Steve Hughes, President of Hit Your Stride, LLC, gave an entertaining presentation encouraging professionals to harness the power of stories to open doors and influence audiences.

Storytelling to Win Business
Stories are powerful because when used correctly, they can change how people interpret facts. Telling a story allows others to temporarily share your point of view, whether the audience is a room of your peers or a potential new client.

If you're pitching a prospective client who doesn't feel they need your services, how do you convince them to give your firm a shot? According to Hughes, the answer is to spend less time convincing them of your perspective and focus on understanding theirs. Incorporating narratives will help illustrate your points and turn the discussion from a "sales pitch" into a dialogue, opening up opportunities to change opinions.

"The key to effective business story-telling is to always tie the story back to a main point," explained Hughes. "A properly delivered story about your firm will make prospects sit up, take notice, and inquire further."

The basic structure for business narratives includes three critical elements: brief, relevant, and thought provoking. In the beginning set the scene, establish characters, and introduce conflict. Then expound on the conflict and provide appropriate detail. Finally, explain the resolution by making a point, asking a question, and connecting the story to the topic at hand.

Four-Step Approach
Hughes outlined these four steps to follow when encouraging attorneys to use stories in business development:

1. Make it easy. Begin with the best storytellers or most open-minded and most coachable people in your firm.
2. Find trigger words. Ask for one to three key words or "trigger" words. For example, an  attorney who does banking law reform can find stories, quotes, and analogies that deal with the idea of "change." An IP lawyer may want to focus on the word "innovate."
3. Create story files. Once you have identified trigger words, start individual story files for each of the words and periodically feed stories and examples back to the attorneys.
4. Start small. Instead of encouraging attorneys to incorporate a story into a high-stakes presentation, encourage them to tell a story or use an analogy when they're serving on a panel or when making a presentation related to their pro bono work.

Finding the Right Story and Pulling It All Together
Relevant anecdotes can come from practically anywhere, but the best stories often stem from personal experiences and life lessons. Be mindful, however, that while the person doing the telling may be the focus of the story, he or she should not cross the line into bragging. Humor and mystery can also make a story memorable, so attorneys shouldn?t be afraid to incorporate them where appropriate. Hughes also explained that the best storytellers are frequent readers and are tuned into current events. "Your next great story idea could come from the morning news, your favorite blog, or a recent read. The key is to match one of your stories to a point you're trying to make," said Hughes.

For more information on storytelling in business or to learn how Hit Your Stride can assist in your business development activities, please visit http://www.hityourstride.com or contact Steve Hughes at steve@hityourstride.com.

Amy Jean is the Marketing Manager at Goldberg Kohn. She can be contacted at amy.jean@goldbergkohn.com.