Business Storytelling For Dummies

Learn to: Translate data, facts, and figures into rich, captivating messages Harness the power of good storytelling to influence and motivate employees Effectively convey messages to buyers and funders Connect with your audience and drive your business to new heights Use storytelling to influence people and move them to action Need to get your point across? Get staff on board with change? Foster collaboration? Increase sales? Strengthen employee engagement? Build customer loyalty? Drive innovation and creativity? Capture best practices? Align people around a goal? Grow your business? Business Storytelling For Dummies empowers you to do this — and more. Learn how to harness the power of a good story to influence prospects, customers, colleagues, team members, sponsors, and funders. Use stories to tap into their imaginations and translate sterile facts and stagnant case studies into exciting concepts they can identify with. Get started with business storytelling — discover why organizations across a variety of industries have embraced storytelling, why it works, and what it can do for you Create compelling stories — use tried-and-true methods for crafting compelling stories that engage listeners and quickly shift people into action Share your story — get the practical ins-and-outs of story sharing, best practices for telling stories, different media to use, and how to keep stories fresh and alive Bring story into your work — dig into the nuts and bolts of the most popular and requested applications of stories in business, complete with how-to steps, templates, and examples Open the book and find: The why, what, how, and who of business storytelling What makes a good story How to craft the core of a story When to embellish a story to give it impact Tips for being a good listener Ways to sell with stories How to create storied marketing materials Storytelling tips for speakers Ten ways to measure the results of a story initiative

Introduction 1 Part I: Getting Started with Business Storytelling 7 Chapter 1: The Scoop on Business Storytelling 9 Chapter 2: The Why, What, How, and Who of Business Storytelling 19 Chapter 3: What Makes a Story a Story 29 Chapter 4: Stories to Have in Your Hip Pocket 51 Chapter 5: Listening: Hearing What Others Have to Say and Capturing It 77 Part II: Moving People to Action: Creating Compelling Stories 97 Chapter 6: Crafting a Story 99 Chapter 7: Polishing a Story: Structure and Embellishments 119 Chapter 8: What to Do About Data 141 Chapter 9: Expanding and Contracting Your Story 159 Part III: Sharing Stories for Maximum Value 177 Chapter 10: Getting Comfortable Telling Stories 179 Chapter 11: Chapter 11: Moving Stories into Multiple Media 197 Chapter 12: Incorporate Story in Your Organization 213 Part IV: Tailoring Storytelling to Special Circumstances 233 Chapter 13: Storytelling to Fund Your Passion 235 Chapter 14: Storytelling in Marketing 255 Chapter 15: Selling With Stories 275 Chapter 16: Using Stories to Spark Change 295 Part V: The Part of Tens 315 Chapter 17: Ten Things You Should Never, Ever Do 317 Chapter 18: Ten Storytelling Tips for Speakers 323 Chapter 19: Ten (or so) Ways to Measure the Results of a Story Project 331 Appendix: Real–Life Stories and a Template 335 Index 355

Karen Dietz , PhD, is a 25–year veteran in business storytelling consulting, training, and leadership, and organizational development. Lori L. Silverman offers business storytelling training, keynotes, and consulting. For 26 years, she′s advised enterprises on strategic planning and organizational change.