The Art of Breaking Through to Minds Overloaded with Tweets and Texts
Jerry needed to find a way to get his teen-aged cashier to smile more and be friendlier with his customers. During her job interview, LaShondra was all personality. But within the first 60 days, she had mysteriously withdrawn. Even though she was dependable, well dressed, and her cash drawer always balanced to the penny, LaShondra was not the warm, inviting person he hired. Jerry had talked to her on several occasions and asked her to be more friendly and engaging. And every time he caught her eye in the middle of a transaction, he put his index fingers to the corners of his mouth, pushed them up and silently mouthed the word “smile” – but, within minutes, LaShondra was once again quiet and subdued.
At wits end, but not wanting to lose a dependable part-timer, Jerry used the intercom to summon LaShondra back to his office. When she entered, he closed the door behind her and…
***I interrupt this story to bring you the following information***
“What?” you must be thinking. “Are you kidding me? What did Jerry do next? Did LaShondra get her groove back?”
The truth is, I don’t know. I haven’t written the end to this story. I had no idea where it was going when I wrote the first line. But it pulled you in, didn’t it? That’s the point.
Stories are unmatched in their ability to move us to action and, ultimately, managing is all about moving people to action. So storytelling can be, and should be, an integral part of your managerial repertoire. This is especially true if you manage the new emerging workforce.
Your youngest employees are story deprived. They’re used to communicating in tweets and texts where cryptic codes and hot-links leave little room for character development, conflict, climax, resolution, denouement, thematic significance, metaphors, symbolism and, most importantly, the moral or lesson to be learned.
Generation Why, the brand I founded ten years ago, is not a term restricted to demographic birth years; it’s about the ever-questioning mindset of today’s teens and young adults. While there is no shortage of adjectives to describe them being bantered about in books, articles, and managers’ meetings, most are subjective and defused by an example of some young dynamo who is an exception to the stereotype.
However, the one characteristic that permeates the psyche of every under-25-year-old on your payroll is their reluctance to accept anything at face value. They simply will not do what you want them to do— how you want them to do it—without first knowing why.
And the best way to provide the why in a way that will penetrate and last is through the illustrative power of stories.
Show me an effective manager of Gen Why talent and I’ll show you a good storyteller; a leader who doesn’t rely on electronic sound bytes, memos, and PowerPoint slides to communicate key messages to their young charges. Instead, they harness the power of story to train new skills, resolve conflict, provide feedback, and motivate their troops to perform up to their remarkable potential.
Sadly, storytelling is becoming a lost art. So if you want to bone up on your ability to connect with young people, here are four important considerations for ramping up your stories:
1. Purpose – Have a good reason for telling a story and make certain it directly relates to the key message or important point at hand. You don’t want to seen as that verbose old duffer who’s always waxing poetic at every opportunity just to fill the air with the sound of his own voice.
2. Length - Attention spans continue to shrink and you don’t have a lot of time to make your point. You need to get good at telling ‘War and Peace’ sagas in 90 seconds or less. This means that if you don’t know exactly where your story’s going, don’t tell it. If you do know, take the highway over the scenic route to get to your destination.
3. Impact – Don’t bore them to tears with tortoise and the hare type fables of yesteryear. Take the time to create or retell one that grabs them by the nose and kicks them in the butt. Shock them. Humor them. Enlighten them. Just don’t be predictable. (I recently blogged about the new trend of incorporating graphic depictions and video reenactments to alter adolescent attitudes and behaviors.)
4. Visuals – Video technology has made it easier than ever to tell your story on screen. However, your target audience is used to getting their video content packaged with high-speed graphics and an adrenaline rush, so it makes it extremely difficult to WOW them with anything on a screen.
That’s why I never use PowerPoint or multimedia when I speak to student groups; I simply can’t compete in that arena. I’ve found it more effective to use simple props to create visual analogies and doubled the impact by putting the props in their hands. One such analogy I created 15 years ago (and still use today) involves the use of a tape measure to demonstrate to teens how brief their high school experience is in the overall scope of their life, and how the choices they make today will impact what happens to them tomorrow. (See video here.) I’m humbled by the letters and emails I receive from professionals in their thirties telling me how impactful the tape measure analogy has been to them after experiencing it in their high school gym 15 years ago.
What do you have lying around on your desk or in your cabinets that could serve as an analogy to drive sales, increase productivity, or simply get that teenager to smile and make your customers feel appreciated?
When LaShondra entered his office, Jerry closed the door behind her and laid a toothbrush on the desk. “You obviously go through these pretty fast, LaShondra” he said. “I’ve never seen a whiter, more dazzling smile in my 42 years on this planet. Half the people who come in here have heard of your smile and want to see it for themselves. Why, we should be charging admission! So that we don’t ever rob any customer of the LaShondra smile, I’m going to make it my job to keep your bathroom cabinet stocked with a brand new toothbrush each week, so you won’t ever have to worry that your smile will wear out.”
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Whys Up
If you want a happy ending, that depends, of course, on where you stop your story.
Orson Welles |
We want a story that starts out with an earthquake and works its way up to a climax.
Samuel Goldwyn |
I like it when somebody tells me a story, and I actually really feel that that's becoming like a lost art in America.
Quentin Tarantino |
Green Eggs and Ham was the story of my life. I wouldn't eat a thing when I was a kid, but Dr. Seuss inspired me to try cauliflower!
Jim Carrey |
For me, writing a short story is much, much harder than writing a novel.
Lynn Abbey |
The story of the human race is the story of men and women selling themselves short.
Abraham Maslow |
People have forgotten how to tell a story. Stories don't have a middle or an end any more. They usually have a beginning that never stops beginning.
Steven Spielberg |
Sometimes I think I’d be better off dead. No, wait, not me. You.
Another Deep Thought by Jack Handey |
Whys Website of the Month
“Are you a Purple Mountain Trail Blazer or Candy Apple Red Wildly Curious? Great leaders are always looking to improve, and this new free assessment by author and speaker colleague, Rick Smith, is an incredible tool to help you find out where your strengths lie. This is truly worth 15 minutes of your time. Visit www.PrimaryColorAssessment.com and get ready to take “The Leap.”
Eric can help your managers communicate more effectively with young employees. The time is right to have Eric address your next meeting! See a preview video here and request more information. Give your team the experience that everyone is raving about!
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Whys
Cracks
“You don’t come here very often, do you, kid?” - Alonzo C. Rucker, 18, looked a bit suspicious when he entered the Quotes Bar & Grill in Janesville, WI. He was wearing a bandana around his face and reaching into his pants as if he had a weapon there. Robbing the place was a bad idea: he had followed four men in the front door, all off-duty police officers, and more than a dozen other off-duty cops were already in the bar. When an officer turned around and noticed Rucker, he quickly tackled him, and was aided by other officers. Rucker was held until on-duty officers arrived to take him to jail. A surveillance video shows the first officer never even put his beer down. (Janesville Gazette)
“Aided by other officers” – I imagine that Rucker was the one that wound up needing the aid, as in 'first aid.'"
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