The Art of Storytelling

Posted: 11/21/2018; Last Edited: 11/21/2018

By Coach Ryan

Mind Blowing Quote: “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” - Maya Angelou

In last week’s blog, What is Your coaching Philosophy?, I briefly mentioned the concept of spreading your coaching philosophy with storytelling. Telling stories can not only help spread your own coaching philosophy but stories can also develop and spread your team’s culture. Your team’s story is important to many constituents even beyond the team, i.e. recruits, parents, donors and fans. Every person, every team and every culture has an interesting story to tell. The role of the coach is to uncover that story and reveal it to all those willing to listen… and even those you are not so willing.

As we have all experienced, giving a great story is an art form. A well told story can leave your audience with a memorable message. With Generation Z, it has become increasingly difficult to grab their attention and hold it for more than 280 characters. According to Nick Morgan, author of Power Cues, "In our information-saturated age, business leaders won't be heard unless they're telling stories. Facts and figures and all the rational things that we think are important in the business world actually don't stick in our minds at all. Stories create 'sticky' memories by attaching emotions to things that happen. That means leaders who can create and share good stories have a powerful advantage over others." Such a challenge requires head coaches to step up and improve their storytelling skills. Everyone has has the ability to tell a good story; it simply takes preparation and practice.

When preparing a story for your team, consider the following. According to Gustav Freytag, a German novelist and playwright from the 1800s, “a drama is divided into five parts, or acts, which some refer to as a dramatic arc: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and dénouement.” We may recognize such terms from our high school English classes when teachers forced Aristotle upon us. Little did we know that learning that structure would prove useful after all. The “dramatic arc” is great tool for writing and analyzing dramas but I would suggest some alterations for when you are preparing to communicate a a message oriented story to your team, recruits, parents or donors.

Story Structure

A message oriented story should follow the structure below:

Exposition

Use the exposition to provide all necessary background information for the audience. You must consider everyone’s personalities and backgrounds. Are all the details of the story relatable to your student-athletes? Telling World War I stories isn’t exactly going to resonate with this generation.
Also use this part of the story to set up the visual aids. The audience should be able to see what you saw and begin to feel the same emotions you experienced in the moment. Visual aids can help establish the emotional vibe of the story, and later on they can be used to trigger those emotions again and again. However, remember to remain brief; only give the most important details.

Rising Action

The rising action is the real meat of your story. In the rising action you want to set up the conflict and begin to send the story towards the climax. According to Fast Company, "People perk up when they hear a problem that holds immediate risk." Every audience loves a good drama, as conflict is relatable to everyone. The team should feel the roller coaster climbing to the top of the hill.

Climax

This is where the hero of your story will either triumph or fail over the conflict. Your team has been on the edge of their seats, waiting for this moment. Deliver the apex of the story with all the same emotion and energy you felt. The message will be more deeply rooted for the audience if you can accurately recreate the moment you experienced. Hyperbole can also be useful to drive the point home; just don't get out of hand.

Debrief

Whether there was triumph or failure in the climax, there is still a lesson to be learned. Determine the exact message you are wanting to get across to the team. Be sure the message aligns with your team’s core values. The whole point of delivering this story is to have a firm lesson you want to spread to the team. A story without a message is simply an anecdote; a.k.a. “water cooler talk”. Engage your team by asking them what they felt the message of the story was. If the story is told correctly, they will come to the realization of the core message you initially desired. Allowing them to determine the message on their own will deepen their understanding and commitment to the lesson learned, thus they will be more likely to practice it on their own.

Repeated Message

As we see with most marketing, a good message needs to be repeated and repeated often. After the debrief take some time to repeat the core message in another way. Explain how the team can use the message to their benefit within the sport and even within their own lives. Take time during the season to circle back to the narrative and remind the team of the message. For example, tell a story to start practice off and highlight it again at the end of practice. You can even tie in some events from practice relating to your story’s core message.

We Talkin’ About Practice

Once you have the skeleton, now fill in the rest of the space. For this type of storytelling, I would suggest you keep the story to some simple notes. You want the story to be delivered organically, as the team will perceive the story as genuine. And while you want the story to come off organically, you will still want to practice telling the story to anyone who will listen. The more you tell the story, the more you can critique it; changing words here; shifting phrases there. All these adjustments will help you deliver the final message that you are trying to deliver to your desired audience.

Last Thoughts

When you are telling great stories, make sure to remain true to yourself. Real stories should evoke emotion from within. If the audience feels your genuine emotion then they will experience it as well. So many leaders attempt to replicate famed coaches of the past. You can certainly take lessons for them but you need to be true to yourself. Mimicking someone else will come across as fake and your audience will see right through you. I would suggest that you allow yourself to be vulnerable. Showing vulnerability, especially as the head coach, takes courage and showing courage is a sure way to connect with your team. Everyone has struggles in life and being able to overcome those struggles with courage is relatable to everyone. With that being said, you don’t always need to be the hero of your stories. Audiences will begin to tune out if you are always telling stories of personal triumph. Set your ego aside and share the trials and tribulations of other relatable individuals, teams and cultures.

Conclusion

Team cultures are built upon stories. According to Forbes, “Shared stories accelerate interpersonal connection.” As a society, we love storytelling so much because in reality, stories help deepen belief in ourselves. You only have to watch a Disney-Pixar movie to understand that lesson. As the head coach or leader of the team you automatically have the team’s immediate attention. Take control of your team’s narrative by creating those “sticky” memories. John Medina, a biologist and author of the book Brain Rules, noted, “Dopamine aids memory and information processing. It’s like a mental post-it note that tells your brain, remember this.” Never underestimate the power of a post-it note!

Last Knowledge Nugget

Speaking of post-it notes, keep a story journal where you can write notes about stories to be told in the future. It will help keep your content fresh and relatable to your audience.

Key Points:

Team cultures are built upon stories.
A message oriented story should follow the structure below:
- Exposition -> Rising Action -> Climax -> Debrief -> Repeated Message
Remain true to yourself
Be vulnerable
Keep a story journal

References a.k.a. Thought Influencers

https://hbr.org/2014/07/how-to-tell-a-great-story

https://theartofcharm.com/art-of-personal-development/how-to-tell-a-great-story/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/work-in-progress/2013/12/11/how-to-tell-a-good-story/#24972c8d584c

https://blog.ted.com/how-to-tell-a-great-story-visualized/

https://www.ted.com/playlists/62/how_to_tell_a_story

https://www.fastcompany.com/3035042/how-to-tell-a-captivating-story-like-a-stand-up-comedian

https://medium.com/@mikaelcho/want-to-be-a-better-storyteller-96ad7fa2e66

https://www.businessinsider.com/a-former-comedy-scout-explains-how-to-tell-a-good-story-at-a-party-2017-4

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/tell-me-yourself-strategies-telling-your-career-story-nicolle-skalski/

https://stanford.edu/~gbower/1969/Narrative_stories.pdf

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/survival-fittest-storyteller-michael-r-virardi-1f/

https://www.quora.com/What-is-an-exposition-rising-action-climax-falling-action-and-resolution

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dramatic_structure

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustav_Freytag

https://www.inc.com/james-sudakow/why-a-good-story-is-far-more-persuasive-than-facts.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPxFpgXNbuQ

Thanks for reading!

Subscribe & Follow

In my never ending quest to better both myself and others, I decided to start this blog to analyze various topics and skills surrounding coaching and cheerleading.

I will be posting blogs biweekly on Wednesdays.

Follow The Blanford Breakdown on Instagram

Google Sites

Report abuse