How executives gain a competitive advantage with storytelling
Executive training programs are one of the latest areas where corporate spending is being cut. Any savvy organization that wants to grow, even in a recession, will continue to invest in executive communication skills and presentation skills training.
So if you’re a C-level, designated as a ‘future leader’ or in senior management, you’re in luck. Chances are your organization’s training budget still has some courses in the curriculum.
But is the training offered really what you need?
Now, just a moment before we dive into the answer.
What if you’re a CEO but aren’t sure how you really rate your presentation? What if you know your slides are brilliant, but no one seems to ‘get’ what you’re saying?
What if you’re a sales manager and you already think you’re telling great stories, but your team isn’t hitting their sales numbers?
You should be worried. Very worried.
The answer to the question is that you need a persuasive story.
The main reason presentations fail is that executives don’t tell a compelling story. And here is the kicker. They are not aware that they do not have a good story. OH.
There has been a lot of press about the power of storytelling and how the CEO must be called a CSO (Chief Story Officer) if he wants to be effective.
But what if you’re not that good in front of a group? What if you don’t have the storytelling gene? What if you’re good at strategy but the interactive storytelling sounds like a foreign language?
The executives who tell the best stories often see a spectacular increase in business. It seems that stories can break barriers, engage employees, and win customers.
With the right story, you can get other people to tell and retell the story for you. This brings a dramatic increase in appeal, excitement, and press for your organization.
I recently trained a senior executive in interactive storytelling and crafting key messages on a flipchart or whiteboard. He calls these strategic conversations with employees fireside chats.
While the rest of his senior leadership team continues to go crazy developing slides, he connects visually with his entire staff. By transforming routine presentations into lively discussions, employees instantly understand the strategic picture. It is simple and direct.
Strangely, many organizations put off basic training in presentation storytelling skills. Instead, they focus on specific specialized training in management skills, business strategy, and targeted content development.
These training areas are vital to general business knowledge, but still miss the mark. If you don’t know how to engage audiences, tell compelling stories, persuade with images, and inspire people to action, all the rest of your training will be wasted.
In an increasingly complex business world, seek training to help you simplify complex information. Look for training that will help you stand out from your competition. Very few companies focus on how to use visual engagement and whiteboard conversations to tell persuasive stories. By developing your skills in storytelling and interactive selling with storytelling, you can gain a lot of ground over your competitors.
And here’s the good news: these are ‘learnable’ skills. Even if you think you’re ‘not charismatic’ or ‘couldn’t draw a straight line to save your life’. (Yes, many executives share these beliefs.) Even then. You can learn to be powerful, persuasive, and inclusive in your presentation.
Mastering exceptional visual storytelling skills gives you a clear competitive advantage. Learn executive storytelling skills at home, at home, in the office, online, or on the go.
