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<\/p>\nLeadership consultant and CEO of Clear Ink, Margaret E. Ward tells us about the disadvantages of zoom calls and the beauty of storytelling as we work remotely.<\/p>\n
Executive coach Margaret Ward gives advice and guidance to many professionals who come to her with issues in communicating in the workplace. \u201cIf you\u2019re great at presenting in the room- people are compelled to look at you. Now that energy is gone,\u201d \u00a0she said. This means we have to work that bit harder and prepare that bit more if we want to grab our audience\u2019s attention.<\/p>\n
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A common issue amongst her clients today is the ability to get their point across and be influential without losing the attention of their audience. \u201cBecause people aren\u2019t in a room with each other that human touch is gone, and human contact is hugely important for connection. We can only truly influence and persuade people when we\u2019re using all our senses,\u201d she said. But as we work remotely how do we do that?<\/p>\n
One rule of thumb from Margaret is \u2018be brief, be bright, be gone’. Leaders need relevant information articulated clearly and quickly. When dealing with top-level decision-makers, such as CEOs and managing directors, your story must be told in a style that adheres to what the other person needs. This can be done by understanding who you\u2019re talking to and what they want. \u201cStrong communicators are empathetic,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Creating a \u2018to the point story\u2019 should include relevant information and should be done quickly but most importantly it should be visual. Adding a case study is a good tool. You can paint a story to someone making it a lot more interesting. \u201cVisual storytelling makes you memorable,\u201d Margaret said. After all, stories can provoke all the senses and if we\u2019re connecting virtually, we need to connect visually.<\/p>\n
Another rule of thumb Margaret advises her clients to do is prepare more. That doesn\u2019t mean giving more information, in fact, it\u2019s quite the opposite, keep it precise. Know the three or four bullet points you want to get across clearly and precisely. \u201cIf you don\u2019t value the managers time and prepare, they won\u2019t invite you back \u2013 do the work,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Naturally, people begin to doubt themselves when others don\u2019t listen. Speaking from an experience with a client, Margaret said: \u201cHe didn\u2019t have to change who he was; he just had to adapt his communication style to his environment. You must adjust to who your audience is.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a piece written by Margaret Ward called \u2018The Science of Storytelling\u2019, she wrote, \u2018A study by Uri Hassen of Princeton University found that when listening to another speaker tell a story, the same areas of both the speakers and listeners\u2019 brains would light up in an MRI. This connection creates greater collaboration and trust, essential for teamwork.\u2019 In the same piece she also wrote, \u2018when the brain processes stories, it creates oxytocin (the chemical that tells the brain it is ok to approach or trust this person)\u2019.<\/p>\n
Margaret confirms that when we connect with people in the room, we are inviting more opportunities for positive engagement, that\u2019s why we need to engage and that\u2019s why storytelling is so important.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
With everything gone virtual we’ve no choice but to adapt- storytelling can help grab your audience’s attention as we move our meetings online.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":4268,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-184","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-working-from-home","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n