How Storytelling Improves Team Building Storytelling Video explicative
When I first finished college, I used to be hired full-time with a children's home. I had been working there part-time as a relief childcare worker. With my degree I used to be promoted to a management position, Assistant Superintendent, over my former co-workers. I saw my situation as advocate for your childcare workers. Unfortunately my boss, Larry, had a different vision of my role. He insisted I represent management's position for the childcare workers. Videotelling Video telling
Experiencing this new position in middle management I had been given disciplinary counseling 3 x during my first couple of months. The truly interesting thing about this is that I wasn't aware I used to be being "counseled." Larry would call me as part of his office, emerge from behind his desk, sit when camping and tell a really funny story about something he'd done while he was the Assistant Superintendent. However describe in detail how he smudged and the problems it caused. Larry would end his story by asking me things i thought he should have done differently. These stories Larry told always bore a striking resemblance to something I had just done. But he never came across as accusatory or "bossy."
Therein lies the effectiveness of stories. Karin Evans and Dennis Metzger wrote a white paper for the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD), entitled Leadership Through Story Telling. We have found a quick excerpt:
"Storytelling is surely an interesting, proven, and cheap means of communicating memorable messages. People like to hear stories, plus they tend to repeat them. Running a business along with other settings, storytelling works as a useful way to
Capture people's attention Send a message individuals will remember
Establish rapport Build credibility Bring a team closer together."
Let's look at each one of the benefits individually to clearly understand the value stories can enjoy in team development.
1. Capture attention - Everybody loves a great story. I have given countless public presentations. Almost without fail when I change from lecture mode to storytelling, there exists a dramatic alteration of the crowd. The ambient noise drops, eye contact increases, multitasking ceases and that i sense I've their full attention. As a side benefit, any anxiety I might be experiencing falls away.
2. Individuals will remember - Without looking back to the first paragraph informed, can you remember my boss' name. What about title of my new job? The thing that was the real difference between the way i saw my job and just what my boss thought? How often was I given disciplinary counseling? What about a handful of these answers come readily in mind. Easily had just provided this info in prose format, would you have remembered some of it? Stories have the power of transmitting information in a fashion that can make it memorable. Using stories to mention data points is very effective. Placing data in the context of a story dramatically increases your audience's retention from the material.
3. Establish rapport - A couple of years ago I had been in a motorcycle accident and received serious injuries. While you're reading the prior sentence, what were you thinking? I suspect you were thinking about someone you know who was injured inside a vehicular accident. Once we hear an account with emotional content, our mind goes through an activity I call Emotional Leveling. The human brain will search through every one of the experiences of the past and look for one of the most similar one to that which you just heard. We unconsciously try this to provide what you're listening to emotional context. In team development sharing your personal experiences with teammates builds rapport together.
4. Build credibility - Once i am teaching a presenting and public speaking class, I tell many stories about my experiences. As the class participants learn about all the kinds of public speaking I have done, linked with emotions . believe I might have some understanding about the subject. I do this intentionally... to not brag or exaggerate my accomplishments, but to set the participants comfortable. Should i be seen as a professional dedicated to presenting and public speaking, it makes it much more likely they will listen to my coaching. Their increased willingness to accept my teaching leads these phones better results in
the class. Inside a sales presentation you speak about your exposure to similar clients. Inside a management position, when discussing change, you share your insights gained from the same situation in the past.
5. Bring an organization closer - I conduct approximately 75 two-day workshops annually. Over the above days the participants share stories about themselves. At the conclusion of the class, often there is a swapping of commercial cards. A couple of years ago I was teaching a category in Washington, D.C.. I noticed on the class roster I had someone from your Sierra Club and another from your EPA. You never usually see those two groups sharing warm fuzzies collectively. Some EPA folks think about the Sierra Club like a bunch of "tree huggers." And some Sierra Club members consider the EPA being a tool of massive business. After the class both of these individuals were using the rear of the area quietly talking. I was packing up capable to leave, therefore i walked back and asked if either had any queries. They informed me they was brainstorming methods to open up a back channel of communication to dial along the rhetoric between the two organizations. Those who enrolled in the course didn't know the other person at the outset of the class, but after hearing one another's stories they wished to continue the relationship.