Story telling in business
A recently published interview on Simply-Communicate.com with Howard Krais, Head of Communications at Ernst & Young Global Services, has attracted some lengthy comments from two people not entirely convinced at what they’re being told. (You have to register with Simply-Communicate to read the full article now.)
The basic premise of the piece is that Krais introduced story-telling to enable more effective communication of the role the IT, Procurement, Shared Services and other Global Services teams were fulfiling to make the vision of Ernst & Young work.
Case histories of the difference individuals were making to the achievement of the company vision were told from the individual’s perspective with the aim of creating more traction with audiences. They followed the format of ‘someone…wanted to…but/and…so they…and as a result’, in contrast to the usual who, what, when, where and why format a lot of [corporate] writing follows.
People commenting on the article thought suggesting this was transformative stuff was an over claim, particularly as the approach took 18 months to deliver and that stories were communicated via a PDF monthly ‘digest’. They said this is nothing compared to the story telling that can take place with other media, in particular video. We’re a little inclined to agree.
The term ‘story-telling’ in business has been floating around for a while now and but how often is the enticing promise of a good story truly fulfilled? And how different really is story-telling in contrast to just simply persuasive writing – and speaking – which we discussed in our blog last week?
Take a look at the following article for some useful detail about the different kinds of stories that can be told to enhance leadership.
But even this makes us feel story-telling in business is a bit of a myth. Isn’t it just another term for what skilled communicators have always done, engaged people through relevant and motivating examples?
One of the people who commented on the Simply-Communicate article posted a video of someone else talking about story-telling within organisations. We’re afraid the delivery of the message isn’t very engaging at all. But the main speaker does use one word that stands out for us:
Authentic communication does come from people relating their personal experiences and so whilst Krais at Ernst & Young might have over-egged their story-telling approach a tad, he’s entirely right about the importance of individuals sharing their experiences to engender belief.