29 Posts Found

The test of a good story isn’t its respon­sibility to the facts as much as its ability to provide a satisfying explanation of events.

Content: Quotation | Author: Phil Rosenzweig | Source: strategy+business | Subject: Storytelling

People need something familiar to relate to in order to gain a sense of comfort with the new, the strange. Creative ideas take the facts, feelings and everyday fictions we all share and find new ways to connect them. By making the new and strange seem familiar, you not only establish an opening for your audience to interpret your idea, you create a backdrop against … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Authors: Alan Parr, Karen Ansbaugh | Source: ChangeThis | Subjects: Change Management, Communication, Storytelling

In describing something new, something beyond most people’s vision, you need to create a mental map for them to follow you and your idea to its successful conclusion. The art of making a mental map is to hook your audience with what they know and then explain what they don’t know. Start with a construct that everyone is familiar with and add to it.

So … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Authors: Alan Parr, Karen Ansbaugh | Source: ChangeThis | Subjects: Change Management, Communication, Storytelling

In all great storylines, the author creates a problem, and then solves a problem.

Content: Quotation | Authors: Alan Parr, Karen Ansbaugh | Source: ChangeThis | Subjects: Communication, Storytelling

Thou shalt not’ might reach the head, but it takes ‘Once upon a time’ to reach the heart.

Content: Quotation | Author: Philip Pullman | Source: The Atlantic Monthly | Subjects: Persuasion, Storytelling

The most effective way people can change a story is to view it through any of three new lenses, which are all alternatives to seeing the world from the victim perspective. With the reverse lens, for example, people ask themselves, “What would the other person in this conflict say and in what ways might that be true?” With the long lens they ask, “How will … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Authors: Catherine McCarthy, Tony Schwartz | Source: Harvard Business Review | Subjects: Decision Making, Storytelling, Thought

There are two ways to persuade people. The first is by using conventional rhetoric, which is what most executives are trained in. It’s an intellectual process, and in the business world it usually consists of a PowerPoint presentation… The other way to persuade people – and ultimately a much more powerful way – is by uniting an idea with an emotion. The best way to … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Source: Ivey Business Journal | Subjects: Persuasion, Storytelling

You need a story to displace a story. Metaphors and stories are far more potent (alas) than ideas; they are also easier to remember and more fun to read. Ideas come and go, stories stay.

Content: Quotation | Source: ChangeThis | Subjects: Communication, Storytelling

There are two ways to persuade people. The first is by using conventional rhetoric, which is what most executives are trained in. It’s an intellectual process, and in the business world it usually consists of a PowerPoint slide presentation in which you say, “Here is our company’s biggest challenge, and here is what we need to do to prosper.” And you build your case by … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Source: Harvard Business Review | Subjects: Communication, Organizational Behavior, Storytelling