1 / 24

Telling Our Stories: Powerful Ways to Communicate PACRAO 2010 MaryAnn Neely Julia Anne Pomerenk

Telling Our Stories: Powerful Ways to Communicate PACRAO 2010 MaryAnn Neely Julia Anne Pomerenk Rayanne Williams. The Strength of Stories. “Just” a story was more convincing than data; policy; or data and a story, in a study with MBA students.

errol
Download Presentation

Telling Our Stories: Powerful Ways to Communicate PACRAO 2010 MaryAnn Neely Julia Anne Pomerenk

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Telling Our Stories: Powerful Ways to Communicate PACRAO 2010 MaryAnn Neely Julia Anne Pomerenk Rayanne Williams

  2. The Strength of Stories “Just” a story was more convincing than data; policy; or data and a story, in a study with MBA students. Research shows that information is more quickly and accurately remembered when it’s first presented as a story.

  3. The Moral of The Story Is . . . Stories are the most dramatic sources • about what we should and should not value, • about how we should and should not behave.

  4. Stories Open Perspectives • What stories are we telling about ourselves? • What stories are others telling about us? • How can we influence those perspectives? • Aspirational Mission Statements • Our Daily Responses

  5. Stories Connect to Motivations 81% Desire to maintain good working reputation 76% Importance of work 66% Appreciation 15% Expectation of financial reward • The New Employment Deals, Strategic Rewards, Watson and Wyatt survey of 551 large employers, April 2000

  6. Stories Connect to Improvement • Ask an unscripted question. • Don’t complain. • Count something. • Write something. • Change. • Be graceful. 1-5 from Better: A Surgeon’s Notes on Performance by Atul Gawande

  7. Develop a Story-telling Culture • Tell me more about it . . . • Help me understand . . . • Listen well • Move from fertilizer to flowers • Be aware of the yellow zone • Step away from the wall

  8. Good News = Good Community “A connection between people naturally forms when their attitude is to seek the good news in the other one.” • Robert J. Spitzer (former President of Gonzaga University), in The Spirit of Leadership: Optimizing Creativity and Change in Organizations

  9. Show Appreciation by Telling Stories According to the Society for Human Resource Management, 79% of employees who resign state that “perception of not being appreciated” is a key reason to leave.”

  10. Express Enthusiasm and Gratitude “How fascinating!” Benjamin Zander “I can no other answer make, but thanks, thanks, and thanks.” William Shakespeare “Gratitude is the open door to abundance.” Yogi Bhajan

  11. Stories Renew Community “Good communication draws out of us an awareness of the meaning of working together.” Max DePree “The flow of information between people is the lifeblood of communities.” Levey

  12. Stories Build Resiliency “We all have experienced the commotion generated by poor communication, and know equally well that effective communication can build a communitythat withstands many of the problems in the workplace.” Carol Hacker

  13. Telling Stories by Heart • Hear and understand me. • Even if you disagree, don’t make me wrong. • Acknowledge the greatness within me. • Remember to look for my loving intention. • Tell me the truth with compassion. Hyler Bracey, Managing from the Heart

  14. Don’t Lie “ . . . that we may not deceitfully belie, betray, slander, or defame our neighbor, but defend him, speak well of him, and put the best construction on everything.” • Martin Luther, writing about the 8th Commandment: Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

  15. From Frankenstein to Friend Put characters into good light For monsters, we see monstrous motives and actions For friends, we see friendly motives and actions

  16. Stories as Compliments Direct Communicate directly to the person Specific Give precious information about the speaker’s personal experience of appreciation or admiration. Nonattributive Describe the speaker’s experience. Do not seek to define the other person’s qualities. (“I” statements instead of “You” statements.)

  17. Stories as Praise “We all do better at work if we regularly have the experience • that what we do matters, • that it is valuable, • and that our presence makes a difference to others.” Kegan and Lahey

  18. Praise for the Process Not all attempts are successes Still the process can be praised “One who fears failure limits his activities. Failure is only the opportunity to more intelligently begin again.” • Henry Ford

  19. Stories of Forgiveness “Without forgiveness, there can be no real freedom to act within a group.” Max DePree “This is a place for grace.” Anne Lucky

  20. Tell a New Story After an employee retires After budget cuts After re-organizations

  21. Stories to Impress Your Boss • Context • Competence • Clarity • Confidence • Comparisons • Conciseness

  22. Lessons Learned Cut to the chase, when appropriate Let others tell their stories without interruption Do stop old stories of grievance Remind individuals to tell their truth, rather than to report that “everyone thinks . . .”

  23. Your Own Story Make the story of today worth telling.

  24. Contact Information MaryAnn Neely Southern Oregon University neely@sou.edu Julia Anne Pomerenk Washington State University pomerenk@wsu.edu Rayanne Williams San Diego State University william7@sdsu.edu

More Related