Storytelling for Business

"Purposeful storytelling isn't show business, it's good business" - Peter Guber

Have you ever told someone about a project or idea and left feeling that you could have done better?

The missing ingredient could be something quite simple: story.

Storytelling is a hugely powerful way of conveying complex information in a succinct way. Human beings are hard-wired for story – it’s how we make sense of the world.

Who is this course for?

Storytelling skills are universal skills relevant for PR, Sales and Marketing teams to Finance and Project Management teams and more. Any team that needs to distil and convey dry information, leave a lasting impact or engage an audience will benefit from a tailored course on this topic.

Neuroscientific research shows us that we retain more information when it is delivered in a narrative framework. This explains why so many businesses are looking to the arts to upskill and improve their storytelling abilities.

If teams don't understand the storytelling process and how to convey a message effectively, their objective is vulnerable to being misunderstood or forgotten entirely.

At City Academy, we tailor Storytelling workshops to suit business and team objectives. We’ll work closely with you to design a course that provides your team with the practical tools they need to convey information in a captivating way.

The course – delivered at a time and place to suit your team - will be led by an experienced actor. Actors have a wealth of skills for telling engaging and powerful stories.

City Academy has delivered Storytelling workshops for a wide range of teams from Thomsons Online Benefits, The View from the Shard, Fitness First and more.

Workshop content:

The art of storytelling is to tell a story that your audience will find engaging, which is why it's important to understand who you're engaging with and how to adapt your story to suit. At the same time, you will need to build in key pieces of information and leave your audience with memorable images and emotional hooks to re-engage with the content long after they have left. At City Academy, we teach you how to create a captivating story that your audience will remember.

We will cover:

• Why Story? The neuroscience behind how story works
• Narrative technique: how to structure a powerful story
• Creating dramatic conflict in the narrative to give shape to your story
• Tailoring your Tale: how to adapt your story to suit any audience
• How to use your voice and body language to connect with your audience
• Humour me: How humour and personality build rapport
• Managing nerves – top tips for using nerves to your advantage
• Flexing content to suit the occasion – elevator pitches, bedtime tales, after-dinner anecdotes and more

Workshop Benefits:

• Rethink the way your team delivers verbal information
• Use narrative techniques to provide shape, colour and depth to your stories
• Understand the value of playing the obstacle
• Learn to structure stories in a coherent fashion
• Build confidence in telling stories in a group setting
• Use humour and personality to connect with any audience
• Develop creative thinking and improvisation techniques for 'on the spot' storytelling

Throughout the workshop, you will receive valuable feedback to help you develop and continuously build on your storytelling technique, both during the workshop and when you’re back in the office. To discuss your team's requirements or a FREE consultation, please call us on 0207 042 8833 or email