Smart Guide To Storytelling For Leaders and Salespeople

WHAT IS A STORY?
There are many different ways to define what a story is and how it
differs from other forms of communication, like a statement of fact, an opinion
or an assertion. However, the common denominator of most definitions is that
a story recounts some moment in time that helps us mentally see something
that happened.
So there are two reasons why the example on the previous page is not a
story:
• The moment in time is non-descript. In the line, the teller says “we had a problem.”
There is no “when” this problem occurred. Unless a moment in time is defined, we may
have a description or a report of something that happened, but we don’t have a story.
We are all familiar with the classic story opening, “Once upon a time". We strongly
advise against using this as a way to start any story in a business setting. But if what you
are talking about or listening to does not recount a “once in time,” it is not a story.
•There is nothing to see. Stories are acted out either on a stage, a film screen, or in
the theatre of our minds. Unless we can see something happening, there is no story.
Stories must bring into play things our mind’s eye can envision, hear, smell, touch, or
taste. Otherwise, understanding is limited to language processing alone.
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Better Chemistry Through Stories