The Writing Edge for Business Writers: 4/20/18

Apr 20, 2018 | Better Writing

You’re a businessperson. You may not think of yourself as a writer, but you know that writing well can boost your results and your career. Naturally, you want to do better. Every week I point you to articles and blog posts that I think will teach you something or spark an idea or two. The posts are about the intertwined tasks of reading and writing. Some weeks there are more pointers than others.

This week I’m pointing you to three posts on storytelling in business.

From David Grossman: A Quick Formula to Tell the Best Stories

“Sometimes leaders get so caught up with grabbing an audience’s attention that they miss the point. For instance, a personal anecdote is great but only if it connects to what you’re trying to communicate. In other words: It doesn’t really matter if your son won the state high school basketball tournament unless his game-winning shot says something about what your company team needs to do every day.”

From Noah Zandan: How the “What If” Method of Storytelling Will Help You Move Every Audience, Every Time

“Here at QC, one of our favorite storytelling frameworks is the ‘What If’ method, which helps speakers build strong connections with their audiences by unlocking innovative thinking, cultivating curiosity, and increasing creativity.”

From Tanmay Vora: Nancy Duarte on Storytelling in Business

“Nancy Duarte, a communications and persuasion expert discusses ideas on how to use storytelling and emotional connection to engage people/customers better.”

Wally’s Comment: Click through to Tanmay’s post to see his exceptional sketchnotes version of Nancy Duarte’s ideas

Sources I Check Regularly

I find the posts and articles that I share with you on The Writing Edge in many places. But there are a few that provide insightful pieces again and again. Here they are.

Alliance of Independent Authors

Frances Caballo

Jane Friedman

IngramSpark

Jerry Jenkins

Joel Friedlander

Joanna Penn

Kindlepreneur

Problogger

Daphne Gray-Grant

Becky Robinson’s Weaving Influence