Storytelling is a powerful tool for communication in business. It engenders active communication and dialogue between the teller and the recipient.

The end result of this is that people can understand the context of information. Words are translated into specific images, emotions and actions in the mind of the recipient.

“Storytelling unites an idea with an emotion” Robert McKee

Communication is most effective when it pulls people in. The meaning of the concepts or ideas is delivered more powerfully when attached to emotions engendered by the characters and journey of a story. Storytelling is a two-way communication that requires the recipient to be active. In a story, the recipient viscerally relates what is being said to their own experiences, thereby incorporating information into their own framework. Meaning is then created and shared by both the recipient and the teller.

Storytelling can be used as a tool in many different contexts: To communicate a complex idea and move others to action; to get people working together in a group or community; to make the benefits of a product or service come alive; to share information or knowledge; to communicate a vision; to neutralize negative gossip; to communicate who you are; to transmit values and to lead people into the future.

As a theoretical basis for the workshop, we use models created by Stephen Denning and William Isaacs. These models come alive through practical exercises that allow participants to explore their imagination and create stories in the context of their workplace goals. Each participant develops the ability to effectively structure and deliver these stories to their desired audience.

Who better to facilitate the process of storytelling than those that make it their very living? That is the reason we use actors. Participants receive individual coaching and feedback from facilitators who are professional actors. This component of the storytelling workshop both builds participants’ confidence and gives them an insight into their habitual communication style and a wider range of choices they have available to them to deliver their message.

At the end of this workshop each participant will walk away with a new suite of stories to tell and an added awareness of the most effective way to deliver them.