Today, in our increasingly complex world, we are more likely to become knowledge specialists. … [+]
Gone are the days of polymaths like Leonardo DiVinci, the artist, doctor, engineer, sculptor, architect and so on. Today, in our increasingly complex world, we are more likely to become specialists, with knowledge deeply embedded in a particular discipline. The result is often knowledge in silos. This silo effect can happen even within a single business.
One of our healthcare technology clients has a marketing department with over 150 people working on 10+ different teams. Each team—brand, website, data analytics, enablement, and so on—has unique and intrinsic goals. The marketing department should be represented as an integrated entity to external stakeholders such as sales and operations and customers and partners. But they don’t have a process to share their work with a team. How much learning was lost because their knowledge was not shared?
When team members meet in functional meetings, their knowledge is not communicated effectively. For example, the analytics team provides a complete download on data, wading into the weeds, using jargon, and providing details that their audience doesn’t know how to avoid.
So engrossed in our subject matter are we, we forget what it’s like to be an outsider. Instead of convincing our audience to see for themselves, we work to prove our value.
Communication barriers across sectors persist in our information-rich workplace. Electronic devices will stop pinging. A test of the three Vs of data (volume, velocity, and variety) is more frustrating than informative. When distractions and information abound, attention is needed. Our audience should have:
- Attention – Are they scanning?
- Comprehension – Are they following and understanding?
- Care – Why do you care and care about doing something?
A good story captures your audience’s attention, but how do you make sure they understand and think about your complex ideas in the shortest amount of time possible? If your audience doesn’t understand it, they probably won’t tell you. After all, who wants to publicly admit that they don’t get it or – never mind?
This is the first in a series of articles aimed at giving you strategies to make complex topics easier and better understood. In this paper, we challenge seemingly universal abstract concepts such as “stakeholders”, “teamwork” or “direct communication”, which are not as vague or simple as they claim. Because we can take these types of generalizations for granted, they often become barriers to effective communication.
To discuss these everyday – but complex – ideas with a group or one-on-one, it’s helpful to define your terms. What do you mean by “fairness” or “corporate culture”? A dictionary definition is often not enough in these contexts, but business storytelling techniques can help.
At a recent professional development meeting for certified story facilitators, we faced the challenge of describing one of these difficult-to-define concepts in 200 words or less. The following examples give you a variety of structures to try when you want to communicate an abstract idea to your audience.
#1 Tell a story… where the key idea you want to discuss is lost.
Leaving an abstract name in the story will help your audience feel they need it. Here’s a story about what happens when a direct connection is lost, shared by certified story facilitator Chuen Chuen Yeo.
Many years ago, my colleague and I were working on a project. I thought everything was going well. Then, one day, my boss called me into the office and, out of sympathy, she knew how passionate I was, but I had to involve my partner in making decisions.
I was upset because I had no idea that my partner was angry, but I calmed down and nodded.
My colleague was waiting outside the boss’s office, and she began, “So, Chun Chun, I believe I should be direct, so I went to our boss…” I later learned that she was not comfortable with a decision I thought we had made together and decided to talk to our boss.
What is direct communication? Instead of beating around the bush, talk to the person directly about the issue.
Chuen Chuen uses this story to help new hires understand her leadership style while on-boarding and to communicate with other team members what is expected of them in their new role.
“We say and hear our name many times a day, often without even thinking about it.” Reshma … [+]
#2 Tell a story…where the key idea creates an emotion
In the next example, my colleague Rena Kanzal offers a story from America Ferrera’s essays, America Like Me, Reflections on Half-Wein Cultures. In this story, Reshma Saujani reveals the complexity hidden in a simple idea:
I almost always lie when I order the Grand Tea Latte at Starbucks. It’s a white lie that’s clean and airy like foam on a drink and carefully crafted to make all of our lives easier.
“May I have your name?”
I pull out my credit card and say “Maya” effectively.
The barista is a teenage girl with lavender slicked back hair and eyeliner so pretty and accurate, I wish for a moment I’d chosen a more mysterious name, which doesn’t really seem to work. Maya fumbles with her Sharpie on the side of the cup and I think of Maya. The real Maya, whose name I stole for a Starbucks order.
She has become my niece. She’s a beautiful fifteen-year-old girl who has no idea that I’m borrowing her name on a regular basis. But I do this because the baristas can spell and pronounce it correctly every time.
We say and hear our name many times a day without even thinking about it. However, it is tied to who we are, our family, and our sense of belonging and is deeper than what appears on the surface.
This story shows the many ideas contained in the single abstract noun “name” and makes the listener question the relationship with names. Asking your team to share personal but personal stories like this can create empathy and build trust among team members, creating meaningful ways to understand the company’s diversity during DEI training.
“Hope can be the cruelest thing in the world,” says author Harlan Coben.
#3 Tell a story… standing on the shoulders of giants
Just as you don’t need to reinvent the wheel, you don’t always have to come up with an original personal story to illustrate a complex topic. Some topics are already explained in a way that will clarify your meaning. For this reason, start collecting quotes. When you hear someone explain something in a way that completely captures your imagination, copy the helpful quotes into your document. You never know when to use it. Here’s a scene from a recent experience.
The best way I’ve ever heard someone describe his power is by New York Times Best selling author Harlan Coben. With his 33 murder mystery novels and 7 million copies sold, he knows something about power.
In an interview with the Freakonomics podcast about Suspense and Surprise, Harlan Coben said, “I often have missing people in my books and the missing element is really interesting. A missing person versus a murder: If someone’s dead, they’re dead. I’m trying to solve the crime. But if someone is lost, you have hope. Hope can be the cruelest thing in the world. It can crush your heart like an eggshell or it can make it soar. By giving people hope, you raise the odds and raise the stakes by giving up something that can finish you off.
When clients ask questions about the right emotion to invoke in a leadership story, the first part of the answer is…it depends. It depends on what you are trying to achieve. You have to match your goal with the right feeling. But no one likes an answer that starts with “decide”, so the second part of the answer is more obvious. Whatever emotion you choose to match your goal, your story should end with hope. Cobain’s story about the power of hope helps listeners understand why. It shows the power of emotion.
Learn another business storytelling technique to explain the complexities.
What common but complex ideas do you need to express and discuss with your team? What strategy do you use to help your team move the discussion forward?
