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Today’s Thoughts ☠️

Hey there 👋,

Before we begin, a huge thank you for all your notes on last week’s edition: What Is AI Doing To Your Skills? .

It seems to have struck a chord with many of you, which is amazing and means I didn’t waste the 4 weeks, writing, researching and editing it!

As with anything about AI, you’ll hear me bang the drum about investing in your human skills.

You can only unlock the capabilities of AI tools if you have strong human skills. But, what are those skills, and how do you improve them? I’ll be unpacking this over the next few months.

We start today with a skill that is essential to every part of your being.

That sounds deep, I know.

I’m a learning nerd with a specialism in tech. I don’t do any other forms of L&D like coaching, facilitation, feedback etc. I talk, build and make learning tech successful for companies.

Saying that, I do share a universal skill with my L&D cousins - Storytelling.

So, today, we’re exploring the art of storytelling for work through 4 techniques (and some bonus tools) that will get your message seen, heard and valued.

Get your tea or beverage of choice ready, 🍵.

We've got lots to discuss!

👀 In today’s chat:

• 4 techniques to transform your storytelling skills
  

• The world’s most popular storytelling framework you’ve (probably) never heard of

• Why you should start with the answer first

THE BIG THOUGHT
The Art of Storytelling: 4 ways to get your message seen, heard and valued

We’ve been telling each other stories since the dawn of time.

Some for entertainment. Others for social connection, and a lot of time, for sharing knowledge.

It’s not a radical new concept which can be turned into a flashy new tool or methodology by an education provider (although I’m sure they’d try!). I love nothing more than a good old story to inspire us to do something great, or, in some cases, put us into the sleep we so crave.

We connect through stories.

I spend countless hours watching, reading and listening to some of the best and worst at it (that’s conference life for ya).

I’m a big believer that good stories entertain people, but great stories change people.

Without great storytelling skills, I wouldn’t be here writing these words or working with global brands. That might sound braggy, but it’s not my intention. It doesn’t matter how great your product, project or career is if you can’t tell a compelling story about it.

The truth is you’ll spend a lifetime improving your storytelling skills - no quick hacks here!

In the spirit of ‘paying it forward’.

Here’s what I’ve learned from the last two decades of conferences, TED Talks and many meetings. Plus, some human characters who embody the best skills.

📌 Key insights

• Storytelling is a crucial human skill that AI can't fully replicate yet

• Adapt storytelling techniques to your audience (e.g., Hero's Journey vs. Pyramid Principle)

• Good stories get your ideas and messages seen, heard and valued

• Storytelling skills are essential for any role and industry

1/ Create a connection

The stories (or should I say PowerPoint presentations) I disconnect with most make no effort whatsoever to understand the audience.

You know, the ones where someone just talks at you like you’re an emotionless wall built for the sole purpose of receiving noise.

This is often seen in the world of workplace education.

Many are misguided by the sage on the stage persona, where L&D people are some sort of all-knowing gurus preaching their vast knowledge to their flock of disciples.

Telling people concepts off a slide is not enough. We have ChatGPT to fill that activity these days.

Instead, we must show the practical application of a topic.

This is where the magic happens.

You have to relate to people, their problems and their motivations. Weirdly, workplace learning has bred this quasi-education like approach of the parent-child relationship. This stops you getting key ideas and helpful messages seen, heard and valued.

Connection is hard to craft when you act like a preacher or teacher, and much easier when you step forward as a guide.

Guides empathise with the audience. They share common challenges, and break through them with useful data and insights that invite the audience to explore together.

→ They create connection.

This applies to everything from public speaking to blogs, resources, podcasts and books too.

What good connection looks like

Here’s a practical example I feel embodies a lot of what I just shared.

This one comes from my own field of the learning industry with Nick Shackleton-Jones, author of How People Learn, Ex-Chief Learning Officer of Deloitte and all-around cool human.

I’m a fan of Nick’s work in all formats and his ability to tell stories in all settings sets him apart from quite a few in the industry (as does his ability to throw marshmallows at crowds).

This talk showcases a lot of what I’ve referenced above.

Outside of L&D, before he seemed to be everywhere, I enjoyed listening, at the time, to a not so well known entrepreneur called Alex Hormozi.

Quick story behind this video. I changed 70% of my talk at the Learning Tech conference in 2022 4 days before the event because I watched this.

Alex’s slides were boring and basic, but his storytelling was AMAZING.

That’s what counts, and I learnt tons about pacing alongside audience connection.

2/ Reframe complicated to simple

A hallmark of great storytellers is the ability to turn complex ideas into simple tales.

I always think if you can’t explain it to a 5-year-old, you need to go back to the drawing board.

That always gets people taking a moment to pause and think.

We’ve all read, watched or listened to something with someone who’s an expert in their field, but terrible at their delivery of ideas. Often leaving us in a state of WTF!

This is a real shame, as we lose out on what could be valuable know-how.

It’s an art to take complex ideas and break them down into easy to digest and relatable stories.

Not only that, if you can educate and inspire at the same time, then you’re in the superstar leagues.

I’ve only come across a handful of people who do this really well.

One of those is the fabulous Brene Brown, a research professor at the University of Houston, and a visiting professor in management at the University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business. Spending the past two decades studying courage, vulnerability, shame, and empathy.

I love Brene’s work, and it has influenced so much of my own. Brene’s tagline “Maybe stories are data with soul” strongly connects with me.

If I could give you only one resource to learn from Brene’s approach, it would be her Netflix special released a few years back. Her storytelling awesomeness is in full flow.

Check out the trailer below, and if you don’t have Netflix, you can find plenty of Brene’s other talks on YouTube.

3/ Infuse your humour and personality

I’m sure you’ve heard talks that sound like a scripted interrogation rather than an informative masterpiece.

Often, people don’t want to come across like this.

They’re just scared people won’t like who they really are. If you’ve met me IRL or consumed any amount of my work, you’ll know I’m the antithesis of the 9-5 corporate stereotype.

I come with a cargo ship worth of witty comments, memes and GIFs to unleash on unsuspecting listeners at any moment.

Yet, I’m not everyone’s cup of tea.

That’s fine. However, this is me.

This is something I really struggled with in my early L&D leadership career. I spent a lot of time telling myself in meetings “Whatever you do, just don’t be you and we’ll be cool”.

How misguided that was.

I led myself to believe that I had to fit a view that others expected - Basically one of a corporate robot.

3 things changed this in my career:

1. Age: It’s true what they say. As you age you realise you only get one shot at being you.

2. Environment: This plays a huge role. It is hard to explore your potential when you’re partaking in a cortisol-filled environment of chaos. Choose where you apply your talents wisely.

3. The psychology of people: Basically, no one is watching you and they’re not out to catch you. Yes, life is full of some strange folk at times, but 99.9% of the time, it’s all in your head. You will make peace with it.

No one wants a corporate robot that looks feels and talks the same as everyone else.

Realising this made me 100x better at what I do. It was my edge in a crowded market. You can’t please everyone and you shouldn’t aim to. This is the foundation of how I’ve built my business too.

I infuse my approach and personality into everything from writing to videos.

Someone who I feel showcases what I’m talking about here, and navigates it very shamelessly, is Professor Scott Galloway of NYU Stern Business School.

Like me, he’s not everyone’s cup of tea. But he embraces that.

He’s authentic and conveys this (mostly) in a way that’s positive and exemplifies his work.

I recommend you check out this video to get an example of what I mean ↓

4/ Be playful

We seem to lose this along the way in all aspects of life.

The world can be too serious, and not so serious at the same time.

Being playful allows you to bring character to many topics. You can deliver playfulness through what you say, imagery and suggestion. I’ve learnt a great deal about playfulness over the last few decades from writer Tim Urban.

Tim has one of the most popular blogs on the digital highway called Wait But Why.

With its deep and often very long articles covering life, love, careers and human existence. It has very much served as an inspiration in my own creation of Steal These Thoughts.

For me, Tim’s storytelling works so well because it’s relatable, playful and at the same time transformational.

He covers deep meaningful topics with a unique personal lens of humour and stick man drawings. Much like I’ve adopted gifs, memes and British sarcasm as mine. These components are not just playful, they’re relatable.

Similar topics would not be out of place in an HBR, New York Times or Wall Street Journal.

The delivery is the difference.

Some of my favourite posts of his include:

• Taming The Mammoth: Why You Should Stop Caring What Other People Think

• 10 Types of 30-Year-Old Single Guys

• How To Pick A Career (That Actually Fits You)

He has a thrilling Ted Talk on beating the procrastination monsters which demonstrates all this in a visual format too.

Bonus: Tools & Frameworks

Outside of my lessons, I’ve found these tools and frameworks incredibly useful too.

The world’s most popular storytelling framework you’ve never heard of

I don’t think a mythology writer imagined their work reshaping storytelling frameworks.

But that’s what happened to Joseph Campbell with his ‘Hero’s Journey’ formula. You might not have heard of Campbell or this framework. Yet, I guarantee you’ve been a recipient of it.

Ever seen a Disney, Star Wars, Marvel, The Lord of The Rings, The Matrix or just about any film, tv show, video game or book like this?

Then you know the Hero’s journey.

Long story short, Campbell observed that stories across all cultures share a similar structure, one he called the ‘Hero’s journey’.

There’s always a person forced into a call to action, which they don’t want, where they must face challenges to grow stronger, and then return to the world to use this newfound wisdom/powers/skills to complete their transformation.

As an example in the film, The Matrix:

Call To Action

Neo, a hacker, is contacted by Morpheus, who offers him a choice between the red and blue pill, signalling a path to discover the truth about the Matrix.

Neo is initially hesitant, unsure if he can trust Morpheus or handle the truth.

The Challenge: Tests, Allies, and Enemies

Neo takes the red pill, waking up in the real world and leaving behind his ordinary life.

He faces challenges, such as learning to fight in simulations, and encounters allies like Trinity and enemies like Agent Smith. Neo begins to believe in his potential as “The One” but doubts still linger.

The Trigger point: Failure and rebirth

Neo confronts Agent Smith and is killed in the Matrix, but through his belief and love for Trinity, he is resurrected.

Neo realises he is "The One," gaining full control over the Matrix and his abilities. He continues to fight for humanity, but now with the confidence and understanding of his powers.

The Transformation

Neo fully embraces his role as humanity’s saviour, transcending his limitations. He returns to the Matrix, now empowered to lead the fight against the machines, with the knowledge that he can change the Matrix and free humanity.

And another in literature with Harry Potter:

The call to action begins when Harry learns he's a wizard and attends Hogwarts.

With Professor Dumbledore as his mentor, he enters into the magical world, facing challenges like friendship, enemies like Draco, and the growing threat of Voldemort.

His Trigger Point is the repeated confrontations with Voldemort, culminating in the final battle. After defeating him, Harry experiences Transformation and returns as the hero who brings peace to the wizarding world, completing his journey.

You get the picture.

The ‘Hero’s journey’ for work

This framework isn’t exclusive to the creative realms.

I’ve used this same framework to tell stories about L&D programmes, career progression and the success of learning platforms.

The formula is simple:

• Define the call to action

• Outline the challenges faced (and hopefully conquered)

• Chuck in the trigger points or you could call ‘aha moments’

• Finish with the transformation, aka, how people, behaviours and/or performance changed.

Let’s put this into action with an L&D focus:

Your L&D team has just been given a monumental task.

You need to up-skill the company on a brand-new learning-focused AI platform. The powers that be (your senior execs) have decided AI is cool and sexy and the business needs some of it. The call comes to you as the lead to make this happen.

But, you don’t want any of it and you don’t know how to make this work, either.

Suddenly, as with any great story, a guide/mentor appears.

Maybe it’s a consultant, a vendor, or a colleague who’s been through it before. They share their knowledge, their tips, and their confidence. Suddenly, the path forward becomes clearer.

Before you know it, it’s all happening and there’s no turning back. But, of course, nothing worthwhile is ever easy.

Challenges start popping up everywhere.

Employees are resistant to change. Stakeholders demand ‘more interactivity’, and finance are losing their minds over the cost of training all employees. Plus, time is always against you when you need a year to deliver but the execs gave you two weeks.

Yet, amidst all the problems, you find your friends.

That one senior manager ‘gets it’. Early adopters get excited and start to champion the workshops. You begin to build momentum, even as more obstacles keep coming.

Then it’s here.

The programme is live, and the first feedback starts rolling in.

You have raving fans and haters, that’s just how it works. But the journey isn’t over.

There’s more work to do, refining the programme, gathering feedback, and making sure it evolves with your company’s needs.

As time goes on, the early challenges fade

New ways of working just feel like the way things have always been. You and your team have come out the other side stronger, with new skills and expertise that will carry you forward.

Collectively, you’ve faced the fire, learnt a lot, improved your skills and are now a stronger human.

Now, doesn’t that sound more exciting than an ‘everything on a slide’ PowerPoint deck?

Of course, you can use data, visuals and key insights to back up this story. The point is, that anyone can chuck content onto a bunch of slides, but very few can craft a compelling story.

→ Be the latter.

The Pyramid Principle

With storytelling, you need different approaches for different audiences.

Where the ‘Hero’s journey’ might be great for your local team meeting. I doubt your senior execs will be as excited. So we need to adapt.

A framework I’ve always liked comes from famed McKinsey consultant, Barbara Minto.

I like it for the very simple reason you get the answer or solution to the problem upfront.

For those of you who have been part of exec meetings, you know how important this is. You’re often thrust into a gladiator type arena where you have only minutes to make your case.

A novel on the struggles and pains of L&D won’t work here.

How it works:

It’s pretty straightforward.

1/ Start with the Answer: Lead with your key message or conclusion. This helps your audience understand the main point immediately and saves the death eyes from several execs.

• Example: "We recommend launching a new AI literacy programme to improve performance with the workplace AI tools we’ve purchased."

2/ Support with Key Arguments: Provide 2-4 main reasons that support your answer. Each argument should be distinct and logically sound.

• Example:

  • “90% of employees have access to our new AI workplace tools, but only 10% feel confident in using them.”

  • “Training on AI will build confidence, reducing hesitation and fear when using AI tools for everyday tasks.”

  • “Our competitors are creating an edge by upskilling their employees with AI literacy, both from a performance and employer brand perspective.”

3/ Provide Detailed Evidence: After stating your arguments, go deeper by presenting data, examples, or analysis that back up each point. This gives your audience the "why" behind your answer.

• Example: "Organisations that implemented AI literacy programs saw a 25% improvement in decision-making speed and a 20% increase in overall performance"

Why it works:

• Solution first: By putting the conclusion first, decision-makers know your recommendation right away without waiting through long explanations.

• Logical flow: Once you have them hooked, they’ll be intrigued to follow your reasoning on supporting arguments.

• Engagement: When you answer the big question upfront, your audience can focus on why the answer is valid, rather than trying to guess what the conclusion will be.

In sum: Start with your conclusion/answer, then outline the key reasons that support it, followed by data or deeper analysis.

📝 Final thoughts

We’ll end our storytelling journey here folks.

In sum:

• Humans tell better stories than AI (as of when I write this)

• Connection is built through stories.

• Storytelling is a pillar of high-performing human skills

Till next time, you stay classy learning friend!

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