In this episode, Gabrielle Dolan challenges corporate norms that facts and figures are primarily what matters, and instead describes the influential power of storytelling, both internally with your team and externally with the consumer. She helps us differentiate sucky stories from sticky stories, discusses how emotional impact of story precedes logic in consumer decisions and encourages us that, when told well, our ordinary human stories can truly be extraordinary.
Listen in, as we explore…
[02:48] How storytelling in leadership can be a more effective way to communicate your message and fast-track trust, both internally within your team as a leader, and externally to your consumer.
[05:17] The impact in business of leading with story to influence vs. leading with facts and figures to inform.
[07:50] What makes a sucky story vs. what makes a story stick.
[11:37] The five different types of stories within an organization/brand and the impact they each can have.
[15:07] The impact and importance of continuing to tell personal stories, including an example from Gabrielle, even as your company evolves and grows from a small business into a larger organisation.
[19:13] Why your stories matter, including another example from Gabrielle which results in an in-the-moment emotional reaction in Chela that proves that story taps into emotion in a way that facts and figures cannot do. How people buy through emotion, and later justify using logic.
[23:39] A personal story from Chela around her emotions leading the way in a purchase she made.
[26:25] What makes an ordinary story, an extraordinary story? They discuss how reliability is key to a magnetic story, and how it does not have to be profound to be powerful.
[30:22] How story helps people understand what you are saying, helps them remember it and enables them to tell it to other people without losing its meaning. Gabrielle speaks to how this is very different from facts, figures and logic when trying to communicate and influence people.
[34:58] All the places and spaces where you can find Gabrielle’s work, including her free ‘7-day Storytelling Starter Kit’.
[36:35] Gabrielle leaves us by sharing her personal (and sometimes painful she explains) current leadership edge, and how it informs the way in which, in some spaces, she is being called to leave the advice-offering hat at the door, and instead sit back and ask what is truly needed.
More from Gabrielle:
About Gabrielle:
Gabrielle can tell you a story or two. In fact, it was while working in senior leadership roles in CorporateAustralia she realized the power of storytelling in effective business communication. She is now a highly sought-after international keynote speaker and
educator. Her impressive client list includes VISA, EY, Amazon, Vodafone and the Obama Foundation, to name drop a few …and she got to meet Barack Obama while undertaking that work. Gabrielle holds a master’s degree in Management and Leadership and has studied at Harvard. She is the best-selling author of several books including Real Communication which was a finalist in the Australian Business Leadership Book Awards for 2019. Plus, Stories for Work (2017), which reached number one in Australia’s best-selling business books. Her latest book Magnetic Stories: Connect with Customers and Engage Employees with Brand Storytelling debuted at No 2 in Australia business books in March 2021 and was a finalist in three categories in the International Book Awards 2021. She is the founder of Jargon Free Fridays. (Don’t ever say the word ‘pivot’ to her unless you are talking about basketball.) In 2020, her dedication to the industry was recognised when she was awarded Communicator of the Year by IABC Asia Pacific. She lives in Melbourne, Australia with her husband, Steve, and two daughters, Alex and Jess.
Find Gabrielle here:
Website – https://gabrielledolan.com/
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabrielledolan/
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/gabrielledolan.1/
Twitter – https://twitter.com/GabrielleDolan1
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/gabrielledolanconsulting/