Delivering technical presentations
Account Management Presentation Skills
Empower your teams to lead with a story
Stories are a valuable tool that have been used throughout history to persuade, influence, inspire and entertain.
Inspiring teams. Motivating customers. Setting standards. Stories are a powerful form of communication that can empower our organisations to achieve more.
This course is designed to help your people discover how to effectively write and engagingly share stories to lead others, build relationships and create value.
What does this course cover?
There are 00s of different types of stories that we can use in the workplace to drive positive change. We will work with you to identify the most useful story-types for your people.
In general you can expect this course to cover:
- Why story is such a powerful communication tool
- How story influences our thinking
- When stories can be useful in our roles
- How to use up to 3 unique story structures to craft stories that achieve your goals
- How to deliver stories in a confident and engaging way
Who is the corporate storytelling course suitable for?
The great thing about stories is that we can all create them and use them to achieve our goals.
For this reason, the storytelling course can be adapted to unique roles, (for example, for engineers that need to explain complex topics simply), or it can be tailored towards levels of seniority (for example, an SLT that want to use stories to inspire and influence).
The only recommendation is that the group of learners all share a common goal or purpose. This way, the session content, and storytypes, can all be tailored to the exact needs of the individuals.
The session was really enjoyable and so practical - I feel empowered to present successfully! Thank you.
Giulia Cerundolo, Senior Marketing Manager at Soil Association Certification
How can my team use stories in the workplace?
There are so many different types of story that we can incorporate into this training session. We will discuss the challenges that your team are facing and agree the best story-types to focus on within the session.
To inspire your thinking, here are 6 example story-types that we could focus on, plus examples of when they might be useful in the workplace.
Who I Am Stories
In the workplace, these stories help establish trust and credibility. When a new manager shares a personal experience about overcoming a challenge in a previous role, it not only demonstrates resilience and leadership but also fosters a sense of connection with employees. By revealing a bit of personal history, leaders can make themselves more relatable and approachable.
Why I Am Here Stories
Clarifying motivations reassures colleagues about one’s intentions. A team leader might explain that they stepped into their role not just for career progression but because they genuinely care about developing the team and making a meaningful impact. This openness helps employees feel more confident in their leader’s authenticity.
The Vision Story
When trying to inspire and align a team, this type of story is a powerful tool. A CEO describing a future where the company leads in sustainability, for instance, paints an engaging picture of an innovative, eco-friendly workplace. This kind of storytelling energises employees and gives them a shared sense of purpose, helping to drive collective action towards the company’s goals.
Teaching Stories
Sometimes, the best way to impart an important lesson is through storytelling, and these narratives make training more engaging and memorable. A mentor might recount a time they neglected to double-check an important email and faced serious consequences, using the anecdote to emphasise the importance of attention to detail. These kinds of stories stick with people far better than simple instructions.
Values-in-Action Stories
A company’s values come to life when they are demonstrated in real situations, and these stories highlight such behaviours in a meaningful way. A manager might share how an employee went above and beyond to help a struggling colleague, reinforcing the company’s commitment to teamwork. These stories set expectations and inspire others to embody the same values.
I Know What You Are Thinking Stories
These stories help address scepticism and resistance to change. When employees are hesitant about a new policy, a leader can acknowledge their concerns by sharing a story about how a similar change initially faced pushback but ultimately benefited employees. By showing that they understand different perspectives, leaders can ease doubts and encourage openness to new ideas.
What else is included within the corporate storytelling course?
The most effective learning experiences are more than just a single day of training for your team. We support you with lots of added value to make the learning as effective as possible. This is all included within the standard rate for a day of training.
Research
We complete online surveys, interviews and more to understand the needs, confidence and existing skills of all of your learners.
Tailoring
Using the research findings, we create unique training content and activities to help them develop these skills in the most engaging way.
Coaching
Every participant receives a 30 minute one-to-one presentation skills coaching session in the weeks and months that follow the initial training.
Video analysis
Everyone learner is filmed delivering at least one presentation or speech. After the session, they will receive feedback directly from Rich and a copy of their video.
A library of resources
All learners have access to all of the materials, worksheets and content from our sessions PLUS infographics, videos and articles on all areas of public speaking.
Embedding the learning
In the weeks and months after the training we will measure and report upon the learners' understanding of the topics covered, and how they have applied them to their day-to-day roles.
Corporate Storytelling - Course Agenda
Getting started
- Warm-up and the complete history of public speaking in four minutes
The power of stories
- What stories do we tell and use in our own lives?
- What are our stories?
- When and why are stories a powerful tool?
Storytelling for business
- Exploring how stories are used to persuade, inspire and motivate
- Discovering three key types of stories and when to use them
- Experimenting with crafting stories using the three key types
Delivering outstanding stories
- What makes a good storyteller?
- How can we use our voice, body and delivery to embellish and deliver even more effective stories?
The 'learning by doing' bit
- Create and deliver a short presentation
- Evaluation and feedback from everyone - developing our skills by positively critiquing others
Discover more about your public speaking trainer
Rich Watts is a public speaking consultant and trainer, a past winner of the UK Business Speaker of the Year, a JCI UK Public Speaking Champion and most importantly, loves helping others to develop into outstanding public speakers.
Explore our Case Studies
We work with a wide-range of organisations across the UK. Like you, they are all forward-thinking and keen to boost the communication skills of their team.
What other courses and topics do we cover?
We cover public speaking and presentation skills from beginning to end. From junior to senior. From good to great.
Explore the courses below to discover areas that we have developed in-house public speaking training solutions for in the past.
