leaders, you can use your own struggles and hardships as an illustration of how your team members can also surpass their own difficulties. It takes a little bit of creativity to share your story in a way your team can relate to. You can also invite other people to encourage your team and help them gain a different perspective to issues you face as a team.
One reason why stories are powerful tools of teaching is the emotional connection made to the listener when these are used to illustrate a point. That is why testimonials are effective tools for persuading people to adopt a certain perspective because they are won over by something they can relate to. Your personal intent and authenticity can help people see beyond what you are saying and be moved to act. But like any other tool, testimonials can be used to spread disinformation and serve personal exigencies. People will know if you are being duplicitous. And when they do, stories lose their power to persuade. As a leader, your true self should show enough for your team to be inspired and moved to act.
When used properly, stories can also soften even the hardest hearts and the most stubborn of heads to see a point of view that would otherwise be lost in technical discussions. Your experience can become the springboard to make your point, especially when it resonates with people’s own experiences and reflects their own desires and aspirations. Stories become doubly powerful when drawn from personal experience and delivered by a trusted and charismatic person. While your difficulties help your team see beyond their limitations, your personal victories can help you boost your team’s morale and motivate them.
Stories can also be used to help elevate issues to people’s level of consciousness, which they would not have thought of if not for good storytelling. I especially like how TED Talks is formatted because the topics they showcase are not typical, and the speakers are assisted in how they organize their materials and even how to deliver them. This creates an environment where subject matter experts can talk about their expertise on a level that is practical and useful for everyday living.
It takes lots of practice to become a good storyteller, as in the TED Talks speakers, but it is not impossible. Stories can especially be helpful for when you need to coach someone on an issue which they see as a non-issue but affects their productivity and other team members. Instead of directly confronting the person, you can use stories and use characters in the story to represent people and ask questions on how those characters would react and later relate it to what is happening to the team.
To use your stories effectively, take time to reflect on your own experiences and the lessons you learned from them. Keeping a journal would help but a regular time to reflect and internalize lessons learned will help you pass on the wisdom to others. Your journal or internalizations will provide a rich resource for when you will need them later.
Be honest about your experience and be authentic—show how the story has changed you and its effect on how you view things and how the experience has shaped the way you do your work. Avoid glossing over achievements but focus on the how of your story so your team knows it is possible.
And lastly, know your audience. Your experience must resonate with the person you are talking to. By spending time getting to know your audience—whether a team member or the entire organization, you will understand better what is relevant to them. This will help you craft your story to achieve its maximum impact. Stories have a way of shaping information primarily because they speak to the heart more than the head. That is not to say it is illogical but rather, reason has found a way other than through the eyes and ears.
As the champion of multiple intelligences in educational theory Harvard professor Dr. Howard Gardner would say, “Stories constitute the single most powerful weapon in a leader’s arsenal.”
So, if you want to enjoin people to change, try using stories.
Image credits: bigthinkedge.com
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