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Story-Based Strategies and Tools

June 23, 2025
Communication Skills, Customer Service, Experiential Learning, Human Resource Training, Leadership

Blog Post

By Terrence Gargiulo

June 23, 2025
Communication Skills, Customer Service, Experiential Learning, Human Resource Training, Leadership

Story-Based Strategies and Tools

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About the Power of Story and Storytelling

Through storytelling, we can connect on a deeper level, bridging the gaps of distance and culture. When we listen to someone’s story, we gain insight into their perspective, their struggles, and their triumphs. We begin to see the world through their eyes, even if just for a moment.

This shared understanding allows us to develop empathy and compassion for those who may be different from us. We start to recognize that our diversity is what makes us strong and that we all have unique contributions to offer. Ultimately, storytelling helps us to cultivate a sense of belonging and purpose in the world as we come to understand our place within a larger, interconnected community.

When most people think of a good storyteller, they picture a good public speaker. While that is often true, it is also true that we are all capable of being good storytellers. Infusing training with stories can be a powerful tool for connecting with learners and ensuring they derive value from the training. Many people may already be using stories in their training initiatives, but are they using stories in the right way?

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Unleashing Communication: Story-Based Strategies and Tools

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8 Storytelling Skills

Eight basic storytelling skills will help you use stories in the right way.

Eliciting: Prompt stories from others by asking the right questions and creating a safe space where people feel comfortable sharing their experiences. Skilled elicitors can encourage others to express themselves.
Listening: Listening is one of the most important storytelling skills, believe it or not. Listening is more than just hearing the words that someone is saying. It’s about understanding the emotions and nuances conveyed to connect with the audience on a deeper, more meaningful level.
Observing: Pay attention to the details all around you and draw on these observations to enrich your stories.
Reflecting: Spend time reflecting on your own experiences and perspectives to draw on these personal stories in your training. Storytellers who reflect can extract key insights and themes from their stories and then tailor them to fit the training.
Synthesizing: Bring together complex ideas and structures into a clear and engaging story that resonates with the audience.
Modeling: Use stories as examples to guide behavior. It’s about demonstrating concepts and values through stories to highlight potential pitfalls.
Selecting: Choose the right stories. When selecting stories to tell, it’s essential to consider the audience and choose stories that are relevant, relatable, and impactful to that specific audience. Remember, each audience will be different.
Telling: Telling is the art of delivering stories in a clear, engaging, and compelling manner. Telling involves using language, tone, and various delivery techniques that can capture the audience’s attention and bring the story to life. This could be achieved by adjusting pitch, using gestures, and employing facial expressions to animate the story.

To Sum It Up

Storytelling is a powerful tool for communicating ideas and connecting with the audience, ensuring they stay engaged and retain the information. However, incorporating storytelling into training initiatives is not merely about being a captivating public speaker; it’s about fostering connections and understanding. Honing the nine skills that we discussed in this post will help transform the way you tell stories and engage with the audience. As we harness the power of storytelling in training, we unlock the potential to inspire, educate, and unite learners from diverse backgrounds.

Communication Skills, Customer Service, Experiential Learning, Human Resource Training, Leadership

Author

Terrence Gargiulo

Terrence Gargiulo leads the global storytelling consultancy Makingstories.net. He is the former Chief Storyteller of Accenture and the author of eight books. His article, “The Power of Stories: Personalizing the Learning Connection,” was awarded the 2018 Editor’s Choice Award from Training Industry Magazine. For his creative use of narrative, INC Magazine awarded Gargiulo with their Marketing Master Award. His work as an internationally recognized organizational development consultant earned him the 2008 HR Leadership Award from the Asia Pacific HRM Congress for his ground-breaking research on story-based communication skills.

Connect with Terrence on LinkedIn.

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What’s My Learning Style

Before launching a training program, take into account the various learning styles of your audience. Individuals have different preferences, whether it’s learning in groups or independently, or through active engagement versus reflection. This assessment will help pinpoint each participant’s learning style, highlighting both their strengths and areas that may need improvement.