The value of storytelling

Briefing Note 2involved, about the circumstances– and what is incidental? What isthe emotional content – how didthe people in the story react tothe situation? This gives colour tothe mental picture you arecreating.• These are the things that youneed to relay to listeners, if youare going to evoke in them thesame response that the originalincident evoked in you. Thisapproach also allows you tocondense the story intosomething you can tell quickly ifyou only have a few moments torelay it.• Practice telling it. See how itsounds. See how other peoplereact to it.• Change it. You can tell the samestory in different ways, dependingon who you are telling it to, andthe circumstances in which youare telling it.• Gather more stories. Notice andtake note of things that happen inyour working life.When you want to explain to someonewhy your institution is the one to choose– to study at, to invest in, to work for, topartner with – a story can say it all.Where to find out morePapersThere are a huge range of academicpapers on storytelling in organisations.Here are just a few:• Bate, P. (2004) The role of storiesand storytelling in organizationalchange efforts: The anthropologyof an intervention within a UKhospital, Intervention Research 1(1) 27-42122-129• Mittins, M., Abratt, R., Christie,P.(2011) Storytelling inReputation Management: theCase of Nashua Mobile SouthAfrica, Management Decision 49(3)• Baker, W., Boyle, C. (2009) Thetimeless power of storytelling,Journal of Sponsorship 3 (1) 79-87• Boyce, M. E. (1996)Organizational story andstorytelling: a critical review,Journal of Organizational ChangeManagement 9 (5) 5-26Books• Made to Stick: why some ideassurvive and others die, Chip Heath& Dan Heath, Random House,2007• Switch: How to change thingswhen change is hard, Chip Heath& Dan Heath, Random House,2010• The leader's guide to storytelling:mastering the art and discipline ofbusiness narrative, StephenDenning Jossey-Bass, 2005Internet• GovLeaders.org is a free on-lineresource designed to helpgovernment managers cultivate amore effective and motivatedpublic sector workforcehttp://govleaders.org/storytelling.htm• Denning, S. (2004) Telling Tales,Harvard Business Review, 82 (5)Created on: 20 June, 2011