{"id":916,"date":"2019-07-23T13:20:27","date_gmt":"2019-07-23T13:20:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.twentytwo.digital\/ukbodytalk\/storytelling-in-business-leads-to-success-robert-mckee\/"},"modified":"2025-07-14T17:34:17","modified_gmt":"2025-07-14T16:34:17","slug":"storytelling-in-business-leads-to-success-robert-mckee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.twentytwo.digital\/ukbodytalk\/resources\/blogs\/storytelling-in-business-leads-to-success-robert-mckee\/","title":{"rendered":"Storytelling In Business Leads To Success"},"content":{"rendered":"

“A purposeful story provides insight and moves you to take action”<\/span><\/p>\n

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Storytelling, The Pathway To Success<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Why do most\u00a0presentations<\/a>\u00a0and pitches fail to engage us? The person is saying what they want to say. If you want to compel people to listen you need to say what people NEED to hear in the ORDER they need to hear it.<\/p>\n

Stories do exactly this. They give us the information we need in the most captivating structure. If you can do this in business you will win the hearts and minds of your audience.<\/p>\n

In the simplest way, stories root themselves more firmly and deeply in our minds than other forms of messaging. In business, we can harness the power of storytelling<\/a> to move customers to take action. There is extensive research supporting the impact of storytelling in business, according to the legendary expert, Robert McKee.<\/p>\n

I was fortunate enough to chat with McKee on the\u00a0Body Talk podcast<\/a><\/span><\/strong>. McKee\u2019s students have gone on to incredible\u00a0careers<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>and accomplishments, including a collective 60 Academy Awards and 200 Emmys.<\/p>\n

He is also the author of the recent, successful\u00a0Storynomics<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 a\u00a0book<\/a><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0(which I devoured in the space of a few days) that \u201cilluminates what story is, why the story works, and most importantly, how storytelling in business translates into economic and leadership success.\u201d And his seminar of the same name is so insightful and interesting that my entire team and I have attended it twice.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s why \u201cthe art of story\u201d plays a monumental role in business:<\/p>\n<\/article>\n<\/section>\n

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A purposeful story provides insight and moves you to take action.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

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In fiction storytelling, there is no greater purpose beyond the story itself. The audience experiences fiction enjoys it, savors it. But as a fictional storyteller, your aim is not to persuade your audience to take action in any particular form.<\/p>\n

McKee calls this type of storytelling \u201cpurpose-driven\u201d or \u201cmirror storytelling.\u201d The latter term is appropriate because, when executed well, business storytelling<\/a><\/strong><\/span> resonates with the audience on a personal, subconscious level \u2014 it unfolds within them as they experience it externally.<\/p>\n

Your audience\u2019s internal narrative sounds something like: \u201cThis story is about me, my needs, my problems, what I want, what I need to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

When accomplished, your audience will walk away from your story motivated and inspired to take action \u2014 to go out into the world and do what the story told them to. And in the context of your particular business, this could be anything from purchasing a product to shifting attitudes toward your brand in a positive light.<\/p>\n

The point McKee hammers home most fervently in his lectures: There is a clear distinction between narrative and storytelling.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Talking about your CEO\u2019s career and accomplishments are what\u2019s known as \u201cthe narrative,\u201d not storytelling, said McKee. The narrative is chronological, descriptive, and process-driven \u2014 \u201cI started this company. We designed the best product. You should buy it. That\u2019s all you need to know.\u201d But in storytelling, you need a compelling journey \u2014 this means you must acknowledge negatives as well as positives.<\/p>\n

McKee recognizes this as a major issue within the business world, proliferated by a universal fear of the negative. He calls this \u201cnegaphobia.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStory has to hit a negative floor to reach a positive climax,\u201d he explained. \u201cBecause if it\u2019s positive, positive, positive,\u00a0the positive has no impact<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

The average company doesn\u2019t understand the difference between narrative and story. As a result, business people come to him in droves asking him why no one is listening to their \u201cstory.\u201d Nine times out of 10, they\u2019re not even telling a story \u2014 it\u2019s just narrative.<\/p>\n

In the business world, stories pioneer and solve problems.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Very few people in today\u2019s business landscape understand the value of storytelling better than Jeff Bezos. In fact, Bezos harnessed the power of storytelling years ago \u2014 long before it became mainstream. But he didn\u2019t just use storytelling to influence customers.<\/p>\n

He leveraged the power of storytelling to innovate and solve problems internally.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

For upcoming meetings, Bezos would ask his team to come prepared with a story about a particular problem or situation. He knew this would force them to consider all angles, to dig deeper for answers. This inspired his team to think beyond \u201cwhat isn\u2019t working?\u201d and question \u201cwhy isn\u2019t it working?\u201d<\/p>\n

Weaving a story requires someone to dive beyond the surface, to connect the dots, and, ultimately, to obtain real knowledge and understanding of a situation or problem. While competitors were poring over data and conducting substanceless, rhetoric-driven meetings, Amazon was solving human problems.<\/p>\n

This is why every business should have storytellers \u2014 people who are passionate about purpose-driven storytelling. Because through stories, any business or brand can connect with and influence its audience on a deeper level.<\/p>\n

To learn more about how we can help you please contact our team<\/b><\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/section>\n

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Why do most presentations and pitches fail to engage us? The person is saying what they want to say. 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