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Make Your Internal Communications Memorable with Strategic Storytelling

by Doug Stevenson

Jean-Paul Sartre said, “We understand everything in human life through stories.”

I believe that is true. We comprehend better when a message is related in story form, and we also feel a stronger rapport with the person telling the story. Why not use memorable stories in your internal communications?

In his book, “The Owner's Manual for the Brain,” Pierce J. Howard, Ph.D., explains how memory is formed in three stages. The immediate memory is like a buffer area that can hold thousands of pieces of data for two seconds or less. The short-term memory is a like a broker that selects chunks of data to remember. It takes about eight seconds of attention to add one new chunk of short-term memory. A new chunk of short-term memory becomes long-term memory only when your listener’s attention is engaged over a sustained period of time. If told well, stories can do this.

When you cram too much information into a communication, training session or presentation, you’re doing a data dump on your listener. People can’t process data as fast as you can dump it. Their brains get stuck in immediate and short-term memory mode. You dump the data on them, and they dump the data into their mental trash bins. Nothing sticks. Yet, if you’ve ever had a supervisor tell a story to illustrate a point, you learned the lesson and probably enjoyed the learning process, too.

When you listen to a good storyteller, you hear the story with your head, heart and soul. You’re not a passive listener but an active participant. You’re experiencing the story as if it were your story. You feel what the storyteller feels and see what the storyteller sees. You memorize and retain the chunks of information contained in the story because you see the images, hear the sounds and feel the emotions. The story engages your attention on many levels, so when the storyteller makes the point, the learning sticks.

I have often told a story about a confrontation I once had with my boss. I share how he came into my office and exploded at me for missing a sales meeting. When I’m finished presenting the story, I ask my listeners what they experienced. Some say they got tense when the boss started yelling at me. When I ask what they saw, some describe my boss and how he was hovering over my desk. When I ask what they felt, some describe anxiety or embarrassment.

I call this heightened level of awareness a “sympathetic experience.” It’s the same thing that happens in a movie when we are startled or feel anxious. We forget that it’s a movie and react as if what is happening on the screen is happening to us. Good storytelling has that effect on the listener. Rather than listening and forgetting, the listener imprints the imagery from the story, thereby participating in the experience. This is why using a story in internal communications is more effective than facts and data alone.

Stories are also the perfect way to communicate corporate culture and history. They transform historical knowledge into actionable intelligence. Far too often we tell new hires what we expect of them, going into lengthy descriptions of desired behaviors and attitudes, when a simple story would accomplish more in less time.

In order to unearth corporate culture story gems, set aside time to interview veteran employees. Decide in advance what problems you need to address, what issues you want to focus on and what behaviors and attitudes you are looking to exemplify. Then craft a series of interview questions. Bring together groups of 10 to 15 people in an informal setting. Have a tape recorder available and watch the magic happen. People love to share what they know by telling stories. Capture their wisdom, and then archive the results in a database on your web site.

When crafting your stories, follow the “Nine Steps of Story Structure” to ensure that the story has all of the necessary elements. A well-crafted story needs to have a logical and linear flow, an appropriate balance of details and imagery, and it has to teach a practical lesson (see sidebar).

To make your message even more memorable, brand the point with a “Phrase That Pays.” A “Phrase That Pays” is a short, positive, action statement that comes out of the story and makes the point memorable. If the point of your story is that taking five minutes to prioritize your To-Do List will result in greater effectiveness, your “Phrase That Pays” might be: “Take Five to Thrive.” Keep the phrase short and sweet and make it an action command, rather than a concept.

People remember stories. If you use them in your internal communications, your audience won’t forget what you have to say.

Doug Stevenson is a speaker, trainer and speaking coach. He is the president of Story Theater International (www.storytheater.net) and the author of “Never Be Boring Again—Make Your Business Presentations Capture Attention, Inspire Action, and Produce Results.” You can reach him at doug@dougstevenson.com or at 800-573-6196.