It's the way you tell it that counts!
By Peter Foy
Facts tell but stories sell. I first heard this maxim over 30 years ago on a presentation skills course and it is an absolute truth. Whether you are trying to sell an idea or a product or attempting to teach something, wrap it up in a story and you’ll win the day. Whether it’s Aesop with his fables, or Jesus with his parables the world’s greatest teachers know the power of storytelling.
| Most businesses need their workers to communicate freely and effectively. |
Well it turns out that stories aren’t just good sales and teaching tools, they can actually help productivity.
As we begin to return to our traditional workplaces there has been some concern that the new COVID secure environments could lead to a lack of productivity. People used to face each other across the desk; now, they face a screen or a wall. 3 months of Zoom has changed how some people interact with their peers. Most businesses need their workers to communicate freely and effectively. The lockdown and the enforced changes to the working environment have made that harder.
According to Esther Choy the answer could be to tell stories. She claims that when employees spend 15 minutes, at the end of each day, telling stories about their day they will begin to perform better. Writing in a recent edition of Forbes magazine, Ms Choy asserts that when done daily for just ten days this simple exercise can increase productivity by 23%.
Instinctively, that sounds right. I like the idea of learning through sharing stories; encapsulating the high points, or low points, of a day through the narration of one key telephone conversation. Traditionally stories have been used to propagate important lessons or warnings. In a special way they are able to articulate the truth of a situation in a non-threatening way.
As we become familiar with the new truth, the new normality that is the consequence of COVID, it makes sense that stories help us make sense of it.
Published: 5 August 2020
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