Workplace Culture | Storytelling: Do You Hear the Beat?

Stories are all around you. People tell themselves stories all the time.

Your manager, teams, and clients are 22 times more likely to remember new data if it is wrapped in a story.

They are the glue that holds your ideas together. But people tend to spend little time purposefully honing their storytelling craft. Two techniques you can apply to amplify your stories are identifying beats and expanding details.

When you hear the word “beat,” you may think of a favorite song or tune. Storytelling “beats” propel a narrative forward in much the same way that music progresses from verse to chorus to bridge. Beats are meaningful points of change in your story. They contain central points and are communicated with gravitas.

Take the example of proposing a healthcare benefit change to leadership. The beats in this presentation may be an inciting incident (an employee needing help), complication (benefit not available), climax (HR finds a work-around), and resolution (proposed new benefit). Your beats support the story arc in a familiar way, with a beginning, middle, and end. Our brains are designed to respond to stories. Stories are compelling in situations calling for change or action.

A good story arc moves the plot forward, but the details bring the story to life. Your job as the storyteller is to identify the relevant information. Stories with names, dates, and figures invoke emotion. For example, two different reactions may be produced from hearing about a “client” or “Jill, a long-tenured client based in Oklahoma.” The latter helps your audience imagine a real person. When you bring quantitative data to support your storyline, the same effect is produced. A story explains the meaning of numbers and aids the listener in understanding complex information. This combination engages both sides of the brain.

Storytelling is a powerful method to build relationships at work. And this skill can be developed by tapping into your creative mind. Think about your organization and how it could uniquely benefit from refining this skill.

• Could your sales department engage more personally with clients?
• Could leaders be more vulnerable in their communications?

Now is the right time to add storytelling to your workplace toolkit.

Originally featured in UBA’s June 2023 HR Elements Newsletter.