Once upon a time, young manager Paul Smith worked diligently to prepare a slide presentation for the CEO of Procter & Gamble, A. G. Lafley. To Smithâs dismay, Lafley sat with his back to the screen and didnât glance at the slides, choosing instead to focus solely on Smith. This taught Smith a valuable lesson: A fact-based pitch never works as well as a story. In this helpful manual, Smith offers more than 100 stories readers can use in a variety of business situations. He teaches the basics of storytelling, including examples and exercises. Smithâs easy and absorbing manner draws you into each tale. getAbstract recommends that managers, salespeople and presenters read this charming compilation, from its useful instructions all the way to its happily ever after.
Story Time
One day Jim, a young research and development employee at Procter & Gamble (P&G), decided to change his dull, data-filled monthly memo. He composed a story about Earnest Engineer to present his statistics. The memo was a big hit. Jimâs subsequent memos included such characters as Max Profit, Sella Case and Ed Zecutive. The stories attracted a loyal following throughout the company. Storytelling boosts any communication, even a statisticianâs report.
Stories are the best way to engage people because they are âsimpleâ and âtimeless.â Stories reach all demographics and âall types of learners,â and are âcontagious,â easy to recall and inspiring. They fit workplace learning, âput the listener in a mental learning modeâ and âshow respect for the audience.â
Basic Story Components
The basic components of a story, expressed by the mnemonic CAR, are âContext, Action, Result.â The context is the storyâs environment and plot. Context explains:
- âBackgroundâ â What is the storyâs setting, location and time frame?
- âSubjectâ â Who is the primary person in the plot?
- âTreasureâ
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