Stories for Work: The Essential Guide to Business Storytelling

′Stories for Work will give you everything you need to be more inspiring and effective in your business communications. A must read business book!′
Michael Ebeid, CEO & Managing Director, SBS

What would you rather do, sit through another dry presentation full of pie charts and spreadsheets, or listen to a good story well told?

What would have a greater impact on your staff, your clients and your customers, a spreadsheet or a memorable story?

From The Odyssey to The Bible, Aesop′s Fables to 1984, memorable and motivational information has always been passed down through generations in the form of stories. And, as world–class business storytelling expert Gabrielle Dolan vividly demonstrates in Stories for Work, stories can also give you the edge in business. She explains the science behind the awesome power of stories to persuade people and foster change, and she walks you, step–by–step, through the process of crafting your own business stories and strategically sharing them to achieve your business goals.

Packed with case studies drawn from Dolan′s extensive experience as a consultant to leading companies world–wide, Stories for Work helps you to:

understand why storytelling grabs attention and helps you get your message across master the four types of stories used in business settings infuse your stories with the personal to highlight your vision and values craft a selection of stories to tell at pivotal business moments.

Whether it′s for closing a deal, getting a promotion or leading an organisation through difficult change, Stories for Work is like a magic talisman that imbues you with the power to charm and motivate people and to realise your goals.

About the author ix

Acknowledgements xi

Introduction xiii

Part I: Shaping your stories 1

1 The science of storytelling 5

2 Four types of stories you need in business 15

3 How to find stories for work 23

4 How to construct and share your stories 33

Part II: Sharing your stories 43

5 Stories that work for presentations 47

6 Stories that work for change 55

7 Stories that work for sales 65

8 Stories that work for values and vision 75

9 Stories that work for your personal brand 85

10 Stories that work for coaching 97

11 Stories that work for job interviews 105

12 Stories that work for newsletters and blogs 115

Part III: Storytelling case studies 125

13 Australia Post case study 129

14 Bupa case study 139

15 Spark case study 151

Conclusion 163

Next steps 167

Index 169

Connect and share 175

GABRIELLE DOLAN is a global thought leader on authentic leadership and storytelling. She works with high–profile leaders from around the globe, helping them to become better leaders and communicators using the art of business storytelling. She is the best–selling author of Ignite: Real Leadership, Real Talk, Real Results and co–author of Hooked: How leaders connect engage and inspire with storytelling.