When I did my first degree back in the early 1980s there were some big issues to focus on. One of them was ‘what will we do with all the leisure time society will have when computers are doing many of the jobs people currently do?’ Obviously, this issue was nothing to worry about! But […]

Over the past few months we’ve been helping a global architecture firm put together pitches for several multi-million dollar opportunities. It’s been a great experience, and learning opportunity, to apply the power of storytelling to pitching big ideas. The value of using storytelling in sales situations is evident but it really works well when the […]

Michael Leunig is an Australian cartoonist. He is a friendly, approachable and intelligent man well known for his humour and whimsy. He has been publishing his cartoons since the 1970’s. He is well-known for lovable characters such as Mr Curly and for the duck that inspired part of the opening ceremony for the 2006 Melbourne […]

There is a big difference between assertions and stories when it comes to impact, comprehension and memorability. Most business talk is full of assertions and opinions. These can sound very impressive but they are hard to understand and remember. To an audience, these often just sound like blah, blah, blah. Get your message to stick To […]

Having a business strategy is important. Ensuring all staff understand the strategy is even more important. And it all starts with the senior leaders having a clear and consistent understanding of where you are going and why. Lou Gerstner summed it up well: All strategies are essentially the same; the difference is execution. And to […]

The idea that you can tell if someone is lying by analysing certain physical cues has been prominent ever since the 1920s, when the polygraph first made an appearance. Psychologists such as the influential Paul Ekman swear by the technique, and they have the backing of popular culture in the form of TV shows like […]

I was recently asked by a law firm to come up with an activity they could conduct during an upcoming staff retreat. They were keen for their junior staff to learn the importance of understanding the dynamics of a dispute, not just its procedural aspects, and they were interested in doing this through the use […]

We love spending time in the US, but we only get across once or twice a year. So its vital that we make the most of it when we do… This year Mark will be coming to Orlando from 17th – 20th May to attend our first Association for Talent Development (ATD) Conference – the […]

Narrative is the oldest and most compelling method of holding someone’s attention; everybody wants to be told the story. Always look for ways to convey your information in narrative form.1 Many years ago, I worked on a big consulting project with a brilliant engineer who had a bad stutter. I noticed that in meetings he […]

Stories are powerful – we all know that. So powerful that, sometimes, a single example can overwhelm a wheelbarrow full of facts.   Business storytelling sceptics I came across an example of this in mid-2012. I was having lunch at a restaurant in Melbourne – reputedly the best laksa restaurant in town. I was meeting […]