"The Leader as Storyteller"

Ed Ruggero
Author & Speaker
Academy Leadership, LLC

Ruggero's focus was on storytelling as a powerful component of leadership. His presentation, "The Leader as Storyteller," covered all of the dos and don'ts of effective storytelling. Ruggero also referenced other presentations from the summit, especially Jim Donald's, as examples of leaders that have mastered the art of storytelling. "You'll be able to go home tomorrow and tell somebody about Megan's special," he said, referencing an anecdote Donald had told about a store employee that had made a success out of her mistake.

Ruggero also pointed out how some large corporations use stories to teach culture to their employees, whether it's the culture of the organization or the culture of its clientele. Citizen's Bank, for example, uses small movies to demonstrate good customer relations and service to reinforce the values it teaches its employees, referring to it as their "credo."

Ruggero is quick to point out that stories are "sticky." They're an example of showing, rather than telling. A pertinent story is a much more effective means of communicating a value or a lesson than simply stating it. As an example, Ruggero related a story from his childhood. When he was 17, he was driving his mother somewhere and, being a know-it-all 17-year-old, was telling her how his generation was going to change the world for the better. His mom responded by saying, "you want to make the world a better place? See that guy with his turn signal on? Let him over. There. You just made the world a better place." He used this as an example of an effective story that connects people on an emotional level, in this case on the grounds that just about everybody has some memory of their mother.

Ruggero described the reasonable expectations of an audience and described how they should be addressed. First, the audience needs to know who the speaker is and where they are coming from. This relates to credibility and audience immersion. If they don't have any common ground with the speaker, the audience members are not likely to buy in to the speaker's premise. The second expectation is that of justifying the audience's presence. The audience has a need to get something out of the experience that must be satisfied by the speaker. Third, the audience needs to see some logical connection between the point of the story and the subject that the speaker is addressing. Without this type of conclusion, the story holds little value.

He then went on to discuss some of the qualities of a good story. "Never let the truth get in the way of a good story," he quoted. A story rooted in fact is generally a better story, but it's more important that the story be plausible than true. Talking down to the audience should be avoided, and a blatantly implausible story is one way of doing so. "I don't need to talk down to the audience," Ruggero said, "they're smart people." He also emphasized that good storytellers borrow from each other.

Ruggero then talked about the importance of posture and body language in storytelling, "A picture's worth a thousand words, but a face is worth a thousand pictures," he said. Sincerity and credibility can be conveyed through facial expressions and body language. A comfortable speaker will make an audience comfortable.

Ruggero also had tips for delivery. "Have a conversation with people. Don't talk 'to' them; talk 'with' them," he said. He also advised people to avoid using jokes unless they're out specifically to do stand-up comedy. "It's hard," he said of telling jokes. "A joke has three parts; a set up, a punch line, and a reaction. You supply the [first two] and the audience supplies the [reaction]." When there's no reaction and the speaker starts to bomb, the results can be disastrous. He encourages the use of humor because there's little risk to the story or the presentation if it fails. "If the audience finds it funny, great."

For those who are new to speaking, Ruggero offers some advice. He encourages people to study the people they admire, to start small, and to rehearse and get feedback. He discourages rehearsing in front of a mirror, since it makes people feel self-conscious. He also discourages rehearsing in front of somebody who doesn't know how to criticize. Finding somebody who will give feedback is key.

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Ed Ruggero is the author of eleven books and an international speaker on leadership and leader development. A 1980 graduate of the US Military Academy at West Point, Ruggero served as an infantry officer in the US Army for 11 years. Ruggero is the co-author of Army Leadership, that service's official doctrine on the subject. His non-fiction work includes Duty First: West Point and Making of American Leaders, a study of leader development at the academy; and The Leader's Compass: A Personal Leadership Philosophy is Your Key to Success. His most recent book is The First Men In: US Paratroopers and the Fight to Save D-Day (HarperCollins, 2006).

Ruggero also leads a Gettysburg and a Normandy Leadership Experience where participants walk the grounds of these great struggles to learn battle-tested leadership lessons that will help them meet their own challenges.

For more information about Ed Ruggero's workshops and writings, visit www.edruggero.com.