My Leadership Solutions

lead·er·ship: not only for those with a fancy title. High doses can lead to success. Side effects include courage and confidence

Is storytelling an overrated or overlooking teaching tool?

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Storytelling has played a key role for humans for thousands of years. It doesn’t take money or resources to tell stories, yet it has helped build connections and relationships throughout history. Storytelling isn’t only a form of timeless entertainment but also an important and effective teaching tool that is often overlooked.

Many textbooks and lessons for children are written in a dry, formulaic manner. Children are curious and eager to learn. Although they are not born to think that school will be boring, the way that concepts and information are presented to them can cause them to lose interest and believe that the entire topic is boring.

WHY IS STORYTELLING EFFECTIVE?

Stories don’t just engage the mind, but also aim to elicit emotions, and are helpful in teaching lessons.

In the book, How to Tell Stories to Children, authors Joseph Sarosy and Silke Rose West, illustrate why stories should be used as a vital part of teaching.

According to Rose West and Sarosy, one reason is that people are more likely to remember material from a story (2021). “Memory has as much to do with how information is taken in as how it is recalled. Attention plays a key role, telling the brain where and when to lay down tracks for the incoming information. As we all know, however, attention is a limited resource. Storytelling, along with its central characters, emotional gravity, unusual plot developments, and descriptive language, is one of the most powerful tools we have for gaining and retaining attention” (Rose West & Sarosy, 2021, p. 108).

Have you ever read the same line over and over again without paying attention and then not been able to recall what you just read a few minutes later?

We’ll remember information differently based on how we gain that information. The package that is used to deliver that information plays a key part in how much of it the learner engages with and retains.

Information presented in a dull way doesn’t have the same effect as information presented in an interesting way even though it’s the same information. Start with the end result or goal in mind – the student learns the information. Now, work backwards from there. How do I present this topic in a way that causes the audience to listen? Who is my audience? What is their knowledge level? What do they find interesting?

This method may seem time-consuming and it certainly takes more time than just regurgitating facts and statistics from a text book, but put it into the context of your goal. Your goal shouldn’t be to present the information. If that was your only goal, then obviously, reading the facts would be the fastest way to reach the goal.

Keep in mind that the goal is that the child learns the information. In that case, it is more efficient to use a story or an anecdote to present the information in an interesting way, because the extra time it takes upfront to come up with a creative package for the information will help shorten the time it takes for the learning to occur.

FICTION VS. NONFICTION  

“We did not choose books solely for their instructional value. I would even say we chose them mainly on the basis of the enthusiasm they were likely to arouse in the children – as opposed to in us, or in the school-district officials,” wrote Céline Alvarez, a bestselling researching and educator, in her book The Natural Laws of Children: Why Children Thrive When We Understand How Their Brains Are Wired (Alvarez, 2019, p. 186). She observed that the children were much more engaged when they were interested in the story.

Common Core standards required students to have nonfiction be a certain percentage of their reading instead of primarily reading fiction. Natalie Wexler, education journalist, points out in The Knowledge Gap that the argument in favor of this change toward nonfiction was that students would gain useful knowledge versus reading fiction, which didn’t teach anything. However, a challenge they ran into was that. without having relevant knowledge, the students struggled to examine or even understand the nonfiction texts. They were better able to understand fiction since it was based on familiar human behavior (Wexler, 2019).

Certainly, there are merits to reading fiction and nonfiction. Why not have both in the same text? An entertaining story that elicits enthusiasm and has educational value.

USING STORYTELLING TO TEACH PUBLIC-SPEAKING

I wrote Super Speaker because I wished that I had been exposed to public-speaking at a younger age, because developing my presentation skills helped me gain confidence and become a better communicator in many different arenas of life.

Sure, I could’ve just written my framework for effective public speaking – the  5 P’s of Presentations and the descriptions – and have been done with it. It would’ve taken me much less time and effort and it would take the reader much less time and effort as well. But there wouldn’t be any emotions involved. That method wouldn’t have portrayed public-speaking as interesting and would’ve been less likely to engage the reader at their level. The book’s main characters are sixth-graders starting middle school and going through changes that are relevant to the audience.

Instead of having the kids listen to an adult lecturing them about why they better learn public-speaking, they are treated to a story that elicits emotions and hopefully makes them want to continue reading. As they learn the steps, they are also exposed to the importance of public-speaking, but not as a skill that they’ll use someday somehow as an adult. Instead, they can see how they could use it in their current world along with practical steps that they can use.

No One Listens to Me at Work

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I work as an entry-level copy editor at a marketing firm and as difficult as this position was to get, I’m ready to quit. No one listens to my ideas at work. Every time that I’m in a meeting with people in higher level positions (almost everyone is in a higher position that me), they treat me like I’m an intern. They act as if I’m bothering them by bringing up my ideas. I don’t know what to do and am too frustrated to speak up during meetings.

Sincerely,

Invisible Editor

Dear Invisible,

First of all, you need to replace your “woe-is-me” quitter attitude with the self-confident attitude that you displayed to beat out hundreds of other hopeful candidates to land this coveted position.

You say that you want to get your ideas heard.  Ideas…they’re a dime a dozen.  Everyone thinks that they have a great idea, especially when they’ve just started at a new company.  Now, I understand that yours are truly unique and wonderful, but how do you get others to see that? No one listens to me

People who’ve been at a company for a while (the ones in higher positions who are not listening to you) want to make sure that any ideas that are implemented help the company reach its goals because that will also help them be successful.  You first have to prove yourself worthy of being able to understand the company and its goals, i.e. understand the goals of those in higher positions you’re working with.

In order to let them gain the confidence in you, take one of the ideas that they suggest.  Tell them you understand that they’re busy and that you want to help them out. Then do whatever it takes to bring that idea to fruition. Keep in mind that you’re going to be able to use a lot of your talent, problem-solving, project management, and creativity to implement that idea.

After you’ve dazzled their socks off with how brilliantly you carried out their plans and regained the confidence in yourself, call a meeting to discuss your idea. Be as prepared as possible before going into this meeting. Anticipate questions or concerns they may have and be ready with a response.

Ideas…they’re a dime a dozen. 

Also, your idea will be more likely to gain popularity with the higher-ups if if helps answer the following questions:  1) How can the company make more money or get more clients?  2)  How can the company save money?

If you continue to get ignored, then a great way to make sure your ideas are implemented is to start your own business. You sound like a self-directed person so going the entrepreneurial route may be best for you. Research your options while you’re getting experience from your current job.

Good luck!







Leadership and Listening Part 2: Stop Faking and Really Listen

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Are you faking?  Fake listening, that is.  It happens more than we’d like to admit.  Think back to the people who talked to you today.  How many times did you tune them out, multi-task while they were speaking, or think about something else entirely?

We’re bombarded with so many messages on a daily basis that we’ve come to figure out ways to tune out all the noise.  By becoming so adept at tuning out messages, we may have shortened our patience and attention span for the important messages.  Truly listening and understanding someone’s needs takes time.  It takes effort to schedule the conversation, be fully present when having the conversation, and really listen to what the person is saying.

By fake listening, you may hear the person’s words, but you miss the tone or emotion behind the words.  You miss the opportunity to ask questions to delve deeper into what the person is saying.  People notice when you’re not really listening to them.  Think back to the last time you were talking to someone and senses that they weren’t really listening.  How did it make you feel?

If you get actual face-to-face time with a person, take advantage of it by being fully engaged in the conversation.  It’ll help you build the relationship.

Business moves fast.  Technology moves fast.  People move fast.  You may be thinking, “It costs me too much time to sit down and listen.  I just want to get the message and move on.”

Instead of thinking it’ll cost you too much time to listen, think about what it’s costing you to not listen.  What’s it costing in terms of valuable relationships with co-workers, employees, and clients?  What’s it costing your company in terms of mistakes, misunderstanding, and inefficiencies?

Most people can’t afford to not listen.  It’s a valuable tool that you can have at your disposal, if you’re willing to take the time and put in the effort.

 

I’ll be posting a series of listening articles.  Stay tuned!

 

 







ABC Model for Successful Presentations – Step 1 Assess

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ABC Model for Successful Presetations

As I wrote in my previous article, I’m going to write a separate article for each step of the ABC Model for building your presentation skills.  The first step in the model is “Assess.”  It refers to assessing your feelings about the presentation.

Many people jump write into writing the content and preparing what they’re going to say.  Then the night before or right before they have to speak or worse yet, when they’re in front of the audience, they experience a rush of the negative feelings and fears that they haven’t dealt with and they panic.

Before you jump into the presentation, you want to do an assessment of your feelings around giving the presentation including any fears, anxieties, negative thoughts, or excitement you are experiencing.  The reason that the first step is about assessing the feelings you have around giving presentations is because by doing so, you’ll have the maximum amount of time to deal with these feelings and any obstacles they may bring about.

It’s much better to acknowledge these feelings early on so that you don’t go into panic mode right before the presentation.  It’s normal to still feel nervous no matter how much you have prepared, but you’ll have strategies to deal with the nerves so that they don’t leave you paralyzed.

Examine fears and anxieties, negative thoughts and labels you’ve given yourself that relate to giving presentations or speaking in public.

Fears and Anxieties

  • Write down fears and anxieties you have about giving the presentation.
  • Break down the reasons that you’re feeling the fear and put together a plan to help you overcome it.
  • Visualize the presentation being very successful.
  • Turn your fear into energy.  Take that adrenaline that you’re experiencing from the fear and use it to energize your presentation.
  • Anticipate what may (realistically) go wrong so that you can better prepare for it.
  • Find ways to relax before the presentation.  Tactics such as deep breathing, exercise, or meditation may help.

Negative Thoughts

You may be experiencing negative thoughts that don’t have anything to do with fears or anxiety.  Maybe, your manager is making you do the presentation or your teacher assigned it for homework.  Perhaps you don’t care about the topic or feel pressed for time in preparing for it.  Now is the time to let go of these negative thoughts, because they will affect the way that you prepare and deliver the presentation.  Then, you’ll give a less than stellar presentation, which may hurt your reputation, your grade, or your view of public speaking.

  • First write down the negative thought(s).
  • Ask yourself “Why am I experiencing these thoughts?”  If there is a valid reason why you are experiencing the thought and there’s something you can do about it, write down the action you can take.  For example, if you don’t have enough information about the topic, the action you can take is to conduct research on (blank).
  • Write one to three benefits you’ll gain by giving the presentation.  It could be as simple as “I’ll improve my speaking abilities” or “I’ll get face time with the employees in XYZ department, which is the department I eventually want to work in.”  You can use those benefits as your “positive thoughts.”
  • Start focusing on the positive thought as you begin to prepare.  The negative thought may creep up and that’s okay.  When you see it coming, replace it with the positive thought.

Labeling

  • By labeling yourself as “shy” or a “bad public speaker” or telling yourself you’ll never be a great speaker, you’re holding yourself back.  Labeling yourself a “great speaker who doesn’t need practice” can also hurt you by holding you back from putting valuable time into preparing for the presentation.
  • In order to rid yourself of these labels, you first need to write them down.
  • Write down specific examples of why you’ve given yourself that label.  If you have no examples, then that should tell you that the label is false.  Cross it out.
  • If you do have examples, look at each example separately.  Ask yourself if the example is related to public speaking and if it is not related, cross it out.  If it is related, ask yourself what you are going to do differently this time so that this presentation is more successful.

Here’s an example:

Label:  Bad public speaker

Reason for giving myself that label:  I turned red and forgot my lines in the school play in the 6th grade.

Is it related to public speaking?  Yes, I was speaking in front of an audience.

What is different this time?  15 years have passed.  I wasn’t aware of my fears before going on stage during that time.  Now I’m dealing with it before hand and will have strategies for overcoming stage fright before my presentation. Also, I’m not memorizing lines.  I know and understand the topic I’ll be speaking about.

Next Step

Now that you are finished with the first step, Assess, you can move on to the next step, Brainstorm.  Stay tuned for details in my next article!