Convene On Site: Peter Sheahan at ASAE

Okay, now we're dealing with a full-blown meme. Last week I wrote about Tina Brown's opening keynote at the ASAE Annual Meeting & Exposition, in which Brown said that "the only thing that matters is telling a story clearly and cleanly." At the closing keynote a few days later, business consultant and author Peter Sheahan told his audience of association executives that members' expectations are "going toward narrative and away from facts." He said: "You're in the business of storytelling far more than you're in the business of fact-telling."

The problem, Sheahan said, is that many organizations have lost track of their own story; they're overly beholden to their founding mission and their longtime members, and can't really explain why they exist. "One of the biggest challenges facing you as an association executive," he said, "is, based on your governance structure, you're forced to meet the needs of members who have a legacy interest rather than the needs of members in the next five to 10 years."

The Power of Stories

The Human Voice from StoryCorps on Vimeo.

Great presenters are great storytellers. But you don't have to be polished or think of yourself as having any talent for speaking to tell a story that holds value for others. You just have to be willing to share. And sharing stories is what the "National Day of Listening" is all about.

Today, November 26, is the third annual national listening day, the brainchild of the nonprofit organization StoryCorps. The project aims to preserve our stories, and to connect us to one another through our experiences.

Says StoryCorps founder Dave Isay:

“By listening closely to one another, we can help illuminate the true character of this nation reminding us all just how precious each day can be and how truly great it is to be alive.

StoryCorps has set up permanent recording booths in New York, San Francisco and Atlanta, and has taken the booths on the road to American cities.

What kinds of stories would your meeting attendees tell — and what would you learn by listening to them — if you gave them the opportunity?

Emotion at Work

We've written a lot in Convene about the power of storytelling (including here and here), and have also blogged about it, but last week I experienced it first hand during a "Face to Face With Keppler Speakers" webcast featuring Stan Slap, a corporate strategist and author of the new book Bury My Heart at Conference Room B: The Unbeatable Impact of Truly Committed Managers. (Click on the video above to watch an edited version of his "Bury My Heart at Conference Room B" speaking presentation.) One story in particular that Slap told during the webcast was powerfully emotional, and has stuck with me -- a testament both to the art of storytelling and to Slap's message about the importance of personal values and beliefs in forging a connection with people, even in a management setting.

I can't do justice to the story or Slap's telling. Suffice it to say that it involves a woman, Florence Taylor (not her real name), who, growing up in a small town in the deep South, was one of the first black children to attend a white school, where on her first day she sat next to a white, red-haired girl who immediately became her new best friend. During recess, four masked men rode into the school's playground on horseback; one of them grabbed the red-haired girl because she'd been playing with Florence. Without thinking, Florence ran at the man, who dropped her red-haired friend, picked up Florence, and dragged her outside the schoolyard and along the concrete for two blocks. Florence spent five weeks in the hospital, and when she got out, she went right back to the white school. Today a successful executive at a well-known company, Florence tells Slap in Bury My Heart at Conference Room B:

"In this life I have had an opportunity to learn what is most important to me. What is most important to me is loyalty. The little white girl from that school is still my best friend today. I'm not willing to live without loyalty in my life and I'm not willing to have people I care about living without it. ... If you are working for me, and you ever get into trouble trying to do the right thing... I'm coming back for you."

I don't think I'll ever forget this story, or Slap's underlying point about forging a bond with the people who work for and with you based on those things that are most important to you. So I think I'd call that a successful (Web-enabled) meeting experience.