“Don’t let the truth get in the way of a good story.”
You’ve probably heard this line before. In a sales environment, I have been told in the past that in order to succeed you need to be a good storyteller. While I agree with this to some degree, there a lot of caveats involved. So when should we let the truth get in the way of a good story. My personal thoughts… ALWAYS.
If you’ve been working in an office lately with all of the world’s events playing out, you have no doubt been subjected to the office’s morning press conference at the coffee machine or the ‘breaking news’ at the water cooler. The one recently in my office was, “My husband said that their boss was school friends with the Communications Manager to the Prime Minister and they said that the government is shutting down businesses at 6pm tonight”.
So how can you reduce your peers’ anxiety when you are listening to a story, telling a story yourself or working in a high tension office?
Use specific and quantitative language.
Be specific with the information in your story as this will make it factual and removes any clout for the listener – “There are a crazy amount of changes in the business” instead should be “This week, 2 new employees started in marketing and we launched our new internal CRM”
Use words that are quantitative, as everybody comprehends language differently – “The stock market is crashing” instead should be “The stock market fell by 6%”
Your physical actions are just as important as your verbal words.
If there is concern and anxiety in the office, don’t pace around the office like you’re trying to win the Olympic gold medal for race walking. If someone is talking to you, don’t be constantly refreshing the news outlets homepage for breaking news while you a trying to hold a conversation with them.
Call it out!
Find the point in the story that has the hole or ask more questions. The person telling the story may have heard it from a source that they trust, but that doesn’t make it factual.
In the example I provided of the Prime Minister’s Communications Manager, what is the name of the boss’s “school friend”. Secondly, in a time like this, do you think that the Communication’s Manager to the Prime Minister would be giving a “school friend” that sort of information, little own have enough time to talk to a “school friend”.
Do not build on it
Understand when enough is enough. I am one for a joke but do not build on someone’s story or joke. Everybody comprehends language in their own way and by going along with it adds social credibility to the story.
Be self-aware
Understand that everyone reacts and acts on information in their own way. Understand who you are talking to and how they receive information.
Using these 5 points may help to reduce the anxiety that can be too quick to build when stories are taken out of context or adjusted to people’s own biases.
