Stories have the ability to transport us into other worlds, fire up our imaginations, make an emotional connection and resonate long after ending.
Today I have 10 tips to help transform your storytelling. I collated them yesterday while hosting discussions with 40 communicators at the Association for Strategic Practitioners in Internal Communications (Aspic) event in London.
Aspic is 20 years old and Sequel Group marked the occasion by inviting comms pros to experience a morning of fresh ideas and best practice at The Shard.
You can follow the conversations on Twitter #aspic20
Speakers were Sheila Hirst of OmiliaHirst, Rachel Royall, Director of Communication at Barking, Havering and Redbridge NHS Trust, Niall Ryan-Jones, Head of Employee Experience at Harrods and Eleanor Tweddell, Future Talent at Vodafone.
Reflecting back on 20 years of #internalcommunication with our first guest speaker Sheila Hirst pic.twitter.com/ovk4PQ7JZc
— Sequel Group (@sequel_group) February 9, 2017
This was followed by table sessions:
- Rachel Miller, Director of All Things IC – storytelling.
- Marc Wright, Publisher of simplycommunicate – Enterprise Social Networks.
- Martin Brooks, Success Through Impact – neuroscience, behaviour and making an impact.
- Paul Jones, Sequel Group – measurement and proving effectiveness of great internal communication.
Everyone had the chance to experience all four topics.
What I heard at Aspic
A glance at my Twitter feed @AllthingsIC shows what struck me from the different speakers. Here’s an overview:
The challenges facing IC pros 20yrs ago – this could have been written today. What’s changed?! Not as much as IC pros hope… #aspic20 pic.twitter.com/l2fh8R4Cz8
— Rachel Miller (@AllthingsIC) February 9, 2017
Always enjoy hearing @RachRoyall. She’s talking about the “Brexit effect” & pride through diversity. “It’s ALL about our people” #aspic20 pic.twitter.com/E6OOw0OvFI
— Rachel Miller (@AllthingsIC) February 9, 2017
“I struggle to see internal & external comms separately -information is integrated & conversations cross media & silos” @RachRoyall #aspic20 pic.twitter.com/8d1rN3RcQv
— Rachel Miller (@AllthingsIC) February 9, 2017
Love the fact employee experience is creeping into job titles. Niall Ryan-Jones, Head of Emp Experience @Harrods #aspic20 #client #EX pic.twitter.com/4lghCt8eQb
— Rachel Miller (@AllthingsIC) February 9, 2017
Niall @harrods “We encourage employees to invest in cust relationships. We empower them to deliver moments of truth & value them” #aspic20 pic.twitter.com/aEcld9NvR0
— Rachel Miller (@AllthingsIC) February 9, 2017
“Employee advocacy is at 97% We value that, it’s important to us at Harrods” – Niall, Head of Employee Experience. #EX #client #aspic20 pic.twitter.com/QPXSve2YUk
— Rachel Miller (@AllthingsIC) February 9, 2017
Customer centric principles at Harrods: reciprocity, equity, autonomy, loyalty, integrity. (Reflected int to be emp principles) #aspic20 #EX pic.twitter.com/Gkv3Eg5n9X
— Rachel Miller (@AllthingsIC) February 9, 2017
Employee relationship management and customer relationship management are two sides of the same coin. One follows the other. #aspic20
— Amanda H-P (@Wordyrapper) February 9, 2017
Listening to Vodafone’s Eleanor Tweddle: “IC’s role is to filter & make sense of organisational conversations” #aspic20 pic.twitter.com/ZBlL6Pqsr8
— Rachel Miller (@AllthingsIC) February 9, 2017
Millennials are often stereotyped but the truth is much more complex. Is it all about PURPOSE, impact and beanbags? #aspic20 pic.twitter.com/ZoppQadLlt
— Amanda H-P (@Wordyrapper) February 9, 2017
Slides
Here’s what Rachel Royall presented:
Eleanor’s presentation:
Niall’s presentation:
Storytelling skills
During my session I asked people to rate storytelling skills in their organisation, where one was non-existent and 10 was outstanding. The majority of people rated their companies as a six.
It’s worth noting when asked if there was a difference between senior leaders’ ability to use storytelling and employees’ ability, comms pros consistently rated their employees as being better at it.
How would you rank your organisation’s storytelling ability?
Impactologist Martin Brooks outlined three attributes you need to demonstrate to deliver impact:
- credibility
- competence
- confidence.
I think these go hand-in-hand with storytelling.
How can we improve?
I collated top tips from people in the room. So hot off the press, here’s an infographic showing what professional communicators say are the ingredients to deliver effective storytelling in organisations.
Do you agree with them? Would you add any others?
Further reading on the All Things IC blog on related topics
What is internal communication?
Eight internal communication myths
Why you need to focus on employee experience
How to learn about employer brand management
How ODEON designed its employer brand strategy
The world’s most meaningful brands 2017
The changing face of internal comms?
How to write an internal communication strategy.
Thank you for stopping by,
Rachel.
Post author: Rachel Miller
First published on the All Things IC blog 10 February 2017. Updated July 2017
