Storytelling Workshops for Teams
Photo Credit: Collin Blinder
In every interaction, a story is being told.
Let’s get that story right.
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Your Story Is Your Superpower
Storytelling is our oldest technology...yet many teams miss their goals because they haven't engineered a story that truly articulates value, gets stakeholders "on the same page," and acknowledges the individual in each interaction.
The solution isn't to create an army of TED-talkers, focusing on polished but static presentations, but to master the more complex listening, speaking, and feedback skills that matter for 99% of our interactions — what I call 3D Storytelling.
Let me share what I've learned working with scores of companies, universities, and organizations, along with a decade of teaching at Stanford, UC Berkeley, and Santa Clara University, about what's possible when you tell the right story, in the right way, at the right time.
Workshop Focus Areas:
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3D Storytelling
Telling a great story, or making a great presentation, requires three elements: Design, Deployment, and Dialogue.
When we miss our conversational target, it's often because one or more of these areas is underdeveloped Master all three of these dimensions to gain the confidence and skills not just to create great presentations, but to manage the questions and feedback that actually determine success.
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Grow a (Storytelling) Spine
The ability to tell compelling stories about yourself, your product, and your company is an essential skill in business. Learn how to effectively structure stories, implement simple techniques to make your stories more appealing, and practice telling engaging stories when you don’t have the opportunity to rehearse in advance.
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Learning (again) How To Listen
The best communicators are the best listeners. As we design more productive conversations for our teams and customers, we’ll master the framework of Functcional and Relational listening, an approach to active listening that prompts us to ask the right questions at the right time, especially when the stakes are high and values might seem at odds.
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Conflict as Gift
In the same way that the best stories define conflict early and well, effective business presentations manifest the stakes — and the potential for conflict — with clarity and intention.
Viewing conflict from a storytelling perspective allows us to see the values and logic of an idea/product’s “narrative,” as well as place it in a more neutral frame where more proeuctive solutions will emerge.
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Storymapping as Teambuilding
A story is a journey, just like a person’s life, and the lifecycle of a product or an idea. Shifting from a narrative to a visual framework, we will use the tools of design and map-making to help us see immediately, and in full color, where the journeys of our team, company, and product are aligned, and where they are off-track.
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Meaningful Feedback
Giving and receiving feedback is among the most stressful work conversations, even if the results of a project or presentation are positive. Leaning into the insights gleaned from theater and improv, we’ll break open “Yes, and…” to harvest more targeted and specific kinds of feedback, as well as explore the “neutral zone” where a project or performance can be studied without judgment.
"Dan's a master synthesizer and a gifted creative leader. He always brings a fresh perspective to projects and reveals connections and opportunities that might not be apparent at first, but seem obvious once he's pointed them out. He drives for clarity in thinking without giving in to oversimplification—he's not afraid to let things be as complicated as they are. And somehow, he still finds a way to explain it that anyone could understand. You'd be lucky to have this natural teacher and warm intellectual on your team."
— Kathryn Jaller, Lead UX Writer
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