The Power of Perceptual Agility

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In your book, you talk about story embedding mental software into the brains of the receivers. Can you talk about what you mean by mental software? Well, we've talked a little bit about Stephen Covey and the story about being on the train where these kids are going nuts because their father is not taking care of them. And it completely retranslates what it is that you think you see. So this flexibility I call it perceptual agility.

What is it about stories that make them such potent tools of influence and persuasion?

Annette Simmons would tell you that stories are largely about connection. When someone can see themselves in your story, that generates a sense of trust in the storyteller and the story they are telling.

As she writes in her bestselling book, The Story Factor, “Story is a pull strategy (rather than a push). If your story is good enough, people – of their own free will – come to the conclusion they can trust you and the message you bring.”

In this episode, we talk to Annette about her story, including her more than 30-year career listening to and telling stories, and helping others use them to effect change.

GUEST: Annette Simmons, Author, The Story Factor, Whoever Tells the Best Story Wins

BIO:
Annette Simmons is an author, keynote speaker, consultant, and founder of Group Process Consulting – a firm she founded to help others communicate better through stories. She started her career with a business degree from Louisiana University in the early 1980s and then headed off to Australia where she worked for 10 years in international business. Once back in the states, she earned a master’s degree in adult education and psychology and soon after launched her business to help others use storytelling as a communications tool. In addition to her consulting work, she is the author of four books, The Story Factor, Whoever Tells the Best Story Wins, A Safe Place for Dangerous Truth, and Territorial Games: Understanding and Ending Turf Wars at Work.

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