329: Kindra Hall - How Storytelling Can Influence Audiences & Transform Your Business

Sep 22, 2019

In this episode, Kindra Hall, President and Chief Storytelling Officer at Steller Collective, shares her expertise in strategic storytelling. She emphasizes how stories create genuine connections and enhance leadership effectiveness. Kindra outlines the four essential components of a compelling story: relatable characters, authentic emotions, vivid details, and focused moments. She illustrates the power of storytelling through personal anecdotes and highlights its crucial role in sales, asserting that engaging narratives can alleviate client concerns and transform business communication.

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INSIGHT

Storytelling's Power

Storytelling works because it's how humans connect and learn.
Leaders using stories build trust and likeability with their teams.

ADVICE

What a Story Isn't

Avoid listing information or simply stating mission statements; those aren't stories.
Focus on specific moments that demonstrate the mission and culture in action.

ADVICE

Storytelling Components

Tell stories that occur in specific moments, with identifiable characters and authentic emotion.
Use specific details to draw your audience into a co-creative process.

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The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk

Ep #329: Kindra Hall

Full show notes can be found at www.LearningLeader.com

Kindra Hall is President and Chief Storytelling Officer at Steller Collective, a consulting firm focused on the strategic application of storytelling to today’s communication challenges. Kindra is one of the most sought after keynote speakers trusted by global brands to deliver presentations that inspire teams and individuals to better communicate the value of their company, their products and their individuality through strategic storytelling. Kindra is a former Director of Marketing and VP of Sales. Her much anticipated book, Stories That Stick, will be published on September 24, 2019.

Notes:

Why is storytelling so important?
- It's how we learn, how we connect
- Your team needs to know you, and like you (stories do that when you tell them well)
- You can learn breadth/depth of a person through a story
A story is NOT:
- A bullet point resume
- A list of information
- Stating the mission statement
- The objective
A story = The small moments when mission is in a specific place and time... When something happens.
The four components of a story:
- Place and time: "a moment"
- Identifiable characters - must see people
- Authentic emotion - Relatable to audience
- Specific details - Draw audience in to the co-creative process
Opening story of her book: In Slovenia at Thanksgiving:
- The power of the sales clerk's ability to tell a story compelled Kindra and her husband to buy
Why did the story work?
- It drew you in with powerful moments and emotion
- It had suspense - "I want to know what's going to happen..."
- People will give you their attention when you're telling a compelling story
- It brought them to places through vivid descriptions
How to better start a meet at work:
- First, realize it's a skill you can develop
- Take a step back, think of the higher level message -- "What's the overall theme?"
  - "When have I seen this in action?" Why was it compelling?
Make a list of nouns: People in life you've had to communicate with (bosses, friends, colleagues)
- Find moments and stories from those people... Understand the characters of the story
Think: "What do I want my audience to think, feel, know, and do at the end of this story?"
Use the "bystander story" - Stories of others that you make yours
- Remember the goal is to create connection
- This becomes your story... Through your eyes
How to handle price conversations?
- Move from dollars and cents to value -- "They need to feel the pain of if they didn't have this thing I'm selling."
- Our decisions are not always based on logic, they are based on ideas
Use the "Get To Know You Document"
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