There are some absolute basics you should get under your belt to make the most of business storytelling. This presentation sets the groundwork for business storytelling success.

1. e Essentials of
Business Storytelling
by Shawn Callahan

2. is is Pierre
(or at least what I imagined he
looked like).
He’s the CFO of the
world’s largest
insurance company.
In 2005 I found
myself on the
phone with Pierre
teaching him the
art of business
storytelling.

3. e first phone call
was painful. No matter
how hard I tried
Pierre just wouldn’t
tell me a story.
He was so used to
giving his opinion and
that was all he gave
me.

4. en in the informal
chat at the end of our
conversation he told
me the story of his son
taking him to lunch to
announce he was
getting married.
With some excitement
I said, “at’s a story
Pierre.” He was
surprised it was so
simple.

5. In our second
phone call he told
me story aer
story.
12 months later we
heard that he
opened his address
to staff with a story
and everyone was
talking about it.

6. Most people
don’t think
they are
storytellers

7. Pierre didn’t

8. ey’d be wrong

9. 65% of the time we are
speaking informally,
we’re talking about who
do did what to whom.*
i.e. storytelling
* Dunbar, R. (1996). Grooming, Gossip, and the Evolution of
Language. Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University
Press.

10. It’s useful to view storytelling as a spectrum

11. Business people
should start where
they are most
comfortable, at the
small ‘s’ end of
storytelling. ey can
then inch their way
along the storytelling
spectrum.
But don’t go too far.

12. Beware: No one wants to stumble into the
uncanny valley of business storytelling
Poor
busine
ss
For more on the uncanny valley of business storytelling
http://www.anecdote.com.au/archives/2011/01/
the_uncanny_val.html

13. Beware: No one wants to stumble into the
uncanny valley of business storytelling
ard
o H
To
r y
’t T
on
e. D
i.
Poor
busine
ss
For more on the uncanny valley of business storytelling
http://www.anecdote.com.au/archives/2011/01/
the_uncanny_val.html

14. e first, and
perhaps most
important,
storytelling skill is
the ability to
spot a story

15. Because ... you can’t get
the benefits of telling
stories unless you
actually telling stories

16. Pop Quiz: Which one is a story?
When one is vested with the role of a leader, Herb Kelleher [the longest-serving CEO of
he inherits more freedom. e power of Southwest] once told someone, “I can teach you
leadership endows him with rights to a the secret to running this airline in thirty
greater range of self-determination of his seconds. is is it: We are THE low-cost airline.
own destiny. It is he who may determine the Once you understand that fact, you can make any
what or the how and the when and the where decision about this company`s future as well as I
of important events. Yes, as with all rights, can.
there is a commensurate, balancing group of “Here`s an example,” he said. “Tracy from
responsibilities that impose upon his marketing comes into your office. She says her
freedom. e leader cannot avoid the act of surveys indicate that the passengers might enjoy
determining the what or the who or the a light entree on the Houston to Las Vegas flight.
where. He cannot avoid being prepared to All we offer is peanuts, and she thinks a nice
make those determinations. He cannot avoid chicken Caesar salad would be popular. What do
being prepared to make these terminations. you say?”
He cannot avoid seeing to their e person stammered for a moment, so Kelleher
implementation. He cannot avoid living with responded: “You say, `Tracy, will adding that
the consequences of his decisions on others chicken Caesar salad make us THE low-fare
and the demands these consequences impose airline from Houston to Las Vegas? Because if it
on him. Only time will prove the merit of his doesn’t help us become the unchallenged low-fare
stewardship. airline, we`re not serving any damn chicken
salad.`”

17. Pop Quiz: Which one is a story?
When one is vested with the role of a leader, Herb Kelleher [the longest-serving CEO of
he inherits more freedom. e power of Southwest] once told someone, “I can teach you
leadership endows him with rights to a the secret to running this airline in thirty
✓
greater range of self-determination of his seconds. is is it: We are THE low-cost airline.
own destiny. It is he who may determine the Once you understand that fact, you can make any
✗
what or the how and the when and the where decision about this company`s future as well as I
of important events. Yes, as with all rights, can.
there is a commensurate, balancing group of “Here`s an example,” he said. “Tracy from
responsibilities that impose upon his marketing comes into your office. She says her
freedom. e leader cannot avoid the act of surveys indicate that the passengers might enjoy
determining the what or the who or the a light entree on the Houston to Las Vegas flight.
where. He cannot avoid being prepared to All we offer is peanuts, and she thinks a nice
make those determinations. He cannot avoid chicken Caesar salad would be popular. What do
being prepared to make these terminations. you say?”
He cannot avoid seeing to their e person stammered for a moment, so Kelleher
implementation. He cannot avoid living with responded: “You say, `Tracy, will adding that
the consequences of his decisions on others chicken Caesar salad make us THE low-fare
and the demands these consequences impose airline from Houston to Las Vegas? Because if it
on him. Only time will prove the merit of his doesn’t help us become the unchallenged low-fare
stewardship. airline, we`re not serving any damn chicken
salad.`”

18. Four things to look for
to spot a story

19. Time Marker

20. Time Markers
When one is vested with the role of a leader, Herb Kelleher [the longest-serving CEO of
he inherits more freedom. e power of Southwest] once told someone, “I can teach you
leadership endows him with rights to a the secret to running this airline in thirty
greater range of self-determination of his seconds. is is it: We are THE low-cost airline.
own destiny. It is he who may determine the Once you understand that fact, you can make any
what or the how and the when and the where decision about this company`s future as well as I
of important events. Yes, as with all rights, can.
there is a commensurate, balancing group of “Here`s an example,” he said. “Tracy from
responsibilities that impose upon his marketing comes into your office. She says her
freedom. e leader cannot avoid the act of surveys indicate that the passengers might enjoy
determining the what or the who or the a light entree on the Houston to Las Vegas flight.
where. He cannot avoid being prepared to All we offer is peanuts, and she thinks a nice
make those determinations. He cannot avoid chicken Caesar salad would be popular. What do
being prepared to make these terminations. you say?”
He cannot avoid seeing to their e person stammered for a moment, so Kelleher
implementation. He cannot avoid living with responded: “You say, `Tracy, will adding that
the consequences of his decisions on others chicken Caesar salad make us THE low-fare
and the demands these consequences impose airline from Houston to Las Vegas? Because if it
on him. Only time will prove the merit of his doesn’t help us become the unchallenged low-fare
stewardship. airline, we`re not serving any damn chicken
salad.`”

21. Events

22. Events
When one is vested with the role of a leader, Herb Kelleher [the longest-serving CEO of
he inherits more freedom. e power of Southwest] once (1) told someone, “I can teach
leadership endows him with rights to a you the secret to running this airline in thirty
greater range of self-determination of his seconds. is is it: We are THE low-cost airline.
own destiny. It is he who may determine the Once you understand that fact, you can make any
what or the how and the when and the where decision about this company`s future as well as I
of important events. Yes, as with all rights, can.
there is a commensurate, balancing group of (2) “Here`s an example,” he said. “Tracy from
responsibilities that impose upon his marketing comes into your office. She says her
freedom. e leader cannot avoid the act of surveys indicate that the passengers might enjoy
determining the what or the who or the a light entree on the Houston to Las Vegas flight.
where. He cannot avoid being prepared to All we offer is peanuts, and she thinks a nice
make those determinations. He cannot avoid chicken Caesar salad would be popular. What do
being prepared to make these terminations. you say?”
He cannot avoid seeing to their e person stammered for a moment, so Kelleher
implementation. He cannot avoid living with responded: “You say, `Tracy, will adding that
the consequences of his decisions on others chicken Caesar salad make us THE low-fare
and the demands these consequences impose airline from Houston to Las Vegas? Because if it
on him. Only time will prove the merit of his doesn’t help us become the unchallenged low-fare
stewardship. airline, we`re not serving any damn chicken
salad.`”

23. People

24. People
When one is vested with the role of a leader, Herb Kelleher [the longest-serving CEO of
he inherits more freedom. e power of Southwest] once told someone, “I can teach you
leadership endows him with rights to a the secret to running this airline in thirty
greater range of self-determination of his seconds. is is it: We are THE low-cost airline.
own destiny. It is he who may determine the Once you understand that fact, you can make any
what or the how and the when and the where decision about this company`s future as well as I
of important events. Yes, as with all rights, can.
there is a commensurate, balancing group of “Here`s an example,” he said. “Tracy from
responsibilities that impose upon his marketing comes into your office. She says her
freedom. e leader cannot avoid the act of surveys indicate that the passengers might enjoy
determining the what or the who or the a light entree on the Houston to Las Vegas flight.
where. He cannot avoid being prepared to All we offer is peanuts, and she thinks a nice
make those determinations. He cannot avoid chicken Caesar salad would be popular. What do
being prepared to make these terminations. you say?”
He cannot avoid seeing to their e person stammered for a moment, so Kelleher
implementation. He cannot avoid living with responded: “You say, `Tracy, will adding that
the consequences of his decisions on others chicken Caesar salad make us THE low-fare
and the demands these consequences impose airline from Houston to Las Vegas? Because if it
on him. Only time will prove the merit of his doesn’t help us become the unchallenged low-fare
stewardship. airline, we`re not serving any damn chicken
salad.`”

25. You can see it happening

26. Seeing it happening
When one is vested with the role of a leader, Herb Kelleher [the longest-serving CEO of
he inherits more freedom. e power of Southwest] once told someone, “I can teach you
leadership endows him with rights to a the secret to running this airline in thirty
greater range of self-determination of his seconds. is is it: We are THE low-cost airline.
own destiny. It is he who may determine the Once you understand that fact, you can make any
what or the how and the when and the where decision about this company`s future as well as I
of important events. Yes, as with all rights, can.
there is a commensurate, balancing group of “Here`s an example,” he said. “Tracy from
responsibilities that impose upon his marketing comes into your office. She says her
freedom. e leader cannot avoid the act of surveys indicate that the passengers might enjoy
determining the what or the who or the a light entree on the Houston to Las Vegas flight.
where. He cannot avoid being prepared to All we offer is peanuts, and she thinks a nice
make those determinations. He cannot avoid chicken Caesar salad would be popular. What do
being prepared to make these terminations. you say?”
He cannot avoid seeing to their e person stammered for a moment, so Kelleher
implementation. He cannot avoid living with responded: “You say, `Tracy, will adding that
the consequences of his decisions on others chicken Caesar salad make us THE low-fare
and the demands these consequences impose airline from Houston to Las Vegas? Because if it
on him. Only time will prove the merit of his doesn’t help us become the unchallenged low-fare
stewardship. airline, we`re not serving any damn chicken
salad.`”

27. We’ve built a web site to
help build your story
spotting skills

28. http://thestorytest.com

29. It’s difficult to
find a story when
you need it.
It’s better to build
your story bank
now for when
you need it later.

30. ere are lots of
types of stories to
tell that are
important for
business, such as:
Who am I stories
I’m like you stories
Strategic stories But the simplest
Learning stories advice for beginners is
to make a point, tell a
and more ...
story illustrating that
point, then give your
reasons, and then
reiterate your point.

31. If you would like to learn more, why not come
along to one of our one day public workshops.
http://www.anecdote.com/public-workshops