How to find and tell your story

Questions are the expressive, probing language for growing others; listening is the receptive, facilitating language for growing others. These two complementary approaches form a continuous growth conversation loop.

 

Leaders who are helping others to grow and innovate are always trying to craft the best questions to make a difference. Here's how to ask the questions that will propel your team and your organization forward.

 

Listening -- I mean listening really well -- is sometimes hard to do. Here's a great article by Kevin Cashman, author of The Pause Principle, reminding us that the more deeply and authentically we can listen to another, the deeper our questions go, and the deeper our understanding becomes.

 

Listening deeply is the first storytelling skill to build -- so you know which story to share or ask for. And then so you can dig more deeply into the story to understand what it really means.

 

For leaders, this is essential. For anyone wanting to master business storytelling, it is critical. Many marketing and branding folks have still not caught on to listening as being a vital component when using stories.

 

Sooooo -- here's a reminder that also contains some great insights, a list of what not to do, and a nice section on the power of authentic questions.

 

Now I'll go on a hunt and see if I can find an article for you just on the Art of the Question. For as they say in Appreciative Inquiry, the question is the intervention -- so knowing how to craft and ask the question is key.

 

In the meantime, enjoy this article.

 

This review was written by Karen Dietz for her curated content on business storytelling at www.scoop.it/t/just-story-it ;

Via Karen Dietz

Most CEOs are not inspiring. After years of working with leaders in business, it's hard to come to any other conclusion.

 

The 5 mistakes listed here are right on -- I experience them all the time when working with my coaching clients.

 

Number 4 is -- CEOs don't tell stories. That's for sure.

Number 5 is -- CEO's reading speeches instead of talking authentically with their audiences.

Number 3 is -- they are too stiff (that comes from not telling stories or not knowing how to tell stories)

Number 2 is -- they don't write their own material. No one can write your personal stories for you, BTW.

Number 1 is -- CEOs are not conveying a vision. Hey, we want to be inspired!

 

Well, for sure many business people of all types suffer from the same mistakes. So what to do? Find the stories you are passionate about telling, learn to tell them well and authentically, leave the notes at home, and please -- don't practice in front of a mirror! That's the kiss of death.

 

There are many more insights here in this article about how these mistakes show up for people, so go grab them.

 

Review written by Karen Dietz for her curated content on business storytelling at www.scoop.it/t/just-story-it ;

Via Karen Dietz