To be a great storyteller, you have to have stories to tell. The more stories you have at your disposal, the easier it is to match the right story to the right situation for the right audience.
Continue reading “To Be a Great Storyteller, Start by Being a Story Collector”Tell Oscar-Worthy Stories
During the Academy Awards ceremony, I noticed a common theme from the presenters and winners, which was the importance of telling a good story. No matter what kind of movie, the best movies have the best stories. The best actors typically come from the best movies.
Continue reading “Tell Oscar-Worthy Stories”Lessons From a Master Storyteller
I had the pleasure of hearing E. Gordon Gee speak at a dinner several years ago when I taught in the Integrated Marketing Communications program at West Virginia University. I was so impressed with his ability to connect with the audience that I wrote an article about it back then and included his story in my book, “Prescribing Leadership in Healthcare.” He uses a lot of self-deprecating humor in his stories because it leads to high viral probability when posted on social media.
Here is the video from the event. Even if you only watch part the video, you will learn something about incorporating storytelling into your daily leadership practice.
Continue reading “Lessons From a Master Storyteller”Storytelling With My Family
As we prepare for the launch of our Storytelling for Leaders Master Class, I’ve reflected on my life as a story gatherer and storyteller. I’ve loved writing and telling stories since I was young. Family interactions can be some of the most impactful stories to tell.
I heard stories from my great-grandparents as they told us about growing up on farms in Louisiana. I vividly remember my great-grandmother telling us about how they would get a chicken from the farm for dinner.
Continue reading “Storytelling With My Family”Empower Your Storytelling With the ‘Right Stuff’
Leaders need to be good storytellers, but if their storytelling doesn’t have the ‘Right Stuff,’ it may not be as effective.
Watch the video to learn about delivering the:
- Right Story, to the
- Right Audience, at the
- Right Time, with the
- Right Message
“Free Your Mind,” Matrix Style With Great Stories
As we learned in “The Matrix”, perception is not always reality. That is also true to when it comes to leadership. Leaders are only as good as their people perceive them to be.
In our Professional Leadership Training programs, we address the perception versus reality dichotomy with a peer assessment. Participants are usually surprised to see that what they considered to be their leadership attributes were not what their peers thought, both positively and negatively.
Continue reading ““Free Your Mind,” Matrix Style With Great Stories”Tales From the Leadership Front – Origin Stories
At the end of each chapter in my book Prescribing Leadership in Healthcare, I tell a personal “Tales from the Leadership Front” story to summarize the chapter content with insights from the leaders I’ve met.
In my travels I get to meet some great leaders and am thrilled when we discuss their leadership journey. I especially enjoy hearing their leadership origin story or what in their life made them into the leader they are today. A leader must be aware of their origin story to understand who they are as a leader and why they are leading. As Simon Sinek says, ‘knowing the why’ is critical to their success.
Continue reading “Tales From the Leadership Front – Origin Stories”