3 Tips Tech Leaders Can Use to Increase Their Strategic Influence Through Storytelling
A common theme I hear when I talk with tech leaders is their desire to have more strategic influence. Whether that influence is with C-level leaders, a peer group, their teams, or with customers, many technologists feel ill-equipped to convey their ideas and communicate in a way that inspires others. Many have a strong knowledge base and are great problem solvers, but struggle to communicate their ideas in a way that leads to change. So as a leadership coach, what do I recommend? Storytelling.
Studies on the brain have given us the science to back up the benefits of storytelling. Scientists can measure and map brain activity which shows stories engage the brain in a way that creates a physical and emotional response. This, in turn, causes our brains to release chemicals that stimulate feelings of reward and connection.
Because of this, leveraging storytelling can transform ideas into inspiration that leads to adoption and change. Here are 3 tips to help you weave story-telling techniques (i.e. strategic influence) into your ideas and communication.
1. Make the Audience the Hero
Very few (if any) people want to adopt a new technology just for technology’s sake. Place your audience at the center of the action and help them feel your idea is addressing them personally. It may be tempting to show how smart you are (even if you are the most knowledgeable), but good storytelling is not about you. It’s about helping your audience see why the idea matters to them.
2. Ensure Your Story Articulates a Big Idea
The big idea is the one key takeaway that compels your audience to action. In screenwriting, it is called the “controlling idea” and in writing, it is known as the “thesis statement.” To be most effective, your big idea is best when it articulates a unique point of view, when it conveys what is at stake, and when it is a complete sentence with a noun and a verb. When done well, it is easy for your audience to see the contrast between “what is” and “what could be” if the big idea is acted upon.
3. Create a STAR Moment
Nancy Duarte in her book, Resonate, coined this term, “Something They’ll Always Remember” (STAR). The STAR moment should magnify the big idea and be memorable enough to keep your audience talking about it. Types of a STAR moments could be a memorable sound bite, a compelling visual, a great anecdote, or a jarring statistic. Steve Jobs was a pro at this. One of his biggest STAR moments was pulling the MacBook Air out of an inter-office envelope in 2008.
People are inspired through storytelling because it helps them make an emotional connection to an idea, helps them see why it matters, and understand how it will make a difference. Equipping yourself with storytelling skills will increase your strategic influence as a tech leader, so give these tips a try.
To learn more about how I can help, let’s have a conversation: https://go.oncehub.com/ShylaAllard.