In this last of our 3-part series on stories, let’s go ‘live.’ Effective business stories should be memorable and repeatable. How else to know than to test them out loud and with an audience?

Stand and deliver to an audience in person or craft your stories for online platforms. Know that practice lends consistency to your message and connection to your audience.

To be right and ready, stories should be told. Practice builds your confidence.

You’ve got two practice modes:

1. Private

Read your notes out loud. Get feedback if you can from a reliable listener.

Even when you read your notes loud alone, you will detect the long sentences or the words that need a fix to keep momentum and interest going on the page or in person.

Stand up. Breathe. Slow down. Practice telling and you’ll reduce any awkward feelings when you present.

2. Public practice

The best way, even the only way to build your confidence is to tell, tell and refine your stories.

Get what I call ‘air time’ or speaking opportunities to test your message and improve your delivery.

Cumulative practice lets you customize on the spot and be spontaneous to your listeners with confidence while you present the consistent message of your brand.

Nervous? Know this:

A) Listeners are cheering for you to succeed. They hope to learn, laugh, improve or be assured – whatever your message and stories promise.
B) In this buzzed-up high-speed world, a listener is giving you their most precious and sought-after resource: their attention.

Be authentic and relevant and have confidence in knowing that story works in business and how well you match your message and purpose.

Your practice time helps present you well and positively in all areas including platforms that represent you 24/7 such as your website, sales letter, blog, social media posts and so on.

Your voice, and your story will come across and be consistent. Have confidence in that.

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B is for business and the basic set of stories that transform your personal story elements into ones relevant to your audience of clients, colleagues or community.

If you’ve built your story as suggested in “A is for Accept” then you’ll now have a collection of experiences, accomplishments and lessons to help you take the next step.

You can now intentionally create the perception that leads to a positive result. Select and craft the stories that you should have at the ready in your business storytelling tool kit!

While there’s a giant matrix of stories you can tell to sell, influence, educate or motivate your listeners/readers to action, let’s start with what many consider a gold standard. These are the six basic story types proposed by Annette Simmons, a noted authority on storytelling in business circumstances.

1. Who I am stories

Is there a time, place or event that provides evidence of the qualities that earn you the right to stand and influence at this moment? Allow others to know you in order to trust you.

2. Why I am here stories

If you are asking others to spend time, money and resources, they will assume your presentation is biased. Your message goes further if you share what it’s really all about for you. What do you care about? Oh, it is about the money, then own that.

3. Teaching stories

You’ve heard of ‘show, don’t tell?” Your story of a lesson learned and reward gained is more effective than advice told.

4. Vision stories

Infuse hope and motivation with stories to reframe today’s difficulties as ‘worth it’ to overcome barriers or frustrations

5. Values in action stories

Get real and specific because values are so personal to each individual. Share your values as a demonstration, as a behaviour in action.

6. I know what you are thinking stories

Overcome objections, and ensure the human desire for safety with a story that validates and then dispels concerns, in the mind of your listener, without being defensive.

Find your examples for 1-2-3 and see what happens when your ink flows!

Stay tuned for the next in this series: C is for communication – on the structure of a story and how to prepare to share it

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This is our first stop in the 3-part ABC starter to the use of “Story” in business

I’d like you to accept that stories work on all levels and that they help you ‘sell as you tell’. Whether the message you are working on getting across is about influence, personal persuasion, selling a physical product, your service or an idea-stories help.

You know from your own human experience that the attention we set aside for stories is embedded in our DNA. We learn about the world from early childhood and as we grow we find ourselves choosing from candidates to commercial brands, based on the story!

Stories have the power to keep our attention in a noisy world.

They help us simplify large or complex chunks of information. This means the listener can absorb more, differentiate among competitors and keep a mind calm enough to decide, if this is the goal.

Stories encourage recall.

In today’s marketplace – being memorable is pure gold.

Now the second and activating piece on the power of story:

Can you accept that your personal story is of value and that people will want to read or hear it?

I can report that for more than 25 years as a writer of marketing materials, every project began with a close examination of the strengths and secrets of an organization or a person. Ultimately it led to building a compelling and memorable story.

Your story helps people get to know, like or trust you.

The details help them identify with you and to remember you.

Build your own story.

Privately, write out as much detail as you can of your own story. Your values, how you chose your work, your passions and your ‘why’s in life and work. The result may yield surprise or affirmation.

To connect well with others in business or community it is good to know yourself and to trust that others want, in fact, need to hear your story.

Next time: B for business relevance and the types of stories you’ll want to have at the ready.

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