In the corporate environment, there is still the belief that decisions are made solely based on spreadsheets, laws and processes. But anyone who lives this day to day knows that choices are also surrounded by the emotional side.
Decision-makers choose paths when they understand the context, the impacts on themselves and others, see the logic of the argument and, above all, when they trust the speaker. This is where executive storytelling becomes a strategic technique.
For example, when working with lawyers who work in the corporate context, I realize that the biggest obstacle is getting caught up in excess information and giving little importance to the ability to construct an insightful, clear speech that connects with people’s minds and hearts.
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What we see are people who end up confused and scattered during the meeting, which weakens the achievement of the objective at the end of the conversation. I recently prepared a team of wealth management lawyers for client meetings. All experienced professionals and attentive to details. The challenge was, precisely, to show them ways to convey the technical content in a simple way for laypeople and to show the seriousness of the subject discussed.
Legal terms, corporate structures, complex projections, everything made sense to the lawyers, but sounded confusing and disconnected from reality to those receiving the information.
Money, power and affection live in the same house when we talk about estate, corporate and succession planning. It carries stories of sacrifice, comparison between brothers, silent guilt and hidden questions… “who is worth more?”.
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The conversation stops being technical and becomes emotional in two minutes. Therefore, when we prepare lawyers in this area, we show the importance of reorganizing the discourse with a focus on clarity, but also in an empathetic way so that meetings can be more productive.
They learned to touch on emotional points that made sense for those listening to become more likely to hear an expert’s perspective.
This happens because, in the end, these lawyers need to be a source of peace of mind, direction and protection for the future for their clients. And trust only exists when the customer understands what is being presented.
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One of the paths I use most in executive storytelling is to start with the problem. Presenting the risk, loss or inefficiency early on helps the decision maker understand why that conversation matters now. Opening with “we’re losing X million in inefficiency” creates immediate focus. From there, the data comes in to build reasoning, not to show erudition.
Another essential point is to select only what supports the main thesis. Some data only takes attention away from what really matters. Relevance is always worth more than quantity.
Decision-makers work with limited time and multiple demands; therefore, the next step needs to be clear and at the same time have a more relational approach.
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Executive storytelling is about “sewing together” information in a coherent way to highlight a message and provoke action in those who listen to you. It’s about generating connection and gaining trust.
It is transforming scattered data into a logical, didactic and relevant path. And, above all, it is using the voice as a strategic instrument, something that I explore in depth in my book Your voice for the game.
In the end, I believe that the storytelling technique is valid for areas such as finance, IT, marketing… and presentation is only valuable when it generates direction.
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Those who master communication skills gain space, because clarity generates trust and results.
