How to write exciting scripts and make interesting presentations? Key points from Annette Simmons' book Storytelling. The hypnotic effect of stories

Storytelling. How to use the power of stories

Publishing text http://www.litres.ru/pages/biblio_book/?lfrom=430652910&art=5024483 Storytelling. How to Use the Power of Stories: Mann,

Ivanov and Ferber; M.; 2013 ISBN 978-5-91657-507-1

annotation

Storytelling, or storytelling, is a persuasion technique that is widespread in the West. The author of this book, Annette Simmons, is not only a communications consultant. She is also a professional storyteller who teaches this art to business people.

In her book, she gets to the heart of storytelling and explains how stories “work,” how they affect the listener’s emotions, and why they convince, motivate, and inspire better than orders, logical reasoning, or philosophical reasoning.

This book will be useful to anyone who has to speak to a large audience, as well as those who want to improve the effectiveness of communications.

Annette Simmons Storytelling. How to use the power of stories

The electronic version of the book was prepared by Litres (

www.litres.ru)

The author dedicates this book to the memory of Dr. James Noble Farr

Foreword

Once, in a convention center nestled among picturesque green hills, I was leading a seminar on storytelling, the art of oral storytelling. The gentle Virginian climate had slowly melted the ice shell that had shackled me through the long Boston winter. The enthusiasts gathered in the hall were friendly and benevolent. And suddenly I noticed in this crowd a truly radiant face, in it, as if in a mirror, my whole story was reflected. I realized that I hit the target - a spiritual connection arose between me and this listener.

After the performance, I tracked down this girl and immediately realized that she did not quite fit into the company of teachers, lecturers, religious mentors and just lovers of storytelling: Annette Simmons and her friend Cheryl DeChantis came from the world of big business. And both were terribly excited about the prospects that our art promised this field of activity.

I regarded their venture with suspicion, if not skepticism: the world of business was terribly far from me. Do they really think that directors, managers, salespeople - all these people who are accustomed to operate only with accounting calculations - will be seriously interested in my art and will be able to derive some benefit from it?

However, Annette convinced me. At the time, she was working for a company as a “difficult situations” consultant: explaining to cool managers how to solve problems with “uncomfortable” people. Annette weaned them from the crude tactics of street fighters and instilled in them the graceful skills of martial artists.

By understanding the meaning of storytelling, she was able to delve into the details that, in fact, make it an effective business tool. Annette fully felt the full power - even if indirect - of this peculiar form of communication. Her knowledge of the basics of the communication effect of advertising also helped her: Annette managed to combine both approaches and received a powerful method of influence as a result.

Very soon I felt like not only a teacher, but also a student. I helped Annette understand the art of storytelling, and she helped me become an ambassador for storytelling in the big business world. Now Annette has written a book that, like any good book, demonstrates the truth in a way that simply cannot be overlooked.

What is valuable in it? This book brings together three closely related ideas. First, the revival of storytelling in our advanced world and the understanding of the mental and emotional processes that storytelling unleashes. Second: the growing understanding in the business community that the success of an enterprise is possible only when the people working in it give their physical and mental strength to the cause; otherwise, it turns out to be a hack, from which both employees and companies suffer. And finally, the third: storytelling helps us to use the achievements of practical psychology and achieve a sustainable impact on people, while maintaining a respectful attitude towards them.

Introduction

This book is about what I have learned in the last eight years. It's about the mastery of storytelling, the power of persuasion in a good story. I write about everything I know about this wonderful art.

While studying storytelling, I realized one very important thing. The science or art of influencing through oral storytelling cannot be taught in the traditional way, from handbooks and manuals. To understand what influence is, we have to abandon convenient models of cause and effect. The magic of influence is not in what we say, but in how we say it, and also in what we are. This dependence is not amenable to rational analysis and cannot be described using the usual schemes and tables.

The dismemberment of the art of storytelling into fragments, parts and priorities destroys it. There are truths that we simply know; we cannot prove them, but we know they are true. Storytelling takes us to areas where we trust our knowledge, even if we cannot measure, weigh it or evaluate it empirically.

This book will give your "rational" left brain a little rest. For the most part, it appeals to the "intuitive" right hemisphere. The secret of the influence of oral story is based on the creativity of people. But this ability to be creative can be stifled by the erroneous postulate that if you can't explain what you know, then you don't know it. In fact, we all have knowledge that we are not even aware of. Once you begin to trust your own wisdom, you can use it to influence others and encourage them to discover the depths of wisdom they have not yet realized.

Your wisdom and persuasive power are like a bag of magic beans that you put in a drawer and forgot about. This book is written just so that you can find the very bag and regain the oldest tool of influence - oral storytelling. Stories are not only fairy tales and moralizing parables. Telling a good story is the same as watching a documentary and telling about it so that others, those who have not seen it, have a complete understanding of it. A good story can touch the soul of the most stubborn opponent or the power-hungry villain who blocks your path, depriving you of the opportunity to achieve your goals. If you are not sure that the villain has a soul, I advise you to reconsider the movie The Grinch Stole Christmas3. Everyone has a soul. (In fact, there are not many dangerous sociopaths in the world.) And deep down, every person wants to be proud of himself and feel his importance - this is where the opportunity to influence him with the right story lies.

Copyright © 2006 Annette Simmons
© Translation into Russian, edition in Russian, design. LLC "Mann, Ivanov and Ferber", 2013
The electronic version of the book was prepared by Litres (www.litres.ru)

In memory of the doctor
James Noble Farr
the author dedicates this book

Foreword

Introduction

It was October 1992. It was a windy day with typical Tennessee weather. Four hundred people gathered in a tent covered with dense fabric. We were waiting for the next speaker. The people crept up the most different - city fashionistas and harsh farmers, professors and undergraduate students. Sitting next to me was a grey-bearded farmer wearing a National Rifle Association baseball cap. When the African American entered the stage, the farmer leaned over to his wife, who was sitting next to him, and whispered something in her ear in annoyance. Я разобрала слово «ниггер» и решила, что не смолчу, если он еще раз скажет что-нибудь подобное. But the farmer fell silent and began to study the canvas shed with a bored look. And the speaker began his story about how in the sixties, somewhere in the outback of Mississippi, he and his friends were sitting around the fire at night. The civil rights march was scheduled for tomorrow, and the people were afraid of the coming morning, they didn't know what it would bring them. Everyone silently looked at the flame, and then one of them sang ... And the song conquered fear. The story was so talented that we all saw that fire in front of us and felt the fear of those people. The narrator asked us to sing along with him. We sang Swing Low, Sweet Chariot. The farmer next to me also sang. I saw a tear running down his weathered cheek. So I was convinced of the power of the word. The radical black rights activist was able to touch the heart of an ultra-conservative racist. I longed to understand how he did it.
This book is about what I have learned in the last eight years. It's about the mastery of storytelling, the power of persuasion in a good story. I write about everything I know about this wonderful art.
While studying storytelling, I realized one very important thing. The science or art of influencing through oral storytelling cannot be taught in the traditional way, from handbooks and manuals. To understand what influence is, we have to abandon convenient models of cause and effect. The magic of influence is not in what we say, but in as we say, as well as in what we are ourselves. This dependence is not amenable to rational analysis and cannot be described using the usual schemes and tables.
The dismemberment of the art of storytelling into fragments, parts and priorities destroys it. There are truths that we simply know; we cannot prove them, but we know they are true. Storytelling takes us to areas where we trust our knowledge, even if we cannot measure, weigh it or evaluate it empirically.
This book will give your "rational" left brain a little rest. For the most part, it appeals to the "intuitive" right hemisphere. The secret of the influence of oral story is based on the creativity of people. But this ability to be creative can be stifled by the erroneous postulate that if you can't explain what you know, then you don't know it. In fact, we all have knowledge that we are not even aware of. Once you begin to trust your own wisdom, you can use it to influence others and encourage them to discover the depths of wisdom they have not yet realized.
Your wisdom and persuasive power are like a bag of magic beans that you put in a drawer and forgot about. This book is written just so that you can find that very bag and regain the oldest tool of influence - oral history. Stories are not only fairy tales and moralizing parables. Telling a good story is the same as watching a documentary and telling about it so that others, those who have not seen it, have a complete understanding of it. A good story can touch the soul of the most stubborn opponent or the power-hungry villain who blocks your path, depriving you of the opportunity to achieve your goals. If you are not sure that the villain also has a soul, I advise you to reconsider the movie The Grinch Stole Christmas. Everyone has a soul. (Actually, there are not many dangerous sociopaths in the world.) And deep down, every person wants to be proud of themselves and feel their importance - this is where the opportunity to influence him with the right story lies.
In this book, I often use my own stories as examples and often talk about myself. I tried my best to use the pronoun “I” as little as possible, but storytelling is a purely personal matter. I really hope that as you discuss my stories, you will begin to think about your own. You will realize that your best stories are about what happened or is happening to you. Never even stutter as if there is “nothing personal” about the subject of your story. If the subject is important, then it is always personal. In order for your story to reach the listener and influence him in the way you would like, you do not need to hide what is on your mind. In fact, it is the soul that tells the most compelling stories. Tell your story, the world needs it.

Chapter 1
Six main plots

To be human is to have a story to tell in reserve.

Skip looked into the faces of the shareholders, who were clearly wary and even hostile, and frantically thought about how to convince them. He is thirty-five years old, but he looks like a teenager, and besides, he is a rich man in the third generation: a suspicious combination. Not surprisingly, his appointment to a leadership position seems like a disaster to them. And then Skip decided to tell them a story.
At my first job, he began, I was engaged in the design of ship electrical networks. Errors in design and drawing up were not allowed, because after laying the wires and cables, the mold was filled with fiberglass and the slightest oversight could cost the company a million dollars, no less. By the age of twenty-five, I already had two master's degrees. I spent my whole life on ships, and in the end, these drawings, these diagrams, for me, to be honest, turned into a meaningless routine. Early one morning I got a phone call from some shipyard worker, one of those who earns six dollars an hour, and asked: am I sure about my scheme? I exploded. Of course I'm sure! "Pour in that damn mold and don't wake me up this early!" An hour later, the foreman of that guy called me and again asked if I was sure that the scheme was correct. This completely pissed me off. I yelled that I was sure of it an hour ago and I still am.
It wasn't until the president of the company called me and asked the same question that I finally got out of bed and rushed to work. If they want me to personally poke their nose into the blueprint, well, I'll poke it. I tracked down the worker who called me first. He sat at the table over my diagram and carefully examined it, strangely tilting his head. Trying my best to control myself, I patiently began to explain. As I spoke, my voice became less and less confident, and my head took on the same strange inclination as the worker's. It turned out that I (being left-handed by nature) mixed up the sides and swapped the starboard and port sides, and the result was a mirror image of what should have been. Thank God, the worker was able to notice my mistake in time. The next day I found a box on my desk. To warn me against future mistakes, the guys gave me a pair of multi-colored tennis shoes: a red left one for the port side, a green right one for the starboard side. These shoes remind me not only about the location of the boards, but also that you need to listen to what you are told, even if you are one hundred percent sure that you are right. And Skip raised those multicolored shoes over his head.
The shareholders smiled and calmed down. If this youngster has already been punched in the nose for his arrogance and has been able to learn from it, then perhaps he will be able to understand how to run a company.

believe me

People don't need new information. They are fed up with her. They need Vera- faith in you, in your goals, in your success. Faith—not facts—moves mountains. Just because you can get people to do something doesn't mean you can influence them. True influence is when people raise the banner you drop because they believe in you. Faith overcomes every obstacle. She is able to defeat everything - money, power, power, political advantage and brute force.
History can give people faith. If your story inspires the audience, if they come to the same conclusions as you, if they make your story his, you can consider that you managed to get through to them. Further influence will not require much effort - it will grow on its own as people retell your story to others.
It doesn't matter what form your story takes, whether it's visual, proven throughout your life, or whether you put it into words. The main thing is that she answers one single question: can you be trusted? Skip's story shows that even multimillionaires can have influence problems. If influence were a simple derivative of power and money, then Skip would have no difficulty, since he has both. However, there are times when power and wealth turn into a disadvantage.
Isn't Skip's act a clever manipulation? Maybe. But it will immediately be revealed as soon as he stops. As soon as the manipulator stops weaving his web, it inevitably begins to break. Manipulation (that is, the desire to make people believe in a false story) is the most primitive form of influence. There are much more powerful sources of influence available to any person with the most ordinary life experience. These sources are genuine, compelling stories.
We can divide the stories that will help you achieve influence into six types. Here they are:
1. Stories like "Who am I"
2. Stories that explain "Why I'm here"
3. Stories about "vision"
4. Instructive stories
5. Stories Demonstrating Values in Action
6. Stories that say "I know what you're thinking"
The first thing people you want to influence is asking themselves two questions: “Who is he?” and "Why is he here?" Until they get answers to these questions, not a single word of your faith will be. The shareholders that Skip sought to influence were, above all, eager to understand who he was. At first, they decided that before them was another heir to a large fortune, who decided to play a tough businessman. And Skip had to replace the "We can't trust this man" story that shareholders had already told themselves with a new story that gave them confidence in him.
Skip could say, "Yes, I'm rich, I'm young, and I just bought a majority stake in your company, but don't worry... I'm not an arrogant know-it-all." Formally, these words have the same essence as the story he told. But there is a huge difference between the effect of a story and the effect of a simple statement: "I can be trusted."
Before you try to influence someone, convey your “message”, “vision” of the problem, you will have to inspire trust among your interlocutors. A statement like “I am a good person (smart, moral, tactful, influential, informed, resourceful, successful – take your pick) and therefore worthy of your trust” is likely to arouse suspicion. People have to come to this conclusion themselves. But there is usually not enough time to build experiential trust, and the best thing you can do is tell a story. History is the only way to show who you are. Other ways - persuasion, bribery, or fiery appeals - are the essence of nudge strategies. Storytelling is an attraction strategy. If the story is good enough, then people will of their own free will come to the conclusion that you and your words can be trusted.

So what do you want to talk about?

So, we already understood that before people allow themselves to be influenced, they will want to know who you are and what you are here for. If you don't tell, people will do it for you, and their opinion will almost certainly not be in your favor. Such is human nature: people are sure that those who seek influence expect to extract some benefit for themselves. At the same time, they are initially convinced that they want to receive this benefit at their expense. I repeat, this is human nature. Therefore, you will have to tell your story in such a way that everyone understands that this person can be trusted. Stories can be different - depending on the situation. Imagine an extreme scenario: a “green” hooligan is desperately trying to get into a street gang. The “oldies” will surely believe him if he tells them a true story about how he stole something somewhere (or did something else like that). I know that getting into a street gang is not your plan, so you will have to tell stories that confirm your high morals or, if you are going into business, your ability to do business. Any stories that have meaning and meaning to the listeners, but at the same time give them the opportunity to understand what kind of person you are, will work.
Think of people who have ever tried to influence you, be it a leader, a colleague, a salesperson, a volunteer activist, a preacher, a consultant. Remember which of them succeeded and which failed. Did you agree with them because they managed to influence you, or did they influence you because you initially agreed with them? Why did you believe one and not the other? It was probably important for you to understand what kind of people they are and what benefits they want to derive from cooperation with you. And no matter how much they talk about the benefits “for you personally”, about your potential interest, no matter what arguments and rationale they give, in fact, you still passed every word through a trust filter based on your own judgment about who is speaking and why is it said.
A consultant who sells an idea will waste time extolling its merits if he fails to connect with listeners from the very beginning. Most often, his audience is firmly convinced that all consultants are more interested in paying for their services than in the success of their clients, and will not listen to what they are broadcasting until they encounter an honest specialist, for whom business comes first, and fees secondary. The new chairman of some public committee should not move on to the agenda before the members of the committee stop looking at him as another benefactor of humanity and a politically engaged careerist. A priest who does not empathize with people will not be able to guide anyone on the path of love and forgiveness. The impassioned calls of the quality manager to improve customer service will not lead to anything if employees believe that "this guy does not understand anything in real life."
According to a survey conducted several years ago by the New York Times and CBS News, sixty-three percent of respondents believe that they should be as careful as possible in dealing with others, and the remaining thirty-seven percent believe that "most people will try to use it at the first opportunity. for your own benefit." It is hardly worth doubting the reliability of these data. Therefore, your first task is to try to convince people that you can be trusted. How to do it? The answer is in the survey results themselves. Respondents stated that 85 percent of the people they knew could be expected to be honest and sincere. Well well! Is it really that simple? Let people know who you are, help them feel they know you, and their trust in you will automatically triple. Remember the common phrases: “He is a normal man, I know him” or “It’s not that I don’t trust her, I just don’t know her.”
How can we expect people to trust and be willing to succumb to our influence if they don't know who we are? When communicating, we spend too much energy on referring to the “rational” half of the brain, forgetting about the “emotional” half. But she does not tolerate neglect. The “emotional half” does not perceive rational evidence, it lives according to the principle “God saves the safe” and never loses its vigilance.

Stories on the theme "Who am I"

We already know that the first question people ask when they realize that you want to influence them is “Who is he?” Naturally, you want to make a certain impression about you. For example, if you make me laugh, then I will immediately conclude that you are not a bore, calm down and start listening to you. However, if you start your speech with "I am a very interesting person," then I will look around for a way out. That is, you must show who you are, not to tell then you will be more likely to believe.
Even experienced speakers are always subjected to a difficult test. I recently had the pleasure of listening to Robert Cooper, author of Executive EQ. He had to speak to an audience of nine hundred people. The public greeted him as "another consultant" who had written some kind of book. Arms crossed on the chest, skeptical glances - everything indicated that the listeners suspected him of another clown who would begin to broadcast about the importance of "emancipation of emotions" or begin to tell things obvious to everyone. However, the story with which he began his speech answered unspoken questions, confirmed his sincerity, and in such a way that all nine hundred people understood who he was, what he believed in and why.
Robert talked about his grandfather. Grandpa suffered four heart attacks and died of a fifth when Robert was sixteen. Despite poor health, the grandfather spared no effort for long conversations with his grandson, he generously shared his rich life experience. We listened to this story, and Robert's love for his grandfather was transmitted to us, we saw him through the eyes of a loving teenager. “If a person’s mind were judged by the expressiveness of his gaze, then, I’m not afraid to say, my grandfather would be recognized as a genius.” Robert told us about the disease that was slowly killing his grandfather. He told how, after each heart attack, he called his grandson to his place to share his thoughts, and the guy understood that each such meeting could be the last. Grandfather usually began with the words: “I kept thinking about what is the most important thing in life, and I realized: the most important thing is ...” We listened as if spellbound. We wanted to know what was the insight of this extraordinary man. After each attack, the “most important thing” changed, and Robert cheered us up by confessing his then-teenage fears: he was afraid that his grandfather would ask what was the most important thing after the last heart attack.
We were still smiling when Robert revealed to us the old man's last words: “Grandfather said: give the world all the best that you have, and this best will return to you. Then he added: I keep asking myself, why didn’t I think every day about what is best in me? How much good could then come back to me... To your father... To you. But it won't come back, because now it's too late for me... But not for you. We held our breath as we felt the tragic force of the regrets of a man standing on the edge of a grave. "Too late for me." We are all human and we will all die someday. Each of those present in the hall suddenly realized that the end awaited him and possible regret about the missed opportunity to do good. Robert did not push or force us to do anything, but his eyes shone with such sincerity that we understood that he had the right to tell us his story. Only complete cynics could now doubt that Robert Cooper could be trusted.
These personal stories help others to truly see who you really are. They allow you to show yourself from a side that sometimes remains unknown even to the closest.
But there are many other ways to show listeners "who you are."
You don't have to tell a story from your own life to do this. In this book you will find parables, fables, tales, cases from the life of great people. Any story is good, as long as you can tell it in a way that reveals the essence of your personality.
If the story speaks of self-sacrifice, we believe that the narrator knows how to combine his interest with sincere compassion and willingness to help. If, after listening to a story, we understand that the one who told it is able to admit his mistakes and shortcomings, this means that in difficult situations he will not hide behind the denial of the obvious, but will honestly try to correct the situation.

Every week H&F reads one business book and selects interesting passages from it. This time we read a book by American entrepreneur and professional storyteller Annette Simmons about why stories rule the world and people's hearts. According to Annette, the art of telling good stories is the easiest and most enjoyable way to succeed, both in everyday life and in business.

The hypnotic effect of stories

What Kafka said about good books can also be applied to a good story: it "should be an ax for the frozen sea in us." A good story puts the listener in a kind of trance. As you say, “Now I want to tell a little story,” keep track of what happens next. Your listeners will take comfortable positions, lean back in their chairs, and some will even open their mouths.

History takes people to a different state. Yes, they remain awake, but they cease to be clearly aware of the here and now. It immerses people in a more ancient state of consciousness, closely related to the subconscious and sensory imagination. This allows you and your conversion to more easily penetrate their world. To hypnotize primarily means to bring people into a state of relaxation, heightened sensitivity and the ability to respond. When announcing that the story will now begin, the listeners also lose tension and weaken their internal resistance.

Way to build trust

People don't need new information. They are fed up with her. They need faith - faith in you, in your goals, in your success. Faith - not facts - moves mountains and overcomes any obstacle. She is able to defeat everything: money, power, power, political advantage and brute force. It doesn't matter what form your story takes, whether it's visual or proven throughout your life. The main thing is that she answers one single question: can you be trusted?

If the story is good enough, then people will come to the conclusion that you can be trusted.

A statement like “I am a good person” (smart, informed, successful) and therefore worthy of your trust” is more likely to arouse suspicion. People have to come to this conclusion themselves. If the story is good enough, then people will of their own free will come to the conclusion that you and your words can be trusted.

Topics for a story

I know six types of stories that will help you achieve influence:

1. Stories that tell who I am.

2. Stories that explain why I'm here.

3. Stories about your "vision".

4. Instructive stories.

5. Stories that show values in action.

6. Stories that say "I know what you're thinking."

Typical story characters

There is a very limited set of archetypal characters. Here are some of them: hero, wizard, sage, king, heretic, martyr and wanderer. Of course, none of these roles will be able to explain a particular situation, nevertheless, the stories of these characters are useful for identifying patterns of behavior.

Possible obstacles

Before people allow themselves to be influenced, they want to know who you are and why you are here. If you don't tell, people will do it for you, and their opinion will almost certainly not be in your favor. Such is human nature: people are sure that those who seek influence expect to benefit for themselves at their expense.

When communicating, we spend too much energy on appealing to the rational half of the brain, forgetting about the emotional half. And she lives by the principle of "God saves the safe" and never loses her vigilance. Evolution favors prudent neurotics. She instilled in us a natural caution. If your attempt to influence people fails, it is often because people filter your words through their negative suspicions about your intentions. Suspicions are negative simply because you didn't bother to take the time to tell a story about your good intentions.

Understanding people

People love it when you read their minds. If you are well prepared to talk to those you want to influence, it will be fairly easy for you to anticipate what objections they might have. By voicing these arguments, you will disarm the interlocutors and win them over. They will be grateful that you saved them from having to argue, that you spared no time and effort and tried to see things through their eyes.

Stories like "I know what you're thinking" are great ways to dispel fear. I was recently at a talk by a man who began his speech by saying, "I'm a statistician and the next hour is going to be the most boring hour of your life." Everyone liked the joke because he understood what we were thinking about him and dispelled our fears.

Own experience

Look for patterns for behavior in the course of the story: a variety of topics that reveal you as a person; stories about moments of spiritual uplift, proving that you are on the right track; recurring failures that encourage you to look for stories about why you are here.

Tell us about your weaknesses, remember why you cried the last time

Learn from the critical situations you have been in. Think of times when you were glad you obeyed your parents. Look back and think about what you would do differently now. Look for vulnerabilities: talk about your weaknesses, remember when and why you last cried, remember the last time you were so happy that you were ready to start dancing, the moment when you wanted to hide under the table out of shame, touching family stories about those you truly loved.

The story of a vision

One person came to a construction site where three people were working. He asked one of them, "What are you doing?" He replied: "I'm laying bricks." He asked the second, "What are you doing?" He replied: "I'm building a wall." The man approached the third builder, who was humming a tune while he was working, and asked the same question. The builder looked up from the masonry and answered: "I am building a temple." If you want to influence others and get them to follow you, you must tell them the story of the vision.

Annette Simmons

Professional storyteller, communications consultant, author of The Story Factor, Whoever Tells the Best Story Wins, A Safe Place for Dangerous Truth (AMACOM, 1998), and Territorial Games: Understanding and Ending Turf Wars at Work.
Since 1996, he has been the head of his own consulting company Group Process Consulting, which trains top managers, sales managers and everyone involved in raising funds for projects, in storytelling - the art of storytelling.

Telling a good story is the same as watching a documentary and telling about it so that others, those who have not seen it, have a complete understanding of it.

People don't need new information. They are fed up with her. Them need faith- faith in you, in your goals, in your success. Faith - not facts - moves mountains.
Let people understand who you are help them feel they know you, and their trust in you will automatically triple.
Even if your listeners come to the conclusion that you are trustworthy, they still need to understand why you needed their help and cooperation.
If you want to influence others and take them seriously with you, you must tell them vision story which will become their temple.
your truth, dressed in a beautiful story, makes people open their souls in front of her and accept her with all their hearts.
People don't care how deep your knowledge is, they care how deep you are. accept their problems.

A story told in the right place and at the right time is the most unobtrusive way to make the listener repeat your message to himself at the right time and be guided by the idea embodied in the story.

Personal history useful doubly, because it is able to give volume to both the speaker and what he intends to state.
If you feel that a direct answer to the question posed will drive you into a corner, then resort to history.
We don't need new facts. We need to know what they mean. Us need a story, which would explain to us what all this information means to us and what place we occupy in its flow.
To influence people, you cannot convince them that they are wrong.
Always attentive listen to stories that people will tell you. You cannot predict what this story will teach you and how much it will bring you together.