The stories we tell: Unlocking your best anecdotes
Jeff Bezos has famously said that the human brain is wired for narrative. There is a strong body of data to support this and a growing appreciation of the power of storytelling it in the corporate world.
But only to a certain degree, of course. While neuroscience has shown that the act of listening to a story can open our minds, it has also found that the most powerful presentations stay short– no longer than the typical TED-length 18 minute presentation, in fact.
In other words, while great stories are sure to enhance our communications as leaders, we have to make the most of the time we get. This goes for speeches and presentations as well as marketing in general. It’s noisy out there and we only get so many opportunities to be heard.
With the pressure to make every moment count, it can leave many of us asking: what are my most impactful stories?
There are a lot of tools that can help executives answer this question. Many exercises utilize a chronological approach, identifying pivotal moments across your journey and noting the lessons learned along the way.
But my favorite are the exercises that acknowledge that our most impactful memories may not be the first thoughts that come to mind. By using the power of associative thinking (linking one idea or thought to another) and radiant thinking (where we map out ideas building on one central concept), there are some great exercises that can help bring these anecdotes to the surface:
My favorite example of this is consultant Nancy Duarte’s people, places, things exercise designed to “jar loose” the memories just below the surface
You can also organize experiences and memories by theme rather than chronology. What are some moments that you were most nervous, vulnerable or uncomfortable at work? In childhood? In life? What do you notice about these moments - what do they share, how have they changed, what elements connect them together?
Similarly, it can be useful to identify major moments of success or decisiveness in a leader’s trajectory and build out a mind map from there. Who were the people and what were the circumstances that led to this great achievement? What was the context? What did it feel like at the moment? Where were you standing just before, or just after, that moment in time – what did it look, taste, sound like to be you in that moment?
As with so many aspects of leadership, the best stories and anecdotes tend to emerge when we create the space for them to do so. Set aside some of the best moments of your day – for me, this is always first thing in the morning, with my first cup of coffee – and open your mind through some associative and radiant exercises.
Even if the ideas that emerge don’t immediately seem relevant, keep notes about what you find and revisit it when you’re working on a speech, a pitch or an important internal meeting. You might be surprised just what you find there.