Storytelling for Public Servants: One Day to a Compelling Story

Are you a data or policy analyst with an important message to get across to your unit, management or department? 

Storytelling can be a crucial part of your success.

Our brains are hardwired to think in stories. If you can tell a story that your audience cares about, then you can make an emotional connection that makes them much more likely to understand and accept the evidence you present.

Data and policy analysts often think leaders need more facts to make a good decision. That's not accurate. Everyone, leaders included, often decide based on emotion, and then justify their decision with reason.

But how do you tell a story? 

You need to follow a story "arc" (e.g., a beginning, middle and end). 

In this course, we'll explain what a story arc is, and how to use it in your work presentations. You'll also get tips on effective storytelling practices, and a a chance to get feedback from a storytelling coach on how to improve your style.

By the end of the day you will have a 1-2 minute compelling story about the important work you do. Even better, you'll learn a skill to apply to all of your presentations. 

Class size will be limited to 8-10 participants.

About the Instructor

John Stroud is a storytelling coach for engineers at a Fortune 50 company, helping them communicate technical information to non technical audiences. He is also the founder of A.I. Guides, where he helps policy and data analysts improve the quality of the presentations for senior management through the use of stories. Prior to that he was an Assistant Deputy Minister level executive at a leading Crown Corporation.