Whoever Tells the Best Story Wins: How to Use Your Own Stories to Communicate with Power and Impact [Hardcover]

Annette Simmons (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 16, 2007

Story telling is a powerful communications tool that is becoming more and more recognized in the business community. These stories are not the usual speech openers or ice breakers, but stories that will influence others to trust the storyteller and shape decisions and actions that are important to both individuals and organizations. As the author explains, we've been conditioned to believe that business communication should be clear, rational, objective, with no place for emotion or subjective thinking. Not true. The most powerful, persuasive communication has a human element: "Communication can't feel genuine without the distinctive personality of a human being to provide context. You need to show up when you communicate - the real you, not the idealized you.The missing ingredient in most failed communication is humanity. This is an easy fix. In order to blend humanity into every communication you send, all you have to do is tell more stories and bingo - you just showed up." This book teaches readers how to tell six kinds of stories. Part 1 explains how to shift from normal "business thinking" to story thinking. Part 2 describes the six types of story, and walks readers through the process of finding their own inspiring stories. Part 3 outlines five practical principles that maximize story as a tool to understand as well as persuade. Readers can also make journal entries to capture and develop story ideas. The book is - naturally - full of inspiring stories (some very funny). The style is lively and personal, yet eloquent and sophisticated.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...a worthwhile guide[…]storytelling is touted as a secret to effective leadership yet most of us are uncertain where to start."

-The Globe and Mail (Toronto)

Once upon a time, story was banished from business. Then Annette Simmons came along to show us the error of our ways. This book is a smart, practical guide to tapping the power of narrative to improve your business and your life."

--Daniel H. Pink, author of A WHOLE NEW MIND

"…reading it conveys the invaluable message that powerful presentations create, whether to the board chair, PTA or a class of high school juniors, when told through a good story."

-- The School Administrator

"It is superb and will be one of my best of the year."

-- The CEO Refresher

"Simmons is an enjoyable communicator, whether she is describing parts of the human brain or sharing an embarrassing moment…offers…professionals…help finding their voice or who need to create a voice for their organizations."

-- Technical Communiation

“…straightforward and easy to read…offers a profound insight into why presentations succeed or fail and a very concrete approach to generating more effective presentations…strongly recommend this book.”

Business Process Trends

“…conveys the invaluable message that powerful presentations create…” -- The School Administrator

“…strongly recommend this book to adult educators of all types. Although it targets trainers, the concepts and techniques…can be applied in many settings.” – Adult Learning Magazine

Book Description

Most people have been conditioned to believe that business communication must be clear, rational, and objective, with no place for emotion or subjective thinking. Yet the most powerful, persuasive communication has a human element...often delivered simply and personally through the telling of stories.

This book shows readers how to use personal stories to get their ideas across and create meaningful connections between themselves and their audience. Moving beyond the usual speech-openers or ice-breakers, the book gives readers a process for finding, developing, and using their own stories, including how to:

* gain people's trust * use six different kinds of stories * shift from everyday thinking into story thinking * help shape group decisions and actions.

Filled with enlightening anecdotes, this practical guide gives readers the tools they need to persuade, inspire, and influence others through the power of story.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: AMACOM; 1 edition (May 16, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0814409148
• ISBN-13: 978-0814409145
• Product Dimensions: 6.3 x 0.9 x 9.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #29,859 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #47 in Books > Business & Investing > Skills > Running Meetings & Presentations

More About the Author

Annette Simmons is a vibrant keynote speaker, consultant and author of four books: The Story Factor named as one of The 100 Best Business Books of All Time, Whoever Tells the Best Story Wins , A Safe Place for Dangerous Truth (AMACOM, 1998), and Territorial Games: Understanding and Ending Turf Wars at Work.

Annette started with a business degree from Louisiana State University in 1983, spent ten years in Australia in international business, attained a M.Ed. from NC State in 1994 and started Group Process Consulting in 1996. Annette is surprisingly honest, ferrets out hidden opportunities, joyfully takes risks and tells a good story.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

92 of 93 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars How to Communicate with Power and Impact May 23, 2007

By Robert Morris HALL OF FAMETOP 100 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

I am among those who have praised Annette Simons' previously published The Story Factor and are thus delighted that she has written this book in which she develops in much greater depth many of the same core concepts of the earlier work, one in which she rigorously examines the basic components of effective storytelling when explaining what a story is and what it can do that facts alone cannot. She suggests how to tell "a good story," in process explaining the psychology of an effective story's influence. She offers excellent advice on how to influence the unwilling, the unconcerned, and the unmotivated. Simmons also devotes an entire chapter to "Storylistening as a Tool of Influence," then in the next chapter identifies a number of storyteller Dos and Don'ts. Simmons concludes her book with insights that have their greatest value only if considered within the context created for each in previous chapters.

In this volume, she explains "how to use your own stories to communicate with power impact" and I commend her on the informal, almost conversational tone she establishes and then sustains throughout her narrative. Her focus is on what each of her readers can contribute to all manner of communications with others. Hence the effectiveness of her direct, one-on-one rapport with those for whom she wrote this lively and entertaining as well as informative book.

Appropriately, she shares a number of "stories" from her own life and career when illustrating various key points. For example, in Chapter10, she recalls a situation in which she was meeting with a group of international women in Europe only 10% of whom were from the U.S. When explaining how to be a more effective leader, she used a "I know what you are thinking story" to illustrate her key points. She recalled her need to "feel special" (i.e. to be admired, respected, and especially to be accepted) in school, college, and then as she began her career. Only later when she studied group process did she realize that "groups have patterns, and if you can predict the patterns of the group you can be in the right place at the right time. That sort of knowledge is power. I also learned about how ruthless groups can be to members who are innovative (deviant) or perceived as weak." This is but one of several examples - drawn from Simmons' own life and career - that illustrate how a personal story well-told can establish and then sustain a rapport, especially with those in an audience who may otherwise consider your point of view as dangerous, foolish, or simply not worth it. "Demonstrate how deeply you understand their objections by telling a story that validates them."

In Part Two, Simmons explains how to find and then formulate stories. She includes a series of exercises for her reader to complete...and do so within the spaces provided in the book. She introduces each exercise with brief comments and suggestions before the reader records her or his own thoughts, feelings, and experience when formulating various kinds of stories such as those that explain "Who-I-Am"(Chapter 5) and "Why-I-Am-Here" (Chapter 6). In Chapters 7-10, she then helps her readers to organize material for "Teaching Stories," "Vision Stories," "Value-in-Action Stories," and the aforementioned "I-Know-What-You-Are-Thinking Stories." Although Simmons' approach is systematic and comprehensive, I want to emphasize again the effectiveness of the personal tone of her narrative. Many readers will feel as if they are engaged in an extended conversation with her and, as they complete various exercises, interact with her as well as with the specific suggestions she offers.

In the "Call to Action" that concludes her book, she asserts that "every problem in the world can be addressed - solved, made bearable, even eliminated - with better storytelling. At first, initially this statement seemed somewhat hyperbolic to me and then I realized that some of the most influential leaders throughout human history (e.g. Jesus, Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill, Mohandas Gandhi, and Martin Luther King, Jr.) were master storytellers who anchored their most important ideas within a human context "to communicate with power and impact."

Few (if any) of us are worthy of being included among them but we can at least improve the skills we need to be much more effective when clarifying and then sharing with others our own thoughts, feelings, and experiences. That is why Annette Simmons wrote this book...and that is why I think so highly of it.

33 of 35 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Corporate Videos Benefit from Stories November 11, 2007

By Thomas R. Clifford

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

"This book is actually designed to help you pay more attention to the stories you tell."

Well said, Annette! (from page 22.)

So...

Are you paying attention to what stories are you telling?

Are you paying attention to what stories your company is telling?

As a filmmaker, I am passionate about telling stories from remarkable organizations. Personal stories is the DNA for corporate videos; it's the lifeblood.

We've all seen boring videos from organizations. Have you ever considered why they are boring?

Corporate videos are often boring because they lack a personal story with any emotion.

If you are looking to put emotion back into your life, your work or your presentations, Annette Simmons's new book is a fresh look on an ancient tool.

This new book on storytelling is remarkable for three reasons:

1. It's simple but extremely effective.
Annette's style and approach creates opportunities for anyone to begin re-framing their lives, their work and their future with new stories to tell.

2. It's thought-provoking.
If you haven't given too much thought as to who you are and why you are here, Annette will guide you step-by-step to discovering your personal story.

3. It works. Period.
Our brains are hard-wired for stories so why not consciously learn how to discover, tell and share stories that matter? Annette breaks the code for storytelling so you can implement the results right away.

I have shared "Whoever Tells the Best Story Wins" in meetings and the energy of the conversation instantly changes...everyone wants to chime in and share a story! Now, everyone has a new "frame" in which to proceed.

It's no wonder, then, it has become one of my favorite storytelling references.

Thanks, Annette, for a truly inspiring piece of work!

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Thinking in Story September 9, 2007

By A Rock In My Shoe

Format:Hardcover

This is a book that anyone who has suffered through one too many mind-numbing business presentations will most certainly appreciate. Storytelling is the antidote to death by Powerpoint. Let's face it, no one ever remembers all the data and information served up in those presentations--or cares, even. What people really want to know is, "What does all this mean? How does this affect ME?" In other words, what's the story behind the data?

As Annette Simmons says in Whoever Tells the Best Story Wins, experience is the best teacher--but story is the second best teacher. A story is a re-lived experience. And because people remember what they experience, they remember stories.

Business presentations are not the only place stories can be used to communicate clearly. There's the performance review, the job interview, the sales pitch, the consultation, the water cooler gossip and, of course, the ubiquitous meetings. And a story doesn't have to be a long-winded tale or narrative. It can be as simple as a ten-second analogy or example. But there is an art to picking the right story for the right moment, and the trick is to learn how to "think in story." This is what Ms. Simmons shows us how to do in her wonderful book.

The previous reviewer provides excellent details about the contents of the book, so I won't go into that here--the six types of stories and the places you go to find those stories. What I would like to add is that--much like How To Win Friends and Influence People or The Power of Positive Thinking--those who read this book and consciously apply it's principles will find their lives changed. I know it has changed mine. I'm thinking in story now.