The Story Factor (2nd Revised Edition)

The text covers the most important story types to tell in order to exercise influence over others, gain credibility, etc. It also defines a story and how it can influence in ways that bare facts cannot, provides information on the psychology of how a story influences, and the important "dos and don'ts" of a storyteller. Annette Simmons provides multiple examples throughout the text so the reader understands how to apply the principles right away.

If you are studying storytelling, how to inspire others, how to influence others, how to change corporate culture, or any other aspect of change on a personal or organizational level then your education will be lacking if it does not include the information in this book. "The Story Factor" receives the highest recommendation that I can give.


How "truth well-told" can inspire, influence, and persuade   July 6, 2005
 37 out of 38 found this review helpful

As Simmons explains in her Introduction, "This book [shares] what I have learned over the last eight years about story and about the power of story to persuade and influence. My personal story is to learn, share everything I have learned, and earn the right to learn more. You will find here [in The Story Factor] everything I know about using story to influence others."

How many books on the subject of leadership does Amazon now offer? I just checked. The current total is 16,159. Who were history's greatest leaders? (My own list includes Alexander, Jesus, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Mohandas Gandhi.) What do all of them share in common? Each was a great storyteller. Each used one or more of the six types of stories which Simmons brilliantly explains in her book:

Who I Am
Why I Am Here
The Vision
Teaching
Values-in-Action
I Know What You Are Thinking

To these six I presume to add I Know What You Care About. Point is, great leaders have a clear identity as well as a clear purpose and a compelling vision, use relevant information effectively to educate others and use a narrative effectively to anchor a necessary course of action within a human context because they thoroughly understand the given audience. As Simmons correctly asserts, persuasion must begin with trust and immediately fails without it. Hence the importance of credibility. Persuasion then requires that the "message" resonate with what is of greatest importance to the given audience. Hence the imperative need for relevance as when Roosevelt (during his "fireside chats") and Churchill (during his speeches in Parliament) told their listeners what they must understand, not necessarily what they wanted to hear.

Throughout her brilliant book, Simmons rigorously examines the basic components of effective storytelling. She explains what a story is and what it can do that facts alone cannot. She suggests how to tell "a good story," in process explaining the psychology of an effective story's influence. She offers excellent advice on how to influence the unwilling, the unconcerned, and the unmotivated. Simmons also devotes an entire chapter to "Storylistening as a Tool of Influence," then in the next chapter identifies a number of storyteller Dos and Don'ts. She concludes her book with insights which have their greatest value only if considered within the context created by the previous chapters.

For whom will this book be of greatest value? Certainly to those who must regularly communicate with others and currently lack the skills to do so effectively. Also to those who are required to make a major presentation of some kind such as when attempting to persuade a supervisor to approve a significant course of action or persuading a customer to make a major purchase. In fact, there are countless other situations in which the skills which Simmons explains and the tools which she provides can also give those who master them a decisive advantage.

Keep in mind, however, that "story" is but one of several factors in communication. Long ago, John Wiley Hill (founder of Hill & Knowlton) defined public relations worthy of the name as "truth well-told." Simmons leaves absolutely no doubt whatsoever about the importance of a truthful "message" communicated by a trusted "messenger." Credibility is absolutely essential and can only be earned by a combination of trust and expertise. What I also appreciate about Simmons' approach throughout this book is the conversational tone she establishes and then sustains. There is a refreshing absence of preaching. She is convinced (and I totally agree) that each person has her or his own "story" to tell. It remains for each person to select the most appropriate style was well as the most effective tools to tell that story well. Who are you? Why are you here? What do you REALLY care about? It remains for each reader to answer questions such as these and, obviously, the answers will vary significantly. Whatever the answers may be at any given time, Simmons urges that they be celebrated...and cherished.

Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check others such as Doug Lipman's Improving Your Storytelling (he wrote the Foreword to The Story Factor), Stephen Denning's The Leader's Guide to Storytelling, and Storytelling in Organizations co-authored by John Seely Brown, Denning, Katarina Groh, and Laurence Prusak.



We need a good book on storytelling - but this ain't it!   June 30, 2004
 27 out of 39 found this review helpful

Having seen the previous reviews, I came to this book with high hopes. They were never realised. Obviously the author has hit the nail squarely on the head for some readers, but I'll be hornswoggled if I can tell why.

When I got to the end of the book I was still waiting for something, anything, that would turn my dissatisfaction into a feeling that it had all been worthwhile. But my hopes simply weren't met.

OK. Do you see a pattern in those first two paragraphs? Lots of promise but no delivery, nothing to get your teeth into. That is how this book was *for me*.

The book starts well.
Chapter 1: The Six Stories You Need to Know How to Tell. Great stuff - for the first 26 pages, But somehow that seems to be the nearest we come to anything concrete regarding the art of storytelling. It is followed by over 200 pages of text, but those 200+ pages concentrate almost entirely on "what" you should do, with far too little on "how" to do it.

Things weren't helped by the story at the start of Chapter 6: Sound Bite or Epic. I was already halfway through the book, and still wondering when we were going to get to the meat and potatoes, and the "Somali tale from Ethiopia" about a woman going to a shaman who tells her to get hold of a tiger's whisker, really pulled the plug.
Firstly Somalia (where Somali's come from) and Ethiopia are two separate countries, next-door neighbours, who spend much of the time at each other's throats. Secondly don't Africans have witch doctors, etc. rather than shamans? and thirdly, there are no tigers in Africa, only lions (tigers are found on the Indian subcontinent).

Now you might think this is nit picking, especially since the story itself does illustrate a valid point.
My problem is that this kind of presentation strikes me as being thoroughly disrespectful. It confuses Somalia and Ethiopia, it lumps all "wise men" under the trendy label "shaman", and it shows a basic ignorance of nature. In short, *to me* it says: "I'm telling a story, I don't have to go to the bother of actually getting the factual bits right - not even in the attribution."

Fine, but if an author wants me to pay them for what they're offering then I believe they DO owe their readers sufficient respect to avoid making such basic errors.

My biggest concern, however, is that the book simply doesn't "walk its talk".
If storytelling - or just "story", as the author whimsically insists on calling it throughout most of the book - is supposed to be so effective, shouldn't the book actually *illustrate* this fact rather than just telling me about it?
Why, for example, are a number of the stories included in the book presented in cut down form instead of allowing the reader to savour - and learn from - the full length version?

This author apparently runs workshops on various aspects of storytelling, and for all I know these may be incredibly stimulating and effective. Unfortunately, I found no such excitement in this book, just the same few messages - "storytelling is wonderful", "storytelling builds bridges", etc. - repeated over and over and OVER again.

For my money, just about ANY book by Idries Shah will give more insight into storytelling than "The Story Factor" - even the books that (apparently) contain nothing but stories.


It does not deliver what it promisses   July 12, 2004
 21 out of 30 found this review helpful

I bought this book during a recent business trip to the US, hoping that it would "teach" a few tips on how to build your own personal stories, facts and so on.
To my disapointment the author does not do that. She goes on and on preaching the benefits of using stories, how wonderful they are, the impact they can have on peoples life and so on. But she never stops to discuss the structure of a good story, how to identify your own mistakes when constructing one and keep improving your own technics. SO if you are looking for a book that will tell you how important a stoty is and the situations it can be used, perhaps you will benefit from this work. If you are beyond that level, sorry this is not it.
To be honest, after reading all the positives reviews from other readers I was left with a simple question: Did I read the same book they have??


A major contribution to organizational storytelling   July 15, 2004
 17 out of 17 found this review helpful

This book does what any book about applied storytelling should do: it describes how to apply storytelling without compromising storytelling's artistic heart.

Annette offers the book as a way to achieve "inspiration, influence and persuasion." By the end of the book, the reader learns that the "secret" of influence is, in fact, what has drawn so many fans to the art of storytelling: stories persuade because they lead us to the common ground of mutual respect - not by giving one party a secret weapon with which to manipulate the other. In Annette's words:

"Story doesn't grab power. Story creates power.... As a storyteller you borrow a story's power to connect people to what is important and to help them make sense of their world." (Page 29).

"The Story Factor" is my favorite "storytelling in business" book. To be sure, I had the pleasure of writing the forward to it. I did so in part because Annette has been my student in storytelling as well as my mentor in my own work with businesses. But I would never write a forward to any book in which I did not believe as deeply as I believe in my own books. I receive no payment from sales of "The Story Factor."

Here are some particular things I liked about "The Story Factor":

1. The description of the "Six Stories You Need to Know How to Tell" is worth the price of the book. People want the answers to certain questions before they'll give you a chance to persuade them of anything. These six stories achieve some of your essential interpersonal goals right away, and lay the groundwork for you to achieve the others.

2. In the chapter called "What Stories Do That Facts Can't," Annette shows how your stories can de-escalate conflict, side-step traps laid for you, avoid the "because I said so" kind of arguments, broaden a discussion by grounding it in a wider reality, etc.

3. One of Annette's chapters takes up one of my least favorite questions: "How do I tell a good story?" Why do I dread being asked that question? Because it seems to pre-suppose that there is a recipe for telling stories that works in all situations. In her characteristic Aikido-like way, however, Annette directs her readers to follow solid, easy-to-use advice that doesn't lock them into a limited formula. She briefly and convincingly outlines nine key points to keep in mind - that will nearly guarantee good telling.

4. Annette's tone hits that "sweet spot" between the hype of so many pop business books, on the one hand, and the dense, soggy prose that deadens so many academic-type books on communication, business strategies, etc., on the other. She speaks to her reader with conversational ease - but without "selling" or oversimplifying.

5. Annette's book is filled with memorable, well-told stories. Some are brief enough to throw into a conversation; others could be the keystone of a speech. The story about the red and green shoes is now part of my permanent mental landscape, as are the burning piano and the silent door-to-door salesman. With few exceptions, Annette integrates the stories into her chapters, rather than separating them into self-contained boxes. She never says why; I'll bet, though, that it's because she believes that stories persuade best when they aren't self-consciously introduced as "stories," but when they flow out of your very being, your attitude toward your listeners, and your commitment to your message.

If you care at all about using storytelling in an organization, for persuasion, or to get across a personal message, you'd be foolish to pass up this book. Beginners in the use of story will be well guided; experts will find great new stories to tell as well as a clear, systematic exposition of how story works in practice - and, underlying it all, a refreshing, inspiring perspective about how humans actually persuade each other. This book is not only about influence; it has already become highly influential. Miss it at you own risk!