Last night, I attended Women on the Move‘s networking event, with Liz Weir as the speaker.  Liz delivered a fascinating talk entitled Storytelling – A Vital Business Communication Tool.  Liz is also speaking at our Storytelling, Business and Innovation event which you can read more about here.  The two concepts that captured my imagination during the talk were memory and emotions.

Memory

Liz explained how stories are incredible memory devices.  She reminded us that in our country, we have a disappearing oral tradition, where stories have been passed from generation to generation, and how yarn-spinners are great entertainers, often without knowing it.  And, we remember.  She challenged us to think of good and bad customer service experiences and how we always relate them to several friend and business contacts.  Now, that happens not only in person, but online.  It was a challenge to think what stories might competitors or customers might be telling about us.  And, encouraging, in that a good customer service story about the experience we offer to our customers could travel far.

Emotions

Liz also spoke about how stories, of all kinds, often evoke emotions.  She was adamant that if not, then either the story or the storyteller was at fault.  This set my thoughts in motion about previous sales seminars, where we are generally told that a sale is an emotional decision.  If that could be connected to a story, then perhaps people would remember and take action when they needed a certain product.  A story is connected to the emotion, and that is what is brought to the fore, when a story is told or recalled.  Fascinating stuff, when you think of the power of stories, as an essential business tool!

It was also great to catch up with other organisers and members of Women on the Move, who now have a new Facebook Page.

Storytelling, Business and Innovation is the title of a training conference planned by Sensei Learning and Performance with a little help from our friends.  These colleagues are pictured above: Colin Nesbitt fron Innovation Express Ltd and Liz Weir.  While Colin is a specialist in knowledge management and business problem-solving, Liz is a entrepreneur and storyteller of international repute.  Together, we make quite a team!

The date of the conference is 24 November 2009, so keep your diary clear.  The venue we’ve chosen is Clifton House, “a charming and atmospheric 18th century building set in tranquil grounds right in the heart of Belfast.”  Apart from all the usual qualities we look for in our business venues – centrality, car-parking facilities, excellence in customer service, first-class catering, somewhere that feels like ‘out of the office’ for a day – we felt that the rich history of the place served to enforce our conference theme.

So why a conference about storytelling?  Isn’t that for little children or old men beside a warm hearth?  Apart from primary education or possibly as a tourist gimmick, it has nothing to do with business in the 21st century, right?  Wrong!  I challenge you to type ‘corporate storytelling’ into any search engine and see what happens.  Also called organisational storytelling (since it can apply to the public and voluntary sectors too), this is one of the biggest business trends sweeping corporate America and the British mainland.

My concern, and motivation for organising this conference, was twofold.  Firstly, as a business owner, I didn’t want Northern Ireland left behind (as usual) while our international colleagues and competitors reap the benefits of this trend.  And secondly, as a trainer, I didn’t want the usual tsunami of external consultants flooding the local market when it does take off, since I feel strongly that we have so much local talent here.  Besides, we’re a people who love storytelling and have an international reputation for it.  Why not turn this into a business advantage when marketing your goods/services, or promoting your brand?

Click here to find out more or book your place.

Also, please feel free to contact us with any questions or queries you might have about it.  More information will be available on the blog and the press soon.