If you agree with me that people connect with each other—and, therefore, do business with each other—based more on emotional than on empirical grounds, then you’d want to master the art of the story. The National Storytelling Network and the International Storytelling Center exist for such a purpose.
To get started with a book on the subject, read The Story Factor: Secrets of Influence from the Art of Storytelling, second edition, by Annette Simmons (Basic Books, 2006). If you’re new to storytelling, which is an indispensable skill for managers of anything and anyone, you’ll like the simple theory and examples described in this book by a master storyteller. Simmons identifies six stories to learn and techniques to apply them in employing the story. They are Who Am I, Why I Am Here, The Vision, Teaching, Values in Action, and I Know What You Are Thinking.
