Storytelling is not just made for the movies or nights out with friends. It is an essential piece of leadership and influence at any level.

Why is storytelling an important leadership skill?

According to Stephen Denning, effective storytelling can accomplish something that logic and analysis fail to do in today’s business world: “It offers a route to the heart. And that’s where we must go if we are to motivate people not only to take action but to do so with energy and enthusiasm. At a time when corporate survival often requires disruptive change, leadership involves inspiring people to act in unfamiliar, and often unwelcome, ways. Mind-numbing cascades of numbers or daze-inducing PowerPoint slides won’t achieve this goal. But effective storytelling often does … Storytelling can translate dry and abstract numbers into compelling pictures of leader’s goals.” (Source: “Telling Tales,” Stephen Denning, Harvard Business Review)

andré is the co-founder of Ariel Group Australia. an organisation that links the best practices from actor training with specific, actionable business behaviors to develop leaders. Storytelling is one of the skills Ariel has in its pedigree. andré works with leaders to teach them how to draw on their own unique history and style and use the power of storytelling to inspire trust, promote collaboration, and galvanize the people around them to follow their lead and reach breakthrough results.