Have you ever wondered how you can toot your own horn, get ahead in your career and become more valuable in the marketplace, all without annoying people? Today I will share with my readers the secret of how to accomplish this.
I’m the former training director for the Denver Rocky Mountain News. They used to have a traditional way of introducing new employees at the monthly managers meeting. Typically, your boss would introduce you, you’d stand and wave to 150 leaders in the auditorium and sit down. When it was my turn, I asked my boss if I could take a few minutes, and he agreed. Rather than waving, I told a story about the importance of lifelong learning and how it would help their teams be more productive and help us defeat our arch-rivalry the Denver Post.
In minutes I had the crowd on their feet cheering. In less than 5 minutes, I made a positive impression that would last my entire career.
Here are some other results achieved:
- I made my boss, Denny Dressman, look good. He had received some heat from the CEO for paying me more than the market rate. The CEO, Larry Strutton, wrote a testimonial for my website: “Having Ed Tate speak to your staff is money well spent.”
- I got all of my training classes filled for the next year, with a 3-month waiting list. My predecessor’s biggest challenge was getting attendance above 50%.
- I was identified as a “Fast Tracker.” I was immediately enrolled in the fast-track leadership development program.
- I got promoted within six months with a 20% pay increase.
Did I toot my horn? Absolutely! Did I get ahead in my career? You bet! Did I become more valuable in the marketplace? Yes! Headhunters called my office on a monthly basis. Did I annoy some people? Yes, however, they were annoyed with the speed of my impact and promotions, not with my horn-tooting. Why? It’s because I used my secret weapon.
So what was my secret weapon? I told a story.
Jack Canfield, co-author of the best selling book series of all time – Chicken Soup for the Soul – said the following in another book he co-authored entitled The Power of Focus: How to Hit Your Business, Personal and Financial Targets with Confidence and Certainty, “Another essential business habit in today’s world is for people to become better storytellers. Good salespeople, [executives] and CEOs know how to tell a story, because what Velcro’s to a person’s mind is a story.”
In your job, if you do any type of communicating, you need to include a story. According to author of the book, Act Like You Mean Business: Essential Communication Lessons from Stage and Screen, Rob Biesenbach says, “Storytelling isn’t just for novelists, screenwriters, playwrights.” And I would add presenters. When you communicate in your day-to-day work, then you are in the storytelling business. At least you should be if you want your audience—whether customers or colleagues—to take notice, pay attention, and absorb what you have to tell them.
In his book, Act Like You Mean Business, Biesenbach notes the 8 elements of storytelling at work[1]. Let’s discuss them.
1. What Is A Story?
According to Chicago’s Second City Training Center,
(in the simplest terms), a story involves a character struggling to achieve a goal in the face of difficult odds or obstacles.
Here’s an example from Biesenbach’s book regarding his workplace:
“My son pitches in Little League. Getting to his games means a lot to me, especially as a single parent. Here I feel comfortable taking off a little early to do that. Other places aren’t that flexible.”
Our character here is a single father whose goal is to spend more time with his family. The obstacle is that most workplaces make carving out such time difficult.
This short story also tells a story about the organization he works for. Stories like these rise above the typical trite clichés issued by corporations, such as “we promote work/life balance.” Stories bring to life the everyday struggles and triumphs we all recognize, delivering greater impact.
2. You want character, not caricature.
At the heart of every good story is a character we can relate to, and the best characters are multi-dimensional. They’re recognizably human. They are not the stereotypical good or bad guy.
3. Humanize your characters.
People who lead an organization or team, or face an audience, need to be humanized. We can do that by showing a surprising side of their character that others don’t often see. Highlighting qualities people can relate to, love of family, pets, hobbies, or sports, for instance, can do this. Patricia Fripp does this exceptionally well. If you listen to her stories, you always learn a surprising side of her characters.
4. Stories are everywhere. We just need to find them.
When you’re presenting yourself to an audience—whether it’s on paper, on camera or live—you need to go mining for your inner stories. Here are some questions to help you uncover them and discover what you’re really passionate about.
WORK-RELATED:
- What do you love about your job?
- What makes you jump out of bed in the morning to come to work?
- Describe a challenge you’ve faced.
- How did you overcome it?
- What were the keys to success?
PERSONAL:
- What are your hobbies or interests?
- What does your family mean to you?
- What do your kids think you do?
- What did you want to be when you were growing up?
- What did you study in school?
- Who are your heroes and why?
5. Then, we have to shape them.
In the book, Story, which is widely considered the bible of screenwriting, author Robert McKee talks about causality versus coincidence. Causality involves events that are related and interconnected, thus providing meaning. Coincidence describes random events that have little impact on, or relation to, each other.
Causality makes for a better more satisfying story. If your “character” is a firebrand CEO who shakes things up wherever he goes, then a story about him getting kicked out of prep school for defying authorities is an illuminating tale.
6. And narrow them.
Another big part of shaping a story involves separating the meaningful wheat from the [meaningless] distracting chaff. We’ve all been subjected from time to time to the agony of a story full of unnecessary tangents and useless detail. Unnecessary facts and details are the enemy of a great story.
7. Tell the story.
There are countless ways to tell a story. Search the internet. You’ll find many lessons on how to deliver your story. For example, How to Own the Stage, by Darren LaCroix and Craig Valentine, Create Your Keynote by Next Week by Patricia Fripp and Darren LaCroix or, you can join our community, World Champions’ EDGE for $1.
8. Entertainment
No matter what form of communication you have to deliver, email, voicemail, article, blog post, case study, marketing materials or a PowerPoint presentation, seek first to entertain with a story. No matter how brilliant your content may be, if it is not interesting, people will miss your brilliance.
Conclusion
Every person and every organization has a story. Just about everything we write can be improved by framing it in terms of a story, or at the very least, including these story elements. At your next presentation at work, remember that you are responsible for your career. You can’t assume that others will recognize your worth. Toot your own horn and tell a story.
[1] Bob Biesenbach, “Act Like You Mean Business,” 2011, Brigantine Media
