"Concrete and Vivid Stories Exert Extraordinary Influence"

Roger Heap from Psychological Associates (http://www.spq4.com/) was very nice to share these thoughts on story telling:

I have been reading Influencer: The Power to Change Anything, by Patterson, Grenny, Maxfield, McMillan, and Switzler. I thought you would enjoy this confirmation of your on-line methods.

Page 50, "When it comes to resistant problems, verbal persuasion rarely works."

Page 51, "Nothing changes a mind like the cold hard world hitting it with real-life
data." The authors advocate story telling as a highly effective means of influencing.

Page 61, "Because stories help individuals transport themselves away from the role of a listener who is rigorously applying the rules of logic, analysis, criticism and into the story itself."

Summary, page 61, "Concrete and vivid stories exert extraordinary influence because they transport people out of the role of critic and into the role of participant. The more poignant, vibrant, and relevant the story, the more the listener moves from thinking about the inherent arguments to experiencing every element of the tale itself. Stories don't merely trump verbal persuasion by disproving counterarguments; stories keep the listener from offering counterarguments in the first place."

Thanks, Roger.

Ray Jimenez, PhD
http://www.vignettestraining.com/
http://www.trainingpayback.com/

"Helping Learners Learn Their Way" "Helping Learners Apply Learning"