You're facing resistance from team members on a new storytelling approach. How can you win them over?

When we decided to integrate a new storytelling approach into our project presentations, I knew it wouldn't be an easy transition for the team. During our first meeting, I opened the floor for everyone to voice their concerns. One team member, was particularly worried about how this change would affect our current workflow. I listened carefully to his points and shared an example from a previous project where storytelling significantly improved our customers engagement. I explained how storytelling helped clarify complex technical details, leading to a successful project outcome. I acknowledged his concerns about the initial learning curve but emphasized that the benefits would outweigh the challenges in the long run.

When introducing storytelling to my team, I organized a presentation to highlight its value. I shared a case study where storytelling transformed a complex project report into an engaging narrative, capturing the client's attention and simplifying the information. This approach led to better client understanding and quicker decision-making. Seeing this success story, my team began to visualize how storytelling could enhance their own projects. Demonstrating real-world examples helped bridge the gap between concept and application, showing the tangible benefits of this new approach.

When I introduced storytelling to my team, I noticed some resistance due to unfamiliarity. To address this, I organized interactive training sessions tailored to our specific needs. During these sessions, we practiced crafting stories and received constructive feedback. One session focused on transforming a routine project update into a compelling narrative, which made the benefits clear and tangible. This hands-on approach built the team's confidence and showed them how storytelling skills could enhance all forms of communication, not just presentations. Providing a safe space for practice and growth was key to our successful adoption of storytelling.

My Successful Storytelling with Data class teaches the six stories you need to be able to tell. I have the trainees focus on one or two stories to develop at first. Usually, ‘Why I’m Here’ or ‘Lessons Learned’ for data presentations. I provide them with a list of questions to help them come up with ideas to use for developing their stories. I share my method for making stories ‘sticky’ or easy to remember. Once they have their stories, they share their stories with an idea. I then coach them to improve their stories and presentations. Once they rewrite their stories, the best stories are rewritten, they share their new story. The best practice is ‘deliberate’ practice which requires coached practice for improvement.