Using Storytelling in Training Sessions

Your brilliant idea means nothing if no one listens. 5 years at McKinsey taught me one important truth: It's not the winning idea that wins. It's the winning idea COMPELLINGLY PRESENTED. Master these 4 frameworks to transform how your ideas land: 1️⃣ The Pyramid Principle (go-to storytelling technique at McKinsey #1) Communicate efficiently: → Lead with your main point first → Support with structured reasoning → Back it up with relevant data 2️⃣ SCR Framework (go-to storytelling technique at McKinsey #2) Craft a convincing storyline: → Situation: Establish clear context → Complication: Highlight why action is needed → Resolution: Recommend the solution 3️⃣ The Golden Circle (Simon Sinek) Inspire action with the WHY: → Start with purpose (why you exist) → Explain your approach (how you deliver) → End with what you actually do (what you do) 4️⃣ Story of Self/Us/Now (Marshall Ganz) Mobilize collective action: → Share your personal values journey (self) → Create unity around shared goals (us) → Drive urgency through compelling vision (now) How you FRAME your message is the difference between ignored and influential. What storytelling frameworks do you most often use in your own work? ♻️ Find this valuable? Repost to help others. Follow me for posts on leadership, learning, and excellence. 📌 Want free PDFs of this and my top cheat sheets? You can find them here: https://lnkd.in/g2t-cU8P Hi 👋 I'm Vince, CEO of Sparkwise. I help orgs scale excellence at a fraction of the cost by automating live group learning, practice, and application. Check out our topic library: https://lnkd.in/gKbXp_Av

You’ve heard the advice, “Use stories in your presentations because people respond to stories!” Great advice. BUT… Your story won’t grab your audience’s attention and communicate your message unless it has these 6 elements. In fact, it could even have the opposite effect! Every story you use as the foundation of your high-stakes presentations needs to have: 1. A logical structure. A story needs a beginning, middle, and end with clear turning points between each section. Don't just jump between ideas randomly. Map your presentation flow on paper first so you can physically move sections around. The most persuasive structure builds toward your most important point. 2. An Emotional structure. In the middle of your story, create a rise of conflict where tension builds. This might be when your audience realizes their current approach isn't working or market conditions are changing rapidly. Plan moments where this tension rises before providing a cathartic resolve. Your audience will stay engaged through this emotional journey from tension to resolution. 3. A clear goal. The protagonist in your story must have something they're seeking–an objective that drives the narrative forward. In your presentation, position your audience as the hero pursuing something important. Whether it's reconciliation of different viewpoints or finding the solution to a pressing problem, make sure this goal is crystal clear. 4. Meaningful conflict. Every story needs the hero to face obstacles. This conflict might be with themselves, with others, with technology, or even with nature.  When preparing your presentation, identify what's standing in the way of progress. Is it internal resistance? Market challenges? Technical limitations? Acknowledging these conflicts shows you understand the real situation. 5. A resolution. Every narrative needs to resolve the conflict, though resolution doesn't always mean a happy ending. It could end positively (comedy), negatively (tragedy), or be inconclusive, requiring your audience to take action to determine the outcome. For business presentations, this inconclusive ending can be particularly effective as it prompts decision and action. 6. A lesson worth learning. While rarely stated explicitly (except in fairy tales), every story teaches something. Your presentation should leave your audience with a clear takeaway about what approaches to emulate or avoid. The quality of your story often determines the quality of your high-stakes presentations. Take time to really think through the stories you’re using. Hand-selecting the best ones will help you leave a lasting impact on your audience. #Presentation #StorytellingInBusiness #PresentationSkills

Early in my career, when I shared the story of a workshop that completely bombed (an email announcing layoffs arrived in everyone's inbox during day 1 lunch of a two-day program -- and I had no idea how to handle this), three women immediately reached out to share their own "disaster" stories. We realized we'd all been carrying shame about normal learning experiences while watching men turn similar setbacks into compelling leadership narratives about risk-taking and resilience. The conversation that we had was more valuable than any success story I could have shared. As women, we are stuck in a double-bind: we are less likely to share our successes AND we are less likely to share our failures. Today, I'm talking about the latter. Sharing failure stories normalizes setbacks as part of growth rather than evidence of inadequacy. When we women are vulnerable about their struggles and what they learned, it creates permission for others to reframe their own experiences. This collective storytelling helps distinguish between individual challenges and systemic issues that affect many women similarly. Men more readily share and learn from failures, often turning them into evidence of their willingness to take risks and push boundaries. Women, knowing our failures are judged more harshly, tend to hide them or frame them as personal shortcomings. This creates isolation around experiences that are actually quite common and entirely normal parts of professional development. Open discussion about setbacks establishes the expectation that failing is not only normal but necessary for success. It builds connection and community among women who might otherwise feel alone in their struggles. When we reframe failures as data and learning experiences rather than shameful secrets, we reduce their power to limit our future risk-taking and ambition. Here are a few tips for sharing and learning from failure stories: • Practice talking about setbacks as learning experiences rather than personal inadequacies • Share what you learned and how you've applied those lessons, not just what went wrong • Seek out other women's failure stories to normalize your own experiences • Look for patterns in women's challenges that suggest systemic rather than individual issues (and then stop seeing systemic challenges as personal failures!) • Create safe spaces for honest conversation about struggles and setbacks • Celebrate recovery and growth as much as initial success • Use failure stories to build connection and mentorship relationships with other women We are not the sum of our failures, but some of our failures make us more relatable, realistic, and ready for our successes. So let's not keep them to ourselves. #WomensERG #DEIB #failure

Steve Jobs said: “The most powerful person in the world is the storyteller.” I come back to Jobs’ 2007 iPhone launch again and again. In it, he uses a narrative throughline to tie the entire presentation together. I've pulled my favorite examples into this video so you can see what I mean. Here’s the framework Jobs used (that you can too): *** 1. Make a promise A tantalizing statement to draw the audience in. This is his 'hook.' A few guidelines: • Short • Punchy • 'Big if true' Jobs promises “a revolutionary product that changes everything.” Now you, as the audience, know what his intention is. This is important. He gives himself and Apple a big goal to chase after. It's falsifiable -- it either happens, or it doesn't. *** 2. Create the buildup Set the context by using comparisons on the scale you hope to achieve. Jobs compares what he’s revealing to the Macintosh 1 and the iPod. Two products that, as he reminds you, changed entire industries. *** 3. Introduce conflict Conflict is simply tension between where you are and where you want to be. Here, Jobs uses the smart phone to introduce that tension: “The problem with smartphones is they’re not so smart.” He implies, "There's gotta be a better option..." *** 4. Raise the stakes Bring on the drama. Jobs says, “Apple is going to reinvent the phone.” Now we read that and it sounds obvious. But think about how bold that claim was in 2007 before anyone had heard the word “iPhone.” Blackberry dominated and, well, Apple made music players. *** 5. Demonstrate it Show your audience why your product – your story – is important. Jobs does a great job injecting humor here. *** 6. Bring back the problem When you watch Jobs, he never raises the stakes just once. Instead, he drills home how frustrating the current state is over and over. It’s painful — and that’s why your product is needed. *** 7. Wrap it up Position your product as a the savior, the painkiller. In 30 seconds, Jobs lists 13 features of the iPhone that traditional phones don’t have. Include your Call to Action — what you want people to do. Then end your story. *** You’ll notice it’s similar to the classic “Hero’s journey.” He didn’t reinvent the wheel. Instead, he mastered it. Tldr 1. Make a promise 2. Create the buildup 3. Introduce conflict 4. Raise the stakes 5. Demonstrate it 6. Bring back the problem 7. Wrap it up

The Story Your Client Needs to Hear 1️⃣ Are Your Sales Stories Falling Short? 🧐 You've been taught to tell the "Why Us" stories – about your company, solutions, and clients' successes. But today, these may be indistinguishable from competitors and can feel like a waste of time in early conversations. Time for a new approach. 2️⃣ Introducing "Why Change" Stories! 🚀 Instead of the usual pitch, share stories that increase engagement and compel clients to consider change. Describe it as "Why Change" to create value simply by telling this new type of story. Leave the legacy approach behind. 3️⃣ Data-Driven Narratives That Resonate 📈 Highlight alarming trends such as the U.S. demographic drought, Baby Boomers' wealth redistribution, or the workforce's future. Use data to educate clients on potential risks. Make it about them, not you. 4️⃣ The Current State of Sales Isn't Pretty 😓 Gartner's research shows dissatisfaction with traditional sales methods. With 72% of buyers preferring salesperson-free experiences and 89% of salespeople facing burnout, it's time to reevaluate our techniques. 5️⃣ Set Yourself Apart with a Good Story 🧠 Use data and insights to position yourself as a person that's well-read and aware of future challenges. When your story shows you're different from other salespeople, you gain a strategic advantage. 6️⃣ Master the "One-Up" Approach 💼 This means knowing things your client doesn't because of your experience and insight. Through history, leaders have turned to those with information to help make decisions. It's time to put this age-old concept to work for you. 7️⃣ Your Client's Story Isn't About You 🎤 Focus on their future, understanding the trends that will impact their business. Companies often miss the inflection point; make sure your clients don't. These new stories are more powerful than legacy tales that borrow your company's success. 8️⃣ Why the Traditional Methods Fail 🚫 Legacy stories that emphasize company history, solutions, and past client success don't create value for new clients or differentiate you from competitors. They fail to address the headwinds that prompt the client to change. 9️⃣ Embrace Reading and Research in Sales 📚 Recent posts have urged you to "Do the Damn Reading." This approach enhances your professional sales story, providing value when clients lack the information you share. 🔟 Craft the Story Your Client Needs to Hear 🌟 Move away from "Why Us" and focus on explaining trends, forces, and the client's business future. Start today to develop the story that enables your client to make the necessary changes for future success. Feel free to comment, like, or share, and let's revolutionize how we tell stories in sales! 🚀👩💼👨💼 Your clients deserve to hear what truly matters.

Most people think storytelling is just for writers and filmmakers. But the best business leaders know better. They use stories to close deals, inspire teams, and build movements. After studying how the best in the world communicate, I noticed something fascinating. They don't wing it. They use specific frameworks that turn messages into movements. 💡 The Pixar framework? It turns any change story into something memorable. "Once upon a time, retail was only in stores. Every day, people drove to shop. One day, Amazon changed everything." Simple. Memorable. Powerful. 💡 Simon Sinek's Golden Circle works because humans buy into purpose before products. Start with why you exist. Then show how you're different. Finally, reveal what you deliver. Watch how Apple does this in every launch. 💡 The StoryBrand approach flips traditional marketing. You're not the hero. Your customer is. You're just the guide helping them win. 💡 The Hero's Journey isn't just for movies. It brings founder stories to life. The call to adventure. The obstacles faced. The transformation achieved. We see ourselves in their struggle. 💡 Three-Act Structure works because our brains naturally think this way. Setup. Conflict. Resolution. Beginning. Middle. End. It's how humans have shared knowledge forever. 💡 ABT (And, But, Therefore)? It's beautifully simple. Here's the situation AND here's the context. BUT something changed. THEREFORE here's what happens next. Clear thinking in three beats. These aren't scripts to memorize. They're lenses to see through. Each one helps you connect differently. Each one moves people in unique ways. The magic happens when you know which framework fits which moment. And sometimes, when you blend them together. Which one are you trying this week? ♻️ Repost if this resonates with you. Follow Desiree Gruber for more insights on storytelling, leadership, and brand building.

"Our most brilliant tech leaders cannot give the 3-min simple story for their complex products..." A large tech company was holding a pitch day for their customers and executives could NOT get excited, informed and get their arms around the future of tech from their most brilliant folks. It's not a 'hero's journey' story, folks. And it's not the tech details. It's why this, why now and why YOU and WE will be transformed. Their team was 'scared scriptless.' I took away their notes. Their jargon. We got them on their feet. We got them connected to the transformation the tech makes for them, for you, for customer, for the betterment of humans. We got them storytelling about change, about people, about a future that cannot be perfect - nothing is - yet will offer opportunity. Change brings fear because it brings potential loss and uncertainty. What will this new tech do for us, what transformation will it bring? Why now? What a-ha made us realize that? Ultimately, we had every single tech whiz standing up without notes, with butterflies and with in the moment humor, talking about simple changes that are profound for people. The organizers won. The audience won. The tech geniuses won bc they could see that their ideas had "lift" and people FELT them. Complexity won't explain complexity. Simple, human, effective and humorous story WILL. Storytelling that is entertaining, effective and laughter-filled beats 'presenting' every day of the week. Here ...with people laughing, sharing their stories. That'a a GOOD day. Q: What can I do for your organization? Whether it's training or a motivational, interactive keynote, reach out at the link above. #storytellingforbusiness #leadership #communication #trust #laughter

One of the most effective tools for AI adoption? Storytelling. Telling the stories of your early wins and explorations can humanize the work, model how change can happen thoughtfully — and inspire people to embrace new ways of thinking and working.   I’m often struck by how many interesting stories of AI-driven advancements are hidden within an organization.   I was speaking about this at an event when I was approached by an engineer who had used Anthropic's Claude hosted on Amazon Web Services (AWS) for a workflow to support a resource-intensive process. It had reduced the time it took the team to manage the work from weeks to hours — and they loved it because they were now able to use their time for more strategic business development. I asked who had heard this story. The answer? No one outside of her group.   Her journey to thoughtfully pull AI into process improvement, how she thought through data privacy and security, and worked closely with end users to deliver more value to customers represents a treasure trove of fantastic behavior to model for others . . .  and an inspiring moment of grassroots innovation in support of the company’s strategic objectives. It was a story that needed to be told.   Stories work because we connect to them emotionally. And these stories can be found all over large organizations. Find, articulate, and share the stories that are happening in your organization. Show how work can support your existing strategic objectives. Share what was hard about the process — and use this as an education moment on how to think about responsible AI, data privacy, security, and governance questions.   If your work identifies issues that need to be resolved, view that as a positive outcome — you've learned something important. Then, work to create a proper process for addressing those issues, which can become part of the ongoing story and learning experience.   Marketers have long used storytelling and use cases to bring the “possible” to life and inspire action. The tough — and unique — pressures of AI change demand a rethink of how we inspire change. Capturing and telling stories make abstract change initiatives more tangible for employees, help them visualize how they can contribute, and counteract fears and concerns. It’s also a way to celebrate and recognize successes. ***** What do you think? ****** >>>> Have you used storytelling to support change? >>>> What have you found to work best? ________ Hi 👋 I’m Alison McCauley. I’ll be diving more into the challenges and opportunities of AI change in future posts. Follow me for more on being human at the AI crossroads 🙋♂️ 🤖 💡   #aitransformation #changemanagement #storytelling #responsibleai

As a leader of learning and development teams and now in my consulting role, I've noticed a shift in how we present the impact of our work. We used to rely heavily on facts, charts, and pages of detailed statistics to showcase our reach. But I've found #storytelling to be a much more compelling way to demonstrate real human #impact. This was driven home for me in a recent Amazon commercial that features three women gazing at a snowy hill where people are sledding. Not a single word is spoken, yet we understand these friends are reminiscing about childhood memories made in a similar setting. The story of lasting connection and friendship shines through beautifully without overt explanation. I think this is a key lesson for those of us in L&D roles. We spend so much time tracking participation rates, completion metrics and quiz scores. But what really matters is how our work impacts real people and teams. Storytelling puts faces and #emotions to the numbers. By spotlighting individual learner journeys, we can showcase personal growth and #performance improvements. Instead of stating "95% of employees completed our new manager training last quarter," we can share, "Let me tell you about how Amy implemented what she learned about feedback conversations to dramatically improve her team's engagement scores." Storytelling aligns people to purpose by helping them see themselves and their colleagues reflected in the narratives. It builds connection as people realize we all experience similar pain points, growth opportunities, and wins. So as you look for ways to expand the reach and impact of L&D in your organization, I encourage you to tell more stories. Share how real humans have advanced in their careers thanks to new skills, built relationships using your training content or overcome challenges after adopting new tools. The facts and stats remain important, but the stories will truly capture hearts and minds. Have an example to share? Add it in the comments below and let's learn together!