Why subject matter experts need to embrace storytelling

Over the last decade I have been working predominately with business leaders, teaching them the skill of business storytelling to enable them to communicate in a way that is more engaging and effective. More recently there has been a growing realisation that this skill is not only needed for leaders but also for specialist and subject matter experts throughout the organisation. Whether it’s a technical specialist, finance specialist, scientist, or academic, storytelling is an effective way to communicate messages.

The reason for this is that due to the technical and sometimes complex nature of information it can be harder for people to comprehend this material. Unfortunately this can lead to a frustrating experience for both the subject matter expert (‘Why don’t they get it?’) and the listener (‘I don’t understand what you are saying!’). Of course the ‘I don’t understand what you are saying’, is very rarely verbalised and consequently the subject matter expert is often under the illusion that they have communicated successfully and their message has been received and understood.

George Bernard Shaw the Irish playwright and 1925 Nobel literature prize winner summed it up best when he said, ‘The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place’.

The reality for the subject matter expert or anyone communicating in business, it that it is not the listener’s job to ‘get it’; it’s your job to help them ‘get it’.

Moreover, as information overload continues to increase, people are not looking for more information; they are looking for, listening to and taking notice of the people that can make the information relevant and meaningful for them. Effective communicators that will help them get it.

The specialist and subject matter experts that understand their material better than anyone need a vehicle to help people understand their messages. Consequently the power of storytelling is increasingly being recognised as a way to do this. Business storytelling, implemented successfully, can transform the complicated to the uncomplicated and ‘help them get it’.

Years ago I worked with the head of risk in a company who had the constant challenge of the business units she supported being confused by the role she played in risk and their own responsibilities. They would often defer all risk issues to her with the attitude of ‘you’re the risk manager that’s your job’. She used the following simple story from her childhood to explain her role and their role in managing risk.

"When I was a kid I grew up on a farm and growing up on a farm there were all these dangers we needed to be aware of but Mum would teach us what to do. We were taught what to do when we came across redback spiders in the timber heap and snakes in summer. One hot day Mum was yelling at me to get my bike from the front gate so I ran down the path and then I just froze because in front of my bike was a massive copper head snake. But I remembered everything mum had told us to do so I played statues and walked backward until there was enough space between the snake and I before running back to the house to tell mum. I am sharing this with you because it reminds me of the role we play in risk. All I can do is give you the advice, guidance and knowledge so when you come across your own copper head snake, regardless of what that looks like, you will know what to do."

The power of storytelling in business is when you take a day-to-day story from your personal life and attach it to a business message. If your role entails communicating in business, especially complex information, you are putting yourself at a distinct disadvantage if you do not use stories.