Wrap Your Message in Bacon: Discover How In August Webinar
How to Use Storytelling to Deliver a Potentially Hard-To-Swallow Message in an Easy-To-Digest Way
- Vinnie the Shelter Dog…Now In A Happy Home
If you know anything about dogs and medicine, you know that one way to make unpleasant tasting medicine more palatable to your dog is to wrap it in bacon.
Storytelling allows you to do the same with people.
Stories allow you to communicate a message that, if delivered “straight”, would trigger defensiveness or resistance (e.g. “Oh…there’s no way I could do that”).
When you tell stories about yourself or other people, you are not directly confronting a person’s beliefs, perspectives, or behaviors. You’re talking about the people in the story.
Therefore, there’s nothing for them to defend against.
Because you’re “just telling a story,” they can listen with an open mind, and take in your message without the rationalizations and other intellectual defenses they might use if you confronted them directly about the issue.
When I was a therapist years ago, I practiced Ericksonian Hypnotherapy, which relies heavily on therapeutic storytelling. I remember Dr. Erickson’s approach being described as “a therapy of politeness” because of its indirectness and non-confrontational approach. Rather than challenge people directly like other therapists did–and triggering defensiveness as other therapist would–Dr. Erickson would often tell patients story after story that would help them, in a charming and captivating way, look at their situation in a new way.
It’s sort of like if you’ve been dealing with some challenge and you happen to hear someone share about how they dealt with a similar situation.
First…you’re all ears because what they’re talking about has relevance to you.
Second…you listen with an open mind, because no one’s trying to change your mind or make you wrong. There’s no need to say or think “You don’t understand” or “Who are you to say that to me!”
You’re just listening to that person tell their story. So you can take in their message.
That’s what I mean by storytelling can help you wrap YOUR message in bacon, so the person welcomes it…rather than spits it out…metaphorically speaking.
How do you do that?
I’ll show and tell you how in the free webinar I’ll be giving on August 28th.
If you can’t make it, no worries. I’ll have it recorded.
In the meantime, here are two quick and easy tips to get you started.
1. Think about a common limiting perspective or belief people you coach or counsel frequently have. For instance, let’s take the limiting belief: “If you admit you don’t know–especially to people who you supervise–it makes you look dumb, so you need to always talk and act like you have the answer” or “Other people can do X…but I can’t.”
2. Think about experiences where you or someone else:
- Had the same perspective or belief and discovered it was false.
- Had the same perspective or belief in a different context than the person you’re coaching is applying it, and discovered it wasn’t true.
- Had some other limiting perspective or belief that you (or the person in the story) felt was self-evident, and then had an experience where…surprise…it’s not accurate!
Now…here’s the scoop on the webinar:
Brand New Webinar Builds on the One You Attended Previously
First…If you attended the “Add Powerful Storytelling Techniques to Your Training” but never received my follow-up emails with the resources you requested, go first to the main page of this site www.StoriesThatChange.com and you will find them there. Also, check out some of the other posts, because you’ll find videos and more scoop that you should find useful.
Second…if you’re thinking “Well, no I didn’t attend any previous webinar”…no worries. After you sign up for this one, you’ll be transfered to a page that has information on how to watch that one.
Storytelling- Part II
August 28th, 2PM-3PM EST
Two Areas Where Storytelling Shines Most Brightly–i.e. Adds HUGE Power to Your Ability to Catalyze Change
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How to challenge someone’s limiting beliefs, perspectives, or attitude w/o triggering defensiveness or resistance.
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How to shift someone from a disempowered “There’s no way I can do that!” state to an empowered “I CAN do this!” state where they are willing to try.
These two areas are among the most powerful applications of storytelling and why you would use storytelling. Here are some common situations you would want to have these abilities:
1. Someone is not open to a new way of looking at their problem and any attempt to get them to do so only triggers “You don’t understand” or other defensive or dismissive responses.
2. Someone just “knows” they’re right and your job is to help them see that…well, no…they aren’t right. But you know if you try to challenge them directly, they will only hunker down and clench onto their “rightness” even more tightly.
3. You have a pretty hard message to communicate to someone and you know that anyone who heard this “no holds barred” message would get defensive or maybe even offended. But…you need to get them to think about this. Here’s another place where telling a story can deliver the message “wrapped in bacon’ (like you do when you give dogs medicine that tastes bad).
4. You’re coaching someone about how to do something that is anxiety-producing for them–such as confront someone, speak at an event, or take more of a leadership position–and they don’t believe they can. Not only do they believe they can’t…they are stuck in an “unresourceful” emotional state. While in this afraid or hopeless state, there’s no way they’ll be able to generate useful solutions about how to best deal with their challenge. Thus, before you can even engage them in exploring options, you must help them shift from a “Can’t do” to a “Can do” emotional and mental state. This is another area where storytelling shines.
To register for this webinar, go to:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/404447642
As with other webinars, if you can’t make it live, you can access the recording.
If you have any questions, feel free to email me at: david@humannatureatwork.com or better still…post them below.
