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Persuasion as an integral part of the communication
strategy for attracting investment is vital for creating
the necessary confidence to achieve these types of
transactions.
The most common in the business world is the attempt at
persuasion using uniquely logical and rational means, rhetoric,
statistics, current and potential market shares backed up by slide
presentations in XXL and Long-Play.
Less usual is the complementary use of more emotional and
symbolic methods like Storytelling. If well put together and used,
will prove decisive in the voluntary choices of investors for these
investments, given the countless possible alternatives.
And it is in this field that the techniques of Storytelling when
correctly used are an important complement of the purely
rational and technical model for promoting investment
opportunities and destinations and therefore constituting
valuable tools of persuasion. And should the audience like this
journey they will want more, they will want to have a part
in this script, be part of the story, and feel endogenous and
emotionally motivated into taking a positive decision.
GOODSTORIES:
• They allow the underlying idea of the rational exercise to be
joined to one or more emotions.
• They teach something (the moral of the story in traditional
tales), which may be the profitability of investment, a way of
supplying a market need, the values of a company, or another
decisive point for potential investors.
• They make conversations flow, act as catalysts for good
discussions, and obviously chatty and curious investors are much
better then a line of silent investors, at the end of a meeting table
or auditorium, in the twilight, fighting against the sound when
the pitch is made from the person trying to convince them.
• They enable a vivid image of action in movement, which could
be something that has already happened of future scenario actions
where the potential investor may, if he wants, be part of them.
• They stick in the memory. By creating a strong image in the
memory of the listening person, the key aspects are not forgotten.
• They create agreeability and rapport with the interlocutors and
it is known that being pleasant is equally or more important than
competence in professional choices.
Stories are a useful management tool to get investments, among
other organisational goals such as the transfer of corporate stock,
company culture or the development of leaders. But is it only
those who have the talent and imagination of a scriptwriter or
author that have the abilities to use this precious resource?
It will be noted that I spoke in techniques and not in the art of
Storytelling because the skills of storytelling are identified, they
may be learnt and trained by any professional (without harming
some characteristics of natural communication). After these
skills have been acquired and practised, the stories may be used
in various professional situations.
Permit me to share two examples of the previous arguments:
i) I recently worked with the foreign CEO of a multinational
operating in Portugal, who understandably still has some
difficulties in speaking fluently in Portuguese in public
Meanwhile, through our work together he managed to distil to
his vast senior management experience, two educational and
inspiring stories and related them with his corporate objectives
for 2013. He told them brilliantly in Portuguese and they went
down like a treat with all the staff.
ii) When I defended by Masters Dissertation, I opted to use
the Storytelling techniques to communicate with the illustrious
academic members of the jury. I knew this option was risky.
However I was surprised and very grateful when the President
of the Jury, kindly and generously informed me that he had
awarded me with an additional mark to the classification that
they had expected to give, mainly because of the way I presented
it. It was yet another confirmation of how even professionals in
the most conservative circles such as academia are also sensitive
and want to see an idea associated to an emotion.
Anybodycanidentifywith,createandtellmemorable,interesting,
strategic,true,unique,shortandtoo-the-pointsuccessstoriestothose
theywanttoteach,thatcanbesharednaturallyandwithoutbragging
toavastnumberofstakeholders,betheyinvestors,clientsorstaff.
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If you would like to know more about the methods of storytelling
for business ends, then please don't hesitate to contact me: Valter
Alcoforado Barreira: VAB@KNOWINGCOUNTS.NET