Few business communicators know how to use stories effectively whether it’s in a formal presentation, a conversation, or in an email.

Those who can use stories effectively stand out dramatically against those who can’t.

Why? Because people love stories. Moviemaking is a multi-billion dollar industry. There are ten times as many fiction books published as non-fiction books. The human brain lights up when you start to tell a well crafted story.

Sometimes the word “Storytelling” has been used in a derogatory sense to mean fabricating events to mislead people or a long winded interpretation of something.

However, here I mean a way of making business or educational communication more engaging and understandable.

For example:

• a case study that illustrates a concept
• a metaphor or comparison
• a short anecdote
• an mythological teaching story
• an incident from someone’s life that highlights a point you want to make

Most presenters need more of these, but either can’t think of any to tell or lack the skills to delivery them well. Take the quick quiz below to assess your storytelling ability.

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Storytelling in Business – free webinar

Wed. April 18, 2012 at 6 pm Pacific

For more info and to register: http://www.learnitlive.com/class/1850/Storytelling-in-Business

Tags: Canada, carla rieger, motivational speaker, presentation skills

Discover Your Humor Style

In the last 15 years of coaching presenters, speakers, trainers and educators, I have often heard people say they have no sense of humor because they cannot tell jokes. Telling jokes is only one of a hundred different ways to elicit laughter from people. Each person has a different style of humor. The trick is to find your style and build on your innate strengths.

For example, are you the kind of person who can keep people riveted while telling a story about your latest trip to the grocery store, yet always blow the timing on a joke? Perhaps you like to clown around being playful, but get lost trying to do witty one-liners?

Watch this video and do the process to determine your style. For a more detailed personality quiz, click on the link below. These humor styles are, of course, highly generalized. Most people have qualities of more than one style, or will tend to switch from one style to the other depending on their environment. Use this information as a place to start. If you begin with humor that suits your personality style, you will have more success than if you try something too foreign right from the start.

Once you experience success in your dominant style, you can expand your skills to include different types of humor to appeal to different types of people.

Click on this link to get your free copy of the Humor Personality Style Inventory

http://www.speakersuccessu.com

Tags: Canada, carla rieger, humor, leadership coaching, presentation skills

http://www.mindsetmasteryseminars.com/artistryofchange

Have you ever ironically rushed to do something that’s supposed to be relaxing–such as a spa appointment, vacation or to get to sleep? For many people this happens regularly.

What if I just rushed faster?

The trap of rushing faster usually creates more problems. I used think that if I just worked longer hours and rushed faster that the feeling of overwhelm would eventually subside. But I now notice that never really works over the long term, because the rate of change is just speeding up and rushing faster is an impossible expectation. There is a deeper, more powerful and longer lasting solution.

80% of the reason you feel overwhelmed is because of your mindset

I have discovered that regularly feeling overwhelmed is just a bad habit of mind and actually a cultural transfer for which I pay a big price. I would go so far as to say it’s like a vampire that siphons my energy. Did you know that a recent poll of entrepreneurs and people in high-pressure jobs had To Do lists for just 1 day that would realistically take an average of two weeks to complete? Many university research studies have proven that un-doable To Do lists make many people less productive because the overwhelm causes inertia.

Overwhelm can negatively affect many areas of life

Do you remember the book the Way of the Peaceful Warrior? Peaceful warriors tend to make a lot less mistakes than frantic ones. Plus your health gets affected. People who feel overwhelmed are more likely catch a cold. Relationships suffer. If you dwell on how overwhelmed you feel it can make you less fun to be with on a date. Overwhelm actually makes you think less effectively and less creatively. In fact feeling overwhelmed is directly linked to digestive problems, moodiness ADHD and sleep problems. Feeling overwhelmed triggers the primitive fight or flight brain which can lead you to do or say things you might regret later. Over the long term the overwhelmed mindset has been linked to divorce, depression, suicide, cancer, dementia and financial problems.

So why do people keep getting stuck in overwhelm then?

Many people are unconsciously programmed for feeling overwhelmed. The human mind tends to imprint negative experiences far more often than positive ones. Neuroscientists say this is the primitive brain response. The primitive brain is consciously scanning for danger. If you burn your hand in the fire your brain will imprint that deeply so you won’t do it again. If you see a great sunset the brain doesn’t see this as necessary for your survival so won’t imprint it so deeply. This is kind of a system flaw when you think about it because it means you remember far more negative experiences than positive ones, giving you the overall impression that life is dangerous and unpleasant.

What underlying beliefs usually make you feel overwhelmed?

If you believe that you can’t change the things you actually CAN change or you react against the things you actually CAN’T change (or you can’t tell the difference between the two) that is definitely a recipe for overwhelm. And, of course this is just the opposite of a well known saying. When you’re calm and centered about your To Do list you have better health, enhanced relationships, feel more confident, trust in the future more, have more vitality, think better and make wiser decisions. There is a big domino effect here.

What you focus on grows

If you really think about it — for every one thing that’s not going well chances are 1000 things ARE going well. And, what you focus on grows so you might as well ruminate on one of the thousand things going right and instantly have a better day.

If you’d like to learn more about how to shift your mindset from overwhelm to calm and confident check out this webinar series:

http://www.mindsetmasteryseminars.com/artistryofchange

Tags: Canada, Carla Reiger, carla rieger, change artist, change management, motivational speaker, stress management, vancouver, workplace solutions

Here is Benjamin Zander, co-author of The Art of Possibility, doing an amazing TED talk in which he uses classical music to help people tap into their natural human longing for new possibilities, experiences, and connections.

Benjamin Zander is a leading interpreter of Mahler and Beethoven, also known for his charisma and unyielding energy — and for his brilliant pre-concert talks. The Art of Possibility is fun to read, practical and one of my all time favorite books on creativity. It’s about how we create our own meaning in life, so you might as well create a meaning that gives you the life you want.

For example, as a professor of music he noticed his students were so concerned with grades that it was getting in the way of their creativity. So, he started the year off by telling them that they would all get an “A” and all they had to do was write him a letter now, but pretend it’s at the end of the term. They had to write out what they had done to deserve an “A”.

He was teaching them the principle of how to cybernetically program their own minds to achieve their goals. You simply create the end goal specifically in your mind first, then work backwards. This trains your unconscious mind to think of possibilities, notice and filter for that which you need in order to achieve your goal.

If you don’t create the end goal first, but instead worry about an unpleasant experience from the past happening again (like getting a “D” in music), then this is actually another form of goal setting. You are actually training your mind to think of possibilities for manifesting a “D” and you will tend to filter out ideas and opportunities that would give you a higher mark.

He also talks about how as a conductor he never makes a sound. His whole job is to just elicit passionate sounds from the musicians, and the more passionate he was, the more passionate they played. The way he knew they were passionate was that he could see their eyes shine. He decided that he would use that in all aspects of life. That he would live in a way that would make other people’s eyes shine.

“Creativity now is as important as literacy, and we should treat it with the same status.” – Sir Ken Robinson, creativity and innovation expert

Problems can be the seed of your creative reinvention

You may be feeling stuck about a technical issue, or how to persuade a decision-maker to accept your idea, or trying to work with someone who grates on your nerves. The truth is, problems are actually the basis of all creativity. They are like the soil into which new possibilities can flourish. You would not be challenged to be creative if you didn’t have a problem to solve in the first place. The real problem would be not activating a creative mindset in the face of problems. That is why creativity is as important as literacy especially these days.

The top 5 questions to ask yourself

Below are 5 questions that can move the problem out of your reptilian brain into your neo-cortex. In other words, the questions direct the issue into a part of your brain that has more choice – other than just fight or flight.

Instructions

Feel free to use this with yourself or with those you influence. Print out the email and answer these questions on a sheet of paper. It should only take a few minutes and has been known to create a huge sense of relief in hundreds of our clients.

1. What is the problem you face in terms of a state of mind?

This question helps you to get clear on your current issue. Many times you can’t fix a problem because you don’t even know what it is. It also focuses your attention on the state of mind that is feeding the problem. For example: “I am overwhelmed by my priorities.”

2. What is your ideal outcome?

As Albert Einstein once said, “You cannot solve a problem with the same mindset that created it.” Your ideal outcome would therefore be a mindset that allowed you to solve the problem. For example: “My ideal outcome is to be confident about how to deal with my priorities.”

3. What’s good about having this problem to deal with right now?

Chances are you looking at this issue as “the glass is half empty”. All situations have their pros and cons. This question can help you see “the glass as half full”. Look at what you answered to Question #1 and see if you can find any benefits from working through this issue. It might be helping you build skills, activate your creativity, or allowing something else to occur that might otherwise not happen.

4. What needs to burn away so that the right solution can manifest?

Naturally occurring forest fires happen to keep the eco-system in balance. The canopy of old growth trees can completely block sunshine from reaching the forest floor where important plant life needs to flourish in order to feed the rest of the eco-system. Metaphors like this help open up the creative mind. What needs to burn away in terms of an assumption, a mindset, or point of view that’s blocking you from getting back in the flow with this situation?

5. If I were exceptional at (the task required), what would I do that I am not doing now?

This question helps you think outside of a limited view you may have of your abilities. You can “download genius” just by imagining you are someone who could easily sort this situation out. For example: “If I were exceptional at confidently dealing with my priorities (instead of being overwhelmed by them), what would I do that I’m not doing now?”

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Case study #1 – Overwhelmed by your priorities this week

Question #1: “I am overwhelmed by my priorities.”

Question #2: “My ideal outcome is to be confident about dealing with my priorities.”

Question #3: “What’s good about having to deal with this situation right now?” I have a fascinating project I get to work on right now that is inspiring me to grow, to better prioritize, and to be more innovative about how it gets done.

Question #4: “What needs to burn away?” Thinking that I need to be perfectionistic about this project, that I need to do it all myself, and that I need to spend as much time on low priority aspects as I am right now.

Question #5: “If I were exceptional at confidently dealing with my priorities (instead of being overwhelmed by them), what would I do that I’m not doing now?” I would delegate the task of formatting the document to someone who is better at it than me, such as Linda.

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Case study #2 – Dealing with negative behaviour at work

Question #1: “I am unclear and anxious about how to confront negative behaviour at work.”

Question #2: “My ideal outcome is to be confident about how to deal with negative behaviour at work.”

Question #3: “What’s good about having to deal with this situation right now?” I am getting to practice assertiveness skills, I’m helping our entire team by dealing with this situation openly, I’m getting to see how to use that negative behaviour for a positive outcome.

Question #4: “What needs to burn away? Thinking that I don’t know how to do it, and thinking that this negative behaviour can have no positive outcome.

Question #5: “If I were exceptional at confidently dealing with negative behaviour at work, what would I do that I’m not doing now?” I would make a list of all the ways I could direct this person’s behaviour style in a more positive direction.

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Next steps

Act on the wisdom you receive as soon as possible, as this will train your brain to start thinking like this more often. The brain will always seek the path of flow (or of least resistance), and will eventually default to it. In other words, once you show your brain a less stressful way to deal with your most common problems, you will no longer feel triggered by them. This creates a new neuro-pathway. That is why action is so important.

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Feel free to comment below–what questions do you use to activate your problem solving brain?

For more information on how you can improve innovative problem solving in your staff go to CLICK HERE

Tags: Business and Economy, Canada, Carla Reiger, change management, conflict, creativity, innovation, motivational speaker, problem solving, stress management, vancouver, work environment, workplace solutions