The Listening and Storytelling Method
Delivering engagement with a repeatable, scalable method
“One of the most profound things I learned about storytelling was the idea of not having to outwardly state the "moral of the story", but rather, leave it up to my audience to draw a "guided conclusion". I think making your audience think is an excellent way to keep them engaged and actively listening.”
Nick C., Takeda Pharmaceuticals MI&I
What is the listening and storytelling method?
At the core of every one of our services is the listening and storytelling method, which was created in 1994 when Narativ co-founder Murray Nossel, PhD, was working with people with HIV/AIDS. Telling their stories was urgent, but crafting stories that were personal and vulnerable required guidelines.
Without listening, there is no storytelling.
Listen
Common wisdom tells us that we need to focus on the needs of our audience: What do they care about? We believe in this too, but we don’t start there. We start with you. The first kind of listening you need to do is listening to yourself.
What makes YOU care about your topic? What makes YOU care about your audience? Who are you in relationship to your audience?
If you start with your audience, then you’re looking at something that’s external and you’ll be preoccupied with what you think they like, dislike, need, don’t need, etc. These things will trip you up and keep you from being your most present, creative self.
When you start with yourself, and identify what’s getting in the way of your ability to listen to yourself and others, then you understand what you need to address and release in order to be fully present to the stories that NEED to be told, urgently.
Tell
The experiences that emerge from listening create fertile ground for excavating, crafting, and presenting authentic stories. Through a device we call the “What Happened Camera,” we help you separate facts from feelings. This opens up the door to you being able to engage with people through raw description of actions rather than layering on your interpretation of the experience.
It’s the difference between saying, “I faced my boss and told him I quit, holding my trembling hands together” and “I was so scared of confronting my boss, but I was so proud when I did.” The first statement paints a much more vivid and experiential picture than the second.
Connect
This is what we are excited to help you access—true, authentic, meaningful connection.
The kind of connection that makes your team, leaders, new hires, sales people wake up in the morning with a new sense of purpose, and a drive that lifts the whole enterprise.
Get ready to engage and be engaged like never before. We’re listening.
