Hooked: How Leaders Connect, Engage and Inspire with Storytelling

Chapter 3

Business storytelling styles

There’s always room for a story that can transport people to another place.

J.K. Rowling, author

The good news is that everyone has the ability to tell stories — including stories with a strong purpose that are gripping and enjoyable and that influence action. The first thing you need is to identify the type of storyteller you are. That way you will be able to work on the areas you need to address or improve on. That’s what we will be looking at in this chapter.

Then, in chapter 4, we will get into the juicy stuff of crafting your stories.

The four types of storyteller

In the years of running our workshops, we have observed many different leaders across a variety of businesses and industries. Regardless of position, age, gender or race, we have noticed that there are four distinct styles of business storyteller:

• The Avoider (low engagement and low purpose)

• The Joker (high engagement and low purpose)

• The Reporter (low engagement and high purpose)

• The Inspirer (high engagement and high purpose).

Each style is determined by two factors.

The first measures how engaging your story is. This ranges from a very low or complete lack of engagement, where you have failed to get the listener’s attention or interest, to a really high level of engagement, where the listener is hooked on every word you say.

The second factor determines whether your story has a strong purpose. This again will range from low, where you are not sure why you are ...