Storytellers at scale make businesses more successful

Storytelling can move people. A good story, told well, can persuade people to act. Persuasion is the centrepiece of business activity. It can convince consumers to buy a product or service, employees to go along with a new programme, brand or strategic plan, investors to invest hard earned cash, and a leader to invest in an initiative that’s going to bring value to a business. Yet most struggle to communicate, let alone inspire.

The ability to share compelling and engaging stories is probably the most under-utilised business skill. I would be willing to bet that whatever your role or level in an organisation you are grappling with one or more of the following: influencing others to your way of thinking, explaining the value you bring, inspiring others with your vision, driving growth, getting hold of budget, giving feedback, the list goes on. Storytelling is the fundamental skill that would transform your ability to do all of these things better. Because, it’s not the best idea or best person that wins, it’s the best story. Whether you are interviewing for a job, trying to win a pitch or gaining buy-in to give your idea a boost, sharing your story in a compelling, passionate and impactful way is the key to succeeding. So, if my hypothesis is true wouldn’t businesses be more successful if every single one of their people were brilliant storytellers?

The answer: Yes. Which is why more and more companies are investing in storytelling training. Yes, confidence and natural charisma helps, but the art of writing and sharing good stories is a skill that can be taught, but it takes time and practice.

I studied Maths. I loved the arts too, but was dissuaded from thinking that could be a real job. I went on to view the world through a logical, rational and analytical lens until one day, very early on in my career, my boss sent me on a creative writing course and it was one of the best things I ever did. It was a light bulb moment — without being able to convey my vision or idea I wouldn’t get anywhere. Why am I sharing this small and personal anecdote about myself? Well because I think, with the right training, coaching and tools, anyone can become a brilliant storyteller.

We’ve had the privilege of training engineers, accountants, actuaries, builders, scientists, lawyers, marketeers, HR professionals and asset managers. Why? Because companies like L&G, HSBC, Ageas, WSP, Patrizia, and Accenture all recognise that the ability to craft and share brilliant stories leads to better business performance.

"Great brands and great businesses have to be great storytellers,” says Apple Store chief Angela Ahrendts. “We have to tell authentic, emotive, and compelling stories because we’re building relationships with people and every great relationship has to be built on trust.” Ahrendts and other brand leaders use the power of story to motivate employees to raise their game. The result is often improved employee engagement, better customer service, lower turnover, and higher profits. Storytelling is not something we do, it’s who we are. At Magnetic we use storytelling to connect, share our challenges, opportunities and our successes. Our very own Tom Whitwell is a brilliant example of a storyteller who educates, simplifies and motivates us every day. Check out some of his pieces here: 52 things, 10 lessons in productivity and brainstorming from the Beatles and how we launched Vogue Business.

Magnetic partnered with global banking giant HSBC to build an innovation capability from scratch. HSBC wanted an environment where everyone is empowered to innovate, so we helped enable employees to identify opportunities and adopt the mindset that failing (and learning) fast is a good thing. We worked with three of the most critical business functions to create an innovation toolkit and training programme that could be rolled out at scale. The programme uses the best of design thinking and agile working. It helps business people identify challenges, work iteratively towards valuable solutions and tell the story to the business in order to get buy-in.

The result? We’ve supported five global functions in the bank and two regions to get buy-in, tell their story and roll out their innovation programmes. We’ve trained more than 250 innovation leaders, who have in turn influenced hundreds of champions. Our train-the-trainer format means our impact has reached far beyond our direct involvement. We have adapted the course to follow multiple formats and our toolkit has been adopted by Transformation teams. We continue to deliver training modules today.

Storytelling is a critical component of a company’s ability to innovate — to remain relevant and competitive, to launch new products and services, to grow as well as to become more efficient and effective. For individuals it builds confidence, strength, resilience and creates opportunity.

Would love to hear your thoughts, please drop me a line jenny.burns@wearemagnetic.com.

Magnetic is a design and innovation company that helps design better futures. We’ve worked with global businesses to build capabilities, products, services and transform organisations. To find out more, get in touch: jenny.burns@wearemagnetic.com.