Challenge & Selection

Storytelling is a very useful tool that can be used especially during studies to animate the students.  I'm studying digital economics at a university in Germany. Many term papers and exams are an  important part of our curriculum and as a result our lecturers have to read through and evaluate  dozens of different texts from over two hundred students. There is not much tension. Even for the  students, it is usually very tedious and boring to write, for example, thirty pages about the history of  the design of digital assistance systems. Interest in studying is waning. That shouldn't be the case,  because after all, the course is there to develop interest in the various modules. The course is the  basis for our future profession. If you associate something boring like housework with this subject at  the beginning, you quickly lose patience and interest. Storytelling helps, for example, to make a  lecture exciting. A professor who himself makes the subject of mathematical fundamentals of  business administration interesting with lots of stories and background knowledge will get far more  attention from his students than a professor who boredly writes some formulas on the blackboard.  This has a positive influence on both sides: The students enjoy learning the content and get more  specialist knowledge and good grades and the professor can distribute his knowledge to many  interested people

Application

I unconsciously applied the storytelling criteria once before I ever heard of this method. In the  second semester of our studies we were supposed to give a talk about a technology company. I had  the misfortune to be one of the last to turn, in the period when the professors are already sitting at  their tables bored and the students are only thinking about finally being able to go home from  university. The company I chose was Apple. The evaluation criteria were that we should analyze and  explain the exact methodology of the ascent and the marketing concepts. Everyone had about  twenty minutes to present. I got the audience's attention by trying to tell the life of Steve Jobs (the  founder of "Apple") and the structure of his company in a very dramatic way. I tried to make a story  out of this presentation that describes the ups and downs from the founding and rise of the  company, like a fairy tale - Steve Jobs was the hero and the perfect mobile phone with the innovative  touch display was the victory. The technical criteria such as the various marketing concepts were  described together with the situation, i.e. why these concepts failed or why not. I tried to put as  much energy, passion and enthusiasm into the presentation as possible. And as I found out  afterwards, it was worth it: I got 10/10 points as a final grade.

Insights & Approach

A story can aim to introduce a new innovative product. With the introduction of the iPhone, Steve  Jobs' presentation followed the following three-step process: We looked at the so-called  smartphones. We didn't like them, all of them difficult to use (initial situation). We accepted the  challenge of building a smartphone that is very simple and reduced, and yet can do a lot more.  Wasn't that easy (complication). We made it anyway, here it is (denouement).

A story - whether in business or in a fairy tale - has a simple set of ingredients: a hero. The audience  should be able to identify with him. A target. The crucial questions are: Why am I telling this story  now? What do I want to achieve with it? A conflict. It arises from resistance that prevents the hero  (and his team or company) from achieving the goal. A dramaturgy. It can be represented in a three- act scheme - initial situation, complication, resolution. The seven basic plots also provide a good  orientation. A resolution. How is the conflict resolved and what do we learn from it?

By fulfilling these five criteria, you can win over any listener. No matter if student or professor.

I firmly believe in the power of storytelling. Good stories change the world by inspiring action. They  allow us to cross borders. To make a new or changed reality tangible. It worked for Apple just as it  did for many other successful companies. And I'm sure Steve Jobs would have used the power of  storytelling in any other company just as virtuously. It's not about drawing a beautiful picture of  yourself that others fall for. Rather, it is about clearly locating yourself: Why do I do what I do? Who  is that useful? The starting point is always the respective purpose.

