Storytelling : The curse of loyalty to experiences

Anjali Sharma
Director of Narrative
Published Date
January 25, 2021

"A leader supports her people during an organisational change" says a leader I am working with on building an organisational change narrative.

When I hear this, I say to the leader, " The fact that you make this assertion with confidence in your voice, tells me that there are sediments of experiences layered in your memory forming this assertion."

We are loyal to our experiences and many of our assertions are based on those experiences. But it is the same loyalty to these experiences that is curse. Because, people who we seek to change and share these assertions with have not been privy to these experiences.

So at best, they try hard to comprehend why do you say what you say. At worst, they ignore you because what you say sounds somewhat like common sense.

The best thing you can do to change this is - share your experiences behind these assertions. In other words, tell the story. It is your storytelling that sets you apart, not your assertions alone.

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