On chapter 3 of the Leader’s
Guide to Storytelling, Denning begins by defining a one of a kind of story, a
springboard story. A springboard story communicates a complex new idea, which
as a result inspires individuals to take and implement action. There are 9 main
elements of a springboard story. The first and most important step is to
communicating the change idea in the story clearly. This also means that you
must maintain your focus on the change idea and make it worthwhile to the
listener. Secondly, find a true authentic story. This is often one of the
determinants of success or failure of a story. Telling a made up story makes
you seem like a dreamer or a liar coming across completely opposite from what
you are trying to achieve.
Thirdly, after you find a
story to tell, tell it from the point of view of that single protagonist. Do
not tell it from the point of view of the team or the organization because this
opens up the listener’s perspectives to different scenarios of things that
could’ve or did go wrong and eventually distracting the listener from the
story. Fourthly, relate the protagonist to the audience as in their struggles,
obstacles faced, and so on. Fifthly, make sure to give the date and place of
where the situation took place at the beginning of telling your story. This
ensures the listener the story is true and can be looked up at a later time.
Sixth, when telling your story sometimes listeners do not make the connection
of what is happening in the story to what is happening to them at the time.
Therefore, it’s best to spell out the alternatives of what could’ve happened if
the change idea had not being implemented. Seventh, try not to overwhelm the
listener with irrelevant details, so tell your story to the most of minimalist
fashion. Get straight to the point quick because you might loose the listener’s
focus. Eighth, springboard stories have a positive tone as well as an authentic
happy ending. Not all stories will be the same but when trying to inspire
action a positive tone and a happy ending can help you achieve that. Lastly,
link the change idea to the story otherwise you will leave the your audience
and listeners wondering what was the point of the story.
After understanding these
elements described by Denning, I realize that from Chimamanda Adichie’s message
in the TED video “The danger of a single story” is that these types of stories
differ. Denning talks about how for a springboard story a happy ending and
positive tone are in order to inspire action. Even though Adichie’s story has a
positive tone and inspires actions, she seems to take a different route. Her
story isn’t short, she gives more details and background information than I
think its needed if her purpose was to just inspire action to the listeners. I
like her story because she speaks about her personal experiences and the way
she grew up giving the story a positive tone, a happy ending, and inspiring
action. But she does more than what is intended for a springboard story, it
even seems like it’s a bit more entertaining than an organizational story. In
my opinion, it seems like you can inspire action with the new change idea in
different forms. It really depends on who is your audience, how well you tell
your story, how you tell it, the change idea, and the ending of the story. Just
as Adichie says: “A single story can create stereotypes”, so try different
stories and explore beyond your horizon. This may even lead to a better story.
