The Storytelling Edge

8The Storytelling Habit

Do you want to make a billion dollars? We'll tell you how. Invent a drug that builds and sculpts every muscle in your body perfectly in one dose. One pill, and you'll look like Arnold Schwarzenegger or Jillian Michaels.

If only it were that easy. The unfortunate reality of exercise is that even if you use steroids, you're going to have to make working out a habit.

Storytelling is no different. Sure, you can change people's minds with one story. You can reword a beggar's sign and get people to give more money. But if you want to build a long-term relationship—as a business or in everyday life—you're going to need to think of storytelling like going to the gym.

Every story you tell becomes a part of your overarching story. Just like every workout at the gym helps build your physique over time. The best companies are adept at consistently telling their story in a variety of ways over time. The most intriguing people tell lots of stories. They answer questions with stories. They relate to people with stories instead of just saying, “Me too.”

If you've made it this far, you're probably convinced that you should be using stories more to build relationships. But it's not always easy to convince an entire organization to start going to the gym, so to speak.

In this last section of the book, we'd like to lay out a few specific ideas for how you can make the case for stories inside your company.

Selling Storytelling Inside Your Organization

Ten years ago, it was ...