All posts by Jon Ussery

07c-Telling stories

Tell Your Digital Story (or someone will do it for you)

2 Comments

The value of a story is timeless, but the medium in which stories are disseminated has changed dramatically in just the last decade.  Tom Cochran, chief technology officer at Atlantic Media, said, “If you don’t have a digital presence today, you don’t exist.” The fastest way to influence a group of followers is through a digital story, whether it be through a short tweet or through a well-crafted blog post.  And the thing is, even if you don’t create a digital presence for yourself or your company, someone else will do it for you.

The advice given by Word of Mouth Marketing author Andy Sernovitz is to embrace digital and join the conversation.   It’s more important to be responsive than to be right.  Below are four digital recommendations offered by Sernovitz:

  1. Build credibility before you need it: Build a community that knows you and knows your brand.  If any negative PR does occur, you’ll already have a support team of fans and a platform in which to respond.
  2. Bring it inside the tent:  You are better off if criticism happens on your own blog or website because you will be able respond more quickly and contrast the negative comment with positive comments from all of your other fans.  Do not remove criticism, but use your forum to respond in a helpful and caring way.
  3. Let your fans do it:  If possible, have your fans respond to negative comments.  A defense from a fan is more valuable than a defense from within the company.
  4. Never get caught by surprise: Stay plugged in to what your fans are saying and respond immediately.  Conversations move quickly in the digital world.  If you want to have an influence, participate in the moment.

A Dell customer service disaster gone viral via social media by Jeff Jervis in 2005 points succinctly to the power of the internet, the influence of customers, and the customer’s expectation of engagement and response.  Dell had a hard lesson to learn about the power of the consumer voice in digital media, but in the end, they have strengthened their relationships with their customers and created a forum in which customers can interact.

You have a choice, an opportunity, to participate in digital platforms.  Join conversations, offer helpful insights, maybe even defend and rectify every once in a while.  What do you have to lose?  The only way that you will find out what people are saying and what people are waiting for you to say is by engaging in the digital story.

07d-Delivering a presentation

Increasing Influence through Self Monitoring

Leave a comment

The definition of charisma is “compelling attractiveness or charm that can inspire devotion in others.”  The ability to formulate a speech or deliver a pitch is very valuable, but the ability to attain followers in the process requires introspection and skill.  There is a yin and yang in the achievement of influence.  Speakers want to feel confidence in front of an audience or a group and listeners want to feel a connection with the speaker and his/her content.  A previous blog post on Power Poses discusses the impact of striking a power pose for the benefit of the speaker.  The confidence that the speaker emulates will most likely also have an effect on the audience, but there is another approach called self monitoring which influences the listener as well.

Professor Mark Snyder of the University of Minnesota published a paper titled “Self Monitoring of Expressive Behavior” in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology in 1974 describing his research on self monitoring and its impact.  In the paper, he describes self monitoring as “self-observation and self control guided by situational cues to social appropriateness.”  Snyder notes that politicians and actors are more easily able to achieve a high degree of self monitoring, while individuals who are not as attuned to his/her environment exhibit more low self monitoring characteristics.

Much research regarding self monitoring has since been conducted since Dr. Mark Snyder’s initial research.  An interesting Stanford ECorner lecture given by Ori Brafman titled “How to Build Instant Connections” describes research defining high and low self monitors and their attributes.   This lecture was inspired by Brafman’s book titled Click: The Magic of Instant Connections.

The question that Brafman answers is: how do certain people form natural, instant connections?  Brafman found that high self monitors naturally meet the people around them where they are through a mirroring technique. When people mirror us, we naturally like them better.  Brafman reported that a Stanford team researched a group of college graduates and found that high self monitors changed jobs more frequently and were promoted more rapidly than their peers.  This accelerated promotion track was largely attributed to the fact that high self monitors were often found in the center of networks due to their ability to self monitor.  Another interesting observation that Brafman notes is that the average person takes 18 years to be in the center of a network while it only takes an average of 13 months for a high self monitor to elevate to the center of a network.

In the published articles, lectures, and book reviews the theme traits of high self monitors include the ability to read people and make them feel comfortable, the characteristic of “mirroring,” and the ability to be fluid in group situations.  It may take practice to become a natural high self monitor, but the increased influence that it affords makes the rewards worth the effort.  To take Dr. Mark Snyder’s self monitoring assessment test, click here.

07c-Telling stories, 07d-Delivering a presentation

The Silent Story: Striking a Power Pose

2 Comments

Stories, sales pitches, and every other form of communication rely heavily on word selection, but there is another key ingredient in the recipe: body language.  Our subconscious relies on more than just a string of words to interpret the meaning and depth of a story.  We also use body language to determine the credibility of the speaker.  The interesting thing about body language is that it has a similar effect on both the speaker and the audience.  An article published by the Wall Street Journal says that striking a powerful pose actually changes a person’s hormones and behavior, giving the perception of real power.  The power pose can be practiced before a meeting to start elevating the hormones conducive to a better performance and more confidence.

Professor Amy Cuddy of Harvard University presented a TED talk  titled “Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are” in which she elaborated on her research regarding the impact of the power pose.   In one experiment that she conducted, individuals were asked to assume either a low power pose or a high power pose for 2 minutes.  The results showed that after just 2 minutes, there was a change in the hormones testosterone and cortisol, giving the high power posing individuals a higher tolerance for risk and the low power posing individuals a lower tolerance for risk.

So what exactly is a power pose?  According to Forbes magazine, a power pose can be as simple as standing with arms out, hands on hips, and legs spread open.  The victory arm-pumping in the air is another example.  Although very informal, sitting back in a chair with legs propped on a desk and arms folded behind the shoulders is a classic power pose.  Basically, the act of expanding the body can create a power pose that triggers the brain to think bigger too.

There is a proper time to strike a power pose, whether privately in a bathroom or publicly in front of an audience.  The mindset that is achieved through behavior is one of the most powerful tools that can be utilized in communication.  Your business pitch might just depend on that extra little bump in hormones.

07c-Telling stories

Elements of a Story

Leave a comment

Stories are the fiber of what holds everything together. Stories can be personal or they can be professional. The elements that make a story great remain consistent, but the emphasis on different elements of a story may shift. When you go home at Thanksgiving, your grandfather wants to hear all of the details of your new job, but when you face an executive review board at work, you need to keep your words to their most effective minimum. This is the difference of when emphasis shifts. Knowing the give and take of a good story is where the art exists. And that is where practice makes perfect.

1.     The Audience: Knowing your audience is one of the biggest keys to a good story. By knowing the expectations and world view of your audience, everyone is on the same team. When your story resonates with the audience’s belief system, this is when stories are spread. (Remember, you are resonating with an existing world view, not trying to bully pulpit the audience to think the way that you do.)

2.     Clarity: Details are important, but not at the expense of your main point. Make sure that the main point of what you are saying is not lost in all of your attention to the telling of the story. The reason you are telling the story is to evoke a response—inspire, motivate, create urgency, give warning. Make that happen by always returning to the main point.

3.     Credibility: This goes back to the audience element. If you cannot evoke trust, you aren’t just telling a story, you are telling a lie (which ironically some people call a story). Be authentic and maintain the trust of the audience. Don’t contradict the belief system that your story appears to espouse. Be authentic and win friends.

4.    Brevity: A simple story is more successful than a complicated one. Understatement carries a big impact. Maintain a cadence and progression in the story.

5.     Add Context: Appeal to the senses, not to logic: descriptive language makes you feel like you are there and relates to the audience. A Forbes article published in 2013 states that 80% of what we hear is gone within 24 hours, and a story makes information sharing more memorable.

6.     Create tension: Any time that you want to connect with an audience, you have to create some form of interaction. Ask a probing question to make them think (bonus: require that someone in the audience responds). Tension makes the audience wrestle. Make the audience feel invested.

7.     It never hurts to add humor: As Mark Twain says, “The humorous story is strictly a work of art—high and delicate art—and only an artist can tell it; but no art is necessary in telling the comic and the witty story; anybody can do it. The art of telling a humorous story—understand, I mean by word of mouth, not print—was created in America, and has remained at home.”

The final element of a good story is practice. As much as we would like to think that storytelling off the cuff will come easy, the best story tellers will attest that practice makes perfect. Given the value of a story, mastering this art is worth it.

07c-Telling stories

The Art of Storytelling

1 Comment

Effective communication engages and connects with an audience.  This skill differentiates top leaders and world changers from mere managers.  It is also a pretty good indication of who commands the largest crowd at a party.  And the best communicators know that the way to reach into the hearts and the minds of their audiences is through storytelling.

Data can be compelling, but stories help give it life in the minds of its receivers.  We remember facts in context of a story. Zig Ziglar, American salesman and motivator, used stories as his sales method to create an emotion behind the facts of what he was selling.  Stories inspire people, they touch emotions and help them envision the message.

Looking to start a world-wide movement?  One of the greatest influencers of all time, Jesus Christ, told stories through parables to his followers. Mark 4:34 says, “He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.” Whether you plan to start a movement as big as the spread of Christianity or just want to convince the room to understand your pitch on a business idea, the value of a story cannot be underestimated.

There are a few characteristics of a great story to consider, making storytelling a very achievable goal for any individual aspiring to make an impact. One of the best suggestions by Seth Godin is this: “Here’s how to know if you’re on the right track: if you stop a story in the middle, the audience will insist you finish it.” Storytelling is a form of art, and just like an artist practices art, so a storyteller can practice and perfect the influence of the story.