Perspective Change Stories–A Gentle, Yet Powerful Way, to Challenge Limiting Perspectives

 

Adapted from Powerful Storytelling Techniques for Training by David Lee

 

Perspective Change Stories are one of my favorite among the transformational storytelling genre.

They are classic examples of what makes storytelling so powerful—yet gentle.

Rather than challenge a client’s limiting or counterproductive perspective and trigger resistance, you can use a Perspective Change Story that takes them on a journey which organically results in a perspective shift (for the protagonist in the story)

When people hold tightly to their position or belief, direct attempts at challenging them typically result in defensiveness and resistance. Telling a Perspective Change Story bypasses these responses because as mentioned previously, you are “just telling a story”, so there is nothing to defend against or resist.

 

Here’s an Example

Here’s a Perspective Shift Story I’ve used over the years to illustrate the practice of cultivating  “Instant Perspective” and to make the idea more memorable. Now…if I had told this in a coaching setting, I would have told it somewhat differently and for different reasons.

 

When To Use Perspective Change Stories

• When coaching or counseling someone who has an entrenched view of another person and you want them to consider an alternative view.
• When coaching or counseling someone who has an entrenched perspective about an issue or problem they’re facing, and can’t see any alternative perspectives.
• When teaching a group where you either suspect or know a number of participants hold onto a limiting perspective about a relevant issue and you want to stimulate them to see other, more useful ways of looking at the issue.
• In any situation where you believe a direct approach to offering a different perspective would be met with resistance or defensiveness.
  

Types of Perspective Change Stories

 

Brand New Perspective Stories

In this type of Perspective Change story, you share how you or another person had a particular perspective about something and then something happened to change it.

Opening a Closed Mind Stories: Moving From Certainty to Uncertainty

While New Perspective stories are designed to stimulate the listener to consider the new perspective described in the story, Opening a Closed Mind stories are designed simply to stimulate the listener to take the first step in considering a new perspective: being willing to consider there might be an alternative perspective.If someone adamantly states their position is right and even self-evident, they are fairly impervious to feedback and alternative perspectives.

The first step towards their being open to feedback or entertaining a different perspective is going from certainty—“Of course I’m right”–to uncertainty—“I wonder if I could be wrong about this.”When uncertain or confused, we are far more open to feedback and input. That’s the rationale behind telling someone a story about how someone discovered that an idea or perspective they thought was self-evident was actually incorrect.

Such stories can help the listener shift from certainty to uncertainty, which opens the door to their considering alternative perspectives.For a well known example of a Perspective Change Story, do an internet search for Valerie Cox’s The Cookie Thief.

That short story in poem format does a great job of dramatizing a self-righteous perspective and by doing so, connecting the reader with their own version of such a judgment. Then, in a surprise ending, the story presents a totally different perspective on the person the protagonist was  judging.

The following themes provide great potential for shifting people from certainty to uncertainty:

• Stories where you “knew” you were right about something, and then you discovered you were wrong.

• Stories where you engaged in the cognitive error “mind reading” and assumed you knew another person’s intention, only to discover you were wrong.

• Stories where you firmly believed a problem was all someone else’s fault, and then discovered later you had a significant role.

Tips on Telling Perspective Change Stories Effectively

1. When you describe the perspective that you had in the beginning of the story, you want to describe it in such a way that resonates with the “of course this is the way it is” perspective you are trying to challenge. So for instance you might say “So I’m thinking ‘how selfish can one person be?’ You know the type of person who seems to only think of themselves and not consider how their actions are going to affect other people?”
2. Make sure you do not telegraph through word choice or voice tone that the protagonist’s initial perspective is going to turn out incorrect. That’s why you want to use words and voice tone that communicate certainty that this perspective is the correct one. So, for instance, in the example just given, as you were saying “So I’m thinking ‘how selfish can one person be?’ You know the type….” You would say it with a voice dripping with self-righteousness and certainty in one’s judgment of the other person.
3. Whenever possible, use stories where YOU had a perspective shift, especially situations where you just “knew” something was a certain way and discovered that it actually wasn’t. I like doing this partly because it helps reduce the power differential between you and the client. You’re communicating “I’m just a fellow human on a journey” vs. “I think of myself as a guru and I’m here to help little, unevolved, troubled you.” It also models mature self-awareness and humble acceptance of human imperfection. At the risk of stating the obvious, you want to choose situations that don’t reveal TMI or could send a counterproductive message.

 

To learn how to use this and other transformational storytelling genres in your work, check out:

Advanced Transformational Storytelling seminar on September 21st  in Westbrook, Maine