“I like the stories,” my client answered.
The question I’d asked: “What DO you like about my LinkedIn posts?” which I ask when anyone says they like them. (It’s a good follow-up question whenever you get positive but overly general feedback about anything.)
It’s stories that stick, more than just facts and advice. Yet, storytelling is NOT part of my effective communication training for scientists. Why not, when it’s so powerful?
Because we scientist – trained professionals tend to tell the wrong stories, or at the wrong time.
- We describe how we got to the result, when our audience just wants the result.
- We go step by step into why we can’t meet a deliverable, instead of stating the status and next steps.
- We provide technical information in great detail and underplay the personal and strategic, where stories often live.
We mix up storytelling and explaining.
If you’re walking someone through how something works or why something happened, you’re explaining (like I’m doing right now). It’s not as compelling as storytelling, is it? You’re telling a story when your focus is on events unfolding over time, usually involving people, choices, or change.
I’ve come to believe that hearing stories opens up a sense of possibility for the listener that doesn’t happen when they’re just taking in information.
Still, there’s a time and place for explanations. Here are some examples of when you might use each of them:
When to explain
- You’re clarifying why something succeeded or failed.
- You’re justifying the amount of time a task will take.
👉 In job interviews, to walk the interviewer through what you know, how you think, and your rationale for choices.
When to tell a story
- You’re trying to motivate or calm a team by sharing how you navigated a similar situation.
- You want to illustrate an aspect of company culture for your mentee or direct report.
👉 In job interviews, tell a story when you’re asked what you did, how you handled something, or how you’ve grown.
Next time you find yourself giving a longer answer or update, ask yourself, which am I doing – storytelling or explaining? Am I trying to inform, or make the listener feel and believe something new?
To help people feel a new sense of possibility about how to thrive at work has always been a major goal of this newsletter, which is two years old this month. Readership has more than doubled the past year (perhaps a result of following my own advice and putting my work out in the world!)
To celebrate the anniversary, here are the year’s topics and stories that resonated most with readers, ending with my own personal favorite.
