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One of the best pieces of advice I got from an influential executive at the conclusion of a presentation to senior management that I brilliantly managed to, for lack of a better word, totally “flunked”, is this: “Whenever you’re presenting something, anything, especially to senior management, you’ve gotta tell a story.”
It took me a while to really understand the magnitude of this single piece of advice. Did he mean I could go ahead and tell fibs to my superiors? Or possibly make up slightly inaccurate, yet favorable-sounding bits of information? Well, nope…
The art of storytelling is as ancient as Time, and has been a staple of many a culture across the world. As corporate sisters with strong African and African-American cultures, we should know…Because if anyone can turn a mundane, every day event into an Oscar-worthy, attention-grabbing, breath-holding story, it’s us…No matter how many times we tell the story of Uncle Joe (bless his soul) sticking (and abandoning) his dentures into his slice of pecan pie last Thanksgiving, we can always find a way to make it sound fresh, updated, and on point…

Well, this is a skill that may well serve us in the corporate space, as we communicate and exchange ideas, findings, and results across the organization. This is especially important as we address the higher-ups, the senior management, the “tone at the top”, which provides incomparable opportunities to be noticed, and I mean positively noticed. A Vice-President, Controller, or General Counsel has only minutes, if that, to hear what we have to say. And it is those precious minutes that we in turn have to capitalize on to pass on a message that is fresh, innovative, complete, yet concise. So how can we achieve that, and how in the world would this have anything to do with Uncle Joe’s dentures stuck into the pecan pie slice (please read above for reference to uncle Joe’s dentures)?

Say, you analyzed the company’s current quarterly sales report, comparing it to prior periods and future forecasts, and defined trends and patterns that could very well influence the way the company should do business in the future? And say, you have, about 10 minutes of an otherwise crowded meeting to present the results of your analysis and offer a recommendation, what do you do? Well, you remember Uncle Joe’s dentures, and you follow some simple, yet age-old and success-proven practices:

Use a hook! Ever been fishing…I’ve never been (and frankly have no desire to), but I’ve heard enough about the poor worm and the greedy fish to know that in order to attract your busy audience’s attention, you’ve gotta hook them to something…That something? Your promise to do something else that will benefit them. Whether it’s solving a problem, anticipating one, or increasing the executive bonus pool, the hook has got to sound good and promising, so you can get those remaining 9 minutes of attention to really show what you’ve got….

Make It Short and Sweet! Remember Miss Johnson in English class, and how we had to read and summarize an entire book into a few sentences. Well, it’s time to remember…Tell the story of your findings in a summarized, concise yet complete way. Your most important findings should take center stage. This is where you can use some of that wit and charm that won’t make these otherwise drab statistics sound, well….so drab! There go another 4 minutes, now you’re halfway through, and you should have all eyes on you….

Present your Proposal! This is where you really show what you’ve got. You’ve hooked your audience, talked about the current state of things, and now you get to tell them what you feel should/could be done to really improve on the current situation. Use examples and similar situations in real-life to make your plan of action more concrete and colorful, just like you would when you’d compare Uncle Joe’s dentures to those questionable Halloween costumes on sale at the dollar store…Really?

Last but not least, take back your hook! Now you’ve got about one minute left to remind everyone of the wonderful promise you made when you first started out 9 minutes ago…This is where you exit with a bang, and reiterate your promise, just like you would close Uncle Joe’s dentures story with the proverbial: “I told y’all this would make you fall off your rockers….!”

Do you think the art of storytelling can land you a great career?

The Corporate Sister