The Story Factor: Inspiration, Influence, and Persuasion through the Art of Storytelling by Annette Simmons

The Story Factor: Inspiration, Influence, and Persuasion through the Art of Storytelling Reviews

• 
  Omar Halabieh

  As the title indicates, this is a book about the power of storytelling as an influencing tool. As Annette best tells it: "People don't want more information. They are up to their eyeball in information. They want faith...Faith needs a story to sustain it - a meaningful story that inspires belief in you and renews hope that your ideas indeed offer what you promise...Story is your path to creating faith. Telling a meaningful story means inspiring your listeners...to reach the same conclusions you have reached and decide for themselves to believe what you say and do what you want them to do. People value their own conclusions more highly than yours. They will only have faith in a story that has become real for them personally. Once people make your story, their story, you have tapped into the powerful force of faith. Future influence will require very little follow-up energy from you and may even expand as people recall and retell your story to others."
  
  The author then goes to summarize what the remainder of the book is about: "The rest of this book is dedicated to proving to you the things you already know about storytelling and filling in whatever gaps might be missing. Storytelling is not rocket science. It is very easy and incredibly rewarding to practice."
  
  A very enlightening, practical and applicable book - no matter what it is that you do in life. You will find inspiration and learn numerous techniques to improve your storytelling abilities and consequently your influence. Highly recommended read!
  
  Below are key excerpts from the book, that I found particularly insightful:
  
  1- "There are six types of stories that will serve you well in your efforts to influence others. 1) "Who I Am" Stories, 2) "Why I Am Here" Stories, 3) "The Vision" Story, 4) "Teaching" Stories, 5) "Values-in-Action" Stories, 6) "I Know What You Are Thinking" Stories. "
  
  2- "Other methods of influence - persuasion, bribery, or charismatic appeals - are push strategies. Story is a pull strategy. If your story is good enough, people - of their own free will - come to the conclusion they can trust and the message you bring."
  
  3- "People need story to organize their thoughts and make sense of things. In fact, anyone you attempt to influence already has a story...If you tell them a story that makes better sense to them you can reframe the way they organize their thoughts, the meanings they draw, and thus the actions they take."
  
  4- "Policy can't adapt, but a story can give guidance, make sense, and without ruling on either side of an unresolvable conflict, invite someone to think through her own creative solution to a tough problem."
  
  5- "A good story helps you influence the interpretation people give to facts. Facts aren't influential until they mean something to someone. A story delivers a context so that your facts slide into new slots in your listener's brains."
  
  6- "However, if you tell sustaining, guiding stories like this one, people will feel empowered to stop asking you for answers and to think for themselves. An answer only gives them a fish, whereas a story teaches them how to fish for themselves."
  
  7- "Influence is a function of grabbing attention, connecting to what they already feel is important, and linking that feeling to whatever you want them to see, do,or feel. It is easier to let your story land first, and then draw the circle of meaning/connection around it using what you see and hear in the responses of your listeners. Influencing is a real-time activity."
  
  8- "Traditional models of influence are linear and focus on power that is first gained, then exercised, and in the end either reinforced or list. Story favors a circular model of power where influence is passed back and forth and where beginning are endings and endings are beginnings."
  
  9- "A wonderful way to find influential stories is to review the personal experiences that brought you to the place where you now want to influence others."
  
  10- "True influence changes behavior without relying on constant reminders. Any agreement that depends on policing future behavior is not addressing some force or dynamic still working against your desired goal."
  
  11- "No builder would start building without first understanding the foundations of the terrain. Neither would a successful influencer build a new story without first understanding the old stories. Influence will require either a new foundation that can coexist with the old stories or excavation and removal of the old outdated stories."
  
  12- "Storytelling tracks vital deviations that inspire growth - meaningful personal experiences, creative solutions to conflict, and paradoxial truths."
  
  13- "After all, organizational values form behavior. Stories about your values in action create and sustain the organizational culture (for better or for worse). When you live the vision and values you profess, you need only tell people what happened last week or last moth. If you aren't living your vision and values daily, well, you can't dress a pig in a ball gown and expect people to call her princess. Story telling operates as a litmus test of accountability that simultaneously inspires and reminds us to stay true to our values."
  
  14- "Storytelling is the most valuable skill you can develop to help influence others. It is your birthright to be a good storyteller. In a sense, your life is a story and you are already telling that one perfectly. "
• 
  Taka

  Not very helpful--
  
  I was very excited to start on this book after reading so many good reviews about it. I had my pen at the ready to underline valuable passages and take notes. I expected it to give me specific techniques and tips to improve my storytelling skills.
  
  But alas, my expectations were too high and unreasonable. I came away with a little bit more of appreciation for story and what it can do, but that's about it. No specific techniques or tips that could improve my skills as a storyteller.
  
  The main reason for this deficiency is that story as a form defies "rules" and "models." The author compares story models to dissecting a kitten to understand why it's cute.
  
  Touche.
  
  Story is specific, emotional, personal, and subjective. Good to know that. But that's specifically why it by its nature can't be modeled, codified, or broken down into a bunch of rules.
  
  Although I do believe there could have been more specific tips that might have helped me improve my storytelling skills, it comes down to this: listen to stories and tell stories.
  
  That's the only way to get better at it.
  
  Duh.
  
  I felt the book was too long and underdelivered. It gave some good stories but didn't give me enough information on the specific points it was making (see for example, how to influence the unconcerned and unmotivated).
  
  Overall, despite a few nuggets of golden advice, I was disappointed.
  
  
• 
  Maria

  i'm extremely disappointed
  
  i can't believe that a book about storytelling can be so boring. oh maybe it's my expectations that were wrong? basically, i wanted a kind of tutorial. like, here's how you build a story - 1, 2, 3. those are the types, those are the points, those are the tools. instead a got a whole book of water
  
  well, they mentioned the story types in the very beginning, but that was it. the rest of the book was about "stories are so powerful, it's so awesome, omg, stories are cool". i was like - seriously, 200 pages?? i mean, i'd be happy to read more about psychological and biological basics of story perception but not the phrase "stories are so convincing" over and over again
  
  i wonder, whether i'll read at least one decent business book this year...
  
  
• 
  rumbledethumps

  This is more of a business/public speaking book, and not a very good one at that. Very little insight into storytelling, and could have been re-titled "How to Win Friends and Influence People by Telling Stories."
  
  I knew I was in trouble when on page 30 she made the factual error stating Heaven's Gate members believed Halley's Comet was their salvation (it was actually Hale-Bopp) and spelled Halley "Haley."
  
  There are much better books on storytelling and public speaking. This one missed the mark.
• 
  Geoff

  After seeing it referred to in another book, I had this book sitting in my "wishlist" on Amazon for months. Then I slipped it into a shipment of books that I ordered and it sat on my shelf for several more months. Finally, during my summer holidays, I pulled it out and began to read.
  
  Annette Simmons is inspirational about the power of story. I was reading the book as a ministry leader, rather than as a professional speaker. It reminded me of the power of non rational communication, the power of community, the power of personal connection. She addressed the issue of the ethics of the use/abuse of this power. She hints that each mini story needs to connect to a meta narrative (and be congruent with our understanding of that great story if it is to be influential) - and as a Christian I affirm the power of the great story which Annette hints is "Truth".
  
  Annette also draws stories from a diverse range of sources - religious, cultural and the different areas of life. In fact, the strength of Annette's book is her modelling of how to tell a story. She argues that trying to explain how and why a story works (beyond some simple principles) is like dissecting a kitten to see why it is cute.
  
  I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in thinking about how to be a better leader by developing the skill of influencing others through story telling.
• 
  Will Jeffries

  I absolutely enjoy storytelling and believe this ancient art-form to be the foundation of civilization. If you are interested in storytelling, I would recommend you visit Doug Lipman, which the author of this book recommends as well:
  http://storydynamics.com/
  
  Also, a famous storyteller that I have grown to love over the years is Leo Sofer:
  http://www.palaceofstories.com/
  He offers free downloads of his stories as podcasts before they make it to the "buy me" page - so, I would encourage you to hop on over and give his stories a listen. He caters to adults as well as children as has a hypnotic way of going story within story within story - then back out again. It is captivating.
  
  Lastly, I would recommend Uncommon Knowledge "Storytelling" CD. It is packed with wonderful tales that will cause you to evaluate life from a different perspective:
  http://www.uncommon-knowledge.co.uk/p...
  
  Enjoy Life...
• 
  Jocelyn Paige

  My favorite book written about storytelling and storytelling techniques. The six types of stories help anyone understand how useful stories can be in communicating with people who are you and what you stand for. A must-have for entrepreneurs, I can also recommend this to writers, artists and specifically for anyone who blogs.
• 
  Nick McLachlan

  Much better books on the same topic out there.
• 
  Clare

  Anyone who has an interest in how storytelling can be used for more effective communication (in business as well as personal situations) should read this book. It makes an incredibly compelling and clear case for the use of story and highlights a range of potential applications and benefits from using a story-based approach.
  
  As I made my way through the book I was hoping for some more 'how to' information. The new chapter in the paperback edition, 'Story Thinking as a Skill', was certainly the chapter I found most useful. While this chapter stops short of providing a step-by-step guide on how to elicit, structure and present stories, I realised, after making my way through the book, that this would be impossible. There is no one-size-fits-all formula or approach to storytelling, and as the author writes in the last paragraph of the book - 'Agility improves with practice and coaching. This new chapter is my best shot at the coaching part. Now it's time for you to go practice'.
  
  Notes from the book are at
  Webby Clare.
  
  
• 
  Jim Peterson

  I read this book for work.
  
  I would recommend The Story Factor to anyone interested in learning how to convert what they've learned from reading, writing and telling stories into a potential success factor in the world of work.
  
  Simmons explains how to use storytelling as a way to influence others. It sounds tricky, and it is, but it's essential for people working in sales, marketing or, like me, copywriting. The author does, however, emphasise that it is important to use this skill for worthy causes that you believe in, and not for manipulative purposes.
  
  The book was a bit repetitive and occasionally preachy, but I'd say overall it did inspire me to become a (better) storyteller. Can that be bad?
• 
  Ed

  This book ran hot and cold for me. Some chapters I found boring and others inspiring. I think if it had some exercises or challenged me to think more about relating my personal experiences to the stories in the book it would have engaged me more. It did enlighten me to the power of storytelling and for that it was worth the read. This is not a 'read it and master it' type of book. It is a starting point and a good introduction.
• 
  Walter Adamson

  I enjoyed this book. Annette Simmons writes very clearly. The core of the book teaches "the six stories that you need to tell". She explains the emotions which these stories evoke, and gives many practical examples. I have made underlines all the way through it. And I will read it again. It something that you have to put into practice to get the actual value. That's what I will be doing. And I won’t be buying any more storytelling books as I now know everything I need to know to get started !
• 
  Brett

  A must read for salespeople, business owners, politicians, and anyone who needs to learn how to influence others (which is basically everyone on the planet).
  
  This is an incredibly good book, explaining very clearly how to use the power of stories to help people see things your way.
  
  As I said, YOU NEED TO READ THIS BOOK.
• 
  Anatolii Maslennikov

  Во-первых в этой книге про сториттелинг нет одной большой объединяющей всё истории. Это какой-то позор.
  Во-вторых тут действительно рассказывают "как использовать силу историй" (почти везде), но про составные части истории ничего не говорят, прикрываясь тем, что это бесполезно, идите лучше практикуйтесь. Зачем тогда эта книга, непонятно.
• 
  Nancy

  A great tool to have in your library if you are part of leading a company or organization. Simmons does a marvelous job gathering stories that really truly get the point across. I use this book in my storytelling class and the students love it.
• 
  Linda Sands

  Loved this book. The power of stories. Time to revisit & think about this oldest tool of influence.
• 
  Rehmat

  Pick up any book on the leadership and you cannot find it complete without the art of communication. One thing is sure the craft of communication always remains imperfect and flawed without mastering the art of narrative or the craft of storytelling. For gaining mastery over this craft, it's essential to know its tools and techniques. And, this is one of the best books to serve this purpose.
  
  
  Storytelling is a far more powerful way of influencing people than pointing at facts and figures. Stories can help you reach any audience and inspire them to take action. In fact, storytelling is so powerful a tool that once you become a storyteller, you have a great responsibility to tell stories that improve the lives of those around you.
  
  
  Actionable advice: Use stories in your next presentation or if you guide your subordinates. The next time you have a presentation or speech coming up, why not base it on stories? Work out the key points you want to make, then try to think of anecdotes that would highlight them for the audience in a clear, relatable way. Or if you want to guide your subordinate, for instance, about maintaining integrity then relate it with an interesting story about a leader who maintains highest standards of integrity and how he emerged cleaned from an inquiry of an anti-graft body due to his reputation he had built.
• 
  Masatoshi Nishimura

  I felt this book was very disorganized. Here and there, I sense Annette's expert knowledge in this topic. Yet, it was difficult to follow the passage.
  
  Each chapter starts off with an amazing story. But, the text quickly gets mixed with generic self-help advice like great people are also better listeners and you should listen to others as well. That seems a bit far fetched from being a better storyteller.
  
  The book does tell you the importance of storytelling and when you can use it. Story helps deliver a complex situation when a simple answer won't deliver (though I also think politicians and corporation CEO use too much story rhetoric to avoid confrontation). It also helps bridge the emotional gap in conflicts.
  
  Who I am, why I am here, The Vision, The Teaching stories are nice breakdowns. But they are still too vague to start practicing on my skills. As someone who's not at all confident with the storytelling ability, reading this book has not gained me any more confidence in being able to deliver better stories. I am in the hunt for another storybook again.
• 
  Félix

  Annette Simmons really lost me on the last half of the book consisting of unstructured discussions about morality that are only remotely related to storytelling, yet aren't compelling enough to make it a convincing subject on their own. Simmons spends lots of time trying to explain that only storytelling can save us from climate change, as according to her millennials are disconnected from reality and companies following measurable goals can’t account for more than financial profit - so only storytellers can take the lead about important things. Ironically, she follows this discussion by advice to businesses that honest storytelling can boost the trust of the public and therefore create long-term revenues. Yikes...
• 
  Sandeep

  If you're prepared to unlearn a few lessons you've internalised, then this book will open your mind to the world of storytelling.
  
  It might seem at first thought to be just common sense advice, but seeing how few people practice and use the art of storytelling effectively, it is most definitely worth paying a closer attention to.
  
  Storytelling seems antithetical to the analytical world of business and higher education. But this highly quotable book has plenty of useful advice on how to learn this craft.
  
  You will be disappointed if you're looking for a model, a framework or sequence of steps to help you become a storyteller.
• 
  Taylor Rollo

  I did like this book, but I also did not read all of each chapter. I thought some were helpful, but others were a lot of the same stuff and not really what I was looking for. They were more about using stories as influencing tools and almost manipulation, thought the author says she is against manipulation.
  
  So, the first few chapters were helpful because they were about the types of stories we tell and how to tell stories. Some of the later chapters were but some were not. So I would recommend you just pick and choose after the first four chapters.
• 
  Linda

  I got this book from a training class that highlighted storytelling as an effective communication tool. This book is a good further reminder of the power of stories. The first and last chapter were the weakest, but I found the rest very readable and useful. Now we’ll see if I am able to apply it...
• 
  Eric Nehrlich

  Love the idea of the book but it was quite repetitive. I skimmed the second half of the book and felt like it didn't really add much to the craft of storytelling, focusing more on the ethics and morality of deciding which stories to amplify. Overall, got a few nice tidbits out of it, but probably didn't need to be as long as it is.
• 
  Faith Wood

  I thought the author did a fabulous job of sharing case studies and examples about how to leverage story in your business marketing. As someone who speaks on influence and persuasion for government staff, this book will become a valuable resource for me in my future teachings.