Everyday Storytelling Workbook: LD Leadership Development, #2

By Linda DeLuca

A blend of leadership development, communication strategy, and executive coaching, this perfect companion to Everyday Storytelling For Success guides you to successfully change your conversations, build trust and connect with those important to your success.

This workbook is a hands-on guide of discovery, craft, and practice of storytelling by experimenting with both small daily changes and deep dive challenges all working toward mastering the skills of connecting to and inspiring others through powerful storytelling.

-Includes more than 110 actionable activities and exercises;
-Blends essential activities and optional deep dive challenges;
-Focuses on creating a personalized development plan;
-Delivers Storytelling activities relevant at any point in your professional career.

More relevant and effective than ever The Everyday Storytelling Workbook will help individual professionals improve their ability to communicate a vision, strengthen team member commitment, build trust among fellow professionals, and much more.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Linda DeLuca
• Release date: May 8, 2016
• ISBN: 9781533751492

Book preview

EVERYDAY

STORYTELLING

WORKBOOK

Change the Conversation 

to Improve Your Career and Life

By Linda DeLuca

EVERYDAY STORYTELLING WORKBOOK

Change the Conversation to Improve Your Career and Life

Copyright © 2016 by Linda DeLuca

www.LindaDeLuca.com

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author / publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests email [e-mail].

DISCLAIMER: Although the author / publisher has made every effort to ensure that the information in this book was correct at press time (including links to websites and resources), the author / publisher does not assume and hereby disclaim any liability to any party for any loss, damage, or disruption caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause.

Cover design by MY Designs, my-designs.net

Azione Scopo Publishing

Published in the United States of America

FIRST EDITION

INTRODUCTION

YOUR PLAN

COMMITMENT

PLAN TO BUILD YOUR STORYTELLING SKILL

BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND

STEP 1: ASSESSMENT

YOUR PERSONAL PLAN-STEP 2

YOUR PERSONAL PLAN-STEP 3

YOUR PERSONAL PLAN-STEP 4

CHECKLIST: YOUR PLAN

PART ONE

THE FOUR ELEMENTS

CONVERSATION ELEMENTS SUMMARY

CONVERSATION ELEMENT ONE: YOU

CONVERSATION ELEMENT TWO: YOUR AUDIENCE

CONVERSATION ELEMENT THREE: CONTEXT

CONVERSATION ELEMENT FOUR: YOUR MESSAGE

CHECKLIST: CONVERSATION ELEMENTS

PART TWO

STORYTELLING IN BUSINESS: THE EIGHT ELEMENTS

EIGHT STORY ELEMENTS SUMMARY

ACCEPT THE CHALLENGE

GO FARTHER | GROUNDWORK

CHECKLIST: STORY ELEMENTS

PART THREE

STORIES YOU NEED FOR SUCCESS

PHASE ONE: DISCOVER YOUR STORY SOURCES

PHASE TWO: CHOOSE YOUR STORIES

PHASE THREE: CRAFT YOUR STORIES

CHECK LIST: STORIES FOR SUCCESS

PART FOUR

CRAFTING STORIES FOR KEY BUSINESS MOMENTS

STORYTELLING FOR YOUR RESUME

STORYTELLING AS A NETWORKING STRATEGY

STORYTELLING TO ACE THAT INTERVIEW

STORYTELLING AS A PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT TOOL

STORYTELLING FOR PROJECT PROPOSALS

STORYTELLING TO MOTIVATE YOUR TEAM

STORYTELLING IN MENTORING CONVERSATIONS

STORYTELLING IN THE BOARDROOM

CHECK LIST: KEY BUSINESS MOMENTS

WRAP UP

LIFE IS A JOURNEY

YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

YOUR MAY ALSO LIKE

INTRODUCTION

Congratulations for taking the extra step of purchasing this workbook and welcome to the hero’s journey toward success. Reading to learn new skills begins to change us by changing the way we think. But to have significant change we need to take action. The extra action you took to acquire this workbook proves you are already part of an elite group of professionals taking charge of their success. Bravo.

In this workbook you will put into action the challenges issued in the book Everyday Storytelling For Success (lindadeluca.com/books-courses/everyday-storytelling/) as well as additional challenges which dive deeper into developing your conversation and storytelling skills.

This workbook is designed to be used alongside Everyday Storytelling For Success. Space is provided in the print version for you to thoughtfully complete each activity. For the digital version, a notebook (digital or paper) is recommended. Activities in the digital version are noted by the pencil icon: ✎.

How you choose to use this workbook depends upon your desired outcome. Therefore, the work begins with the end in mind - building your personal development plan.

As with the book, the workbook follows the philosophy that change happens over time and with action. So we’ll take one step at a time, one concept at a time, actually creating changes as you make your way through the book.

These activities will require a commitment from you. You’ll need to dedicate time to read and practice the techniques. The practice activities include answering powerful questions, crafting story elements, and recording practice events and reactions. Small investments implemented consistently over a period of time is the best way to change and develop new habits, new ways of thinking, and new skills.

I hope you will join me on this hero’s journey and together we will become better tellers of stories that matter in our business relationships. As an added bonus you’ll notice that you’ll become a better storyteller in your personal life as well!

Linda DeLuca

Executive Coach, Author, Entrepreneur

LindaDeluca.com

YOUR PLAN

Personal Plan To

Build Your Storytelling Skill

COMMITMENT

As with any development program, the results you experience are tied closely to your level of commitment. To clarify your commitment, answer the following questions as truthfully and thoughtfully as possible:

Question 1: What are you experiencing right now in your business conversations that causes you concern?

✎

Question 2: How will developing stronger conversation and storytelling skills help ease these concerns?

✎

Question 3: How will you experience these relationships and conversations one year form now if you do nothing?

✎

Question 4: How much time and energy will you devote to developing yourself and these skills?

✎

With this clarity of your commitment to develop yourself and your impact, It’s time to create your personal development plan.

PLAN TO BUILD YOUR STORYTELLING SKILL

OBJECTIVE: Create your personal plan to build your conversation and storytelling skills.

Includes activities supporting the following chapters from the book Everyday Storytelling For Success:

PART FIVE

Personal Plan To Build Your Storytelling Skill

Your Personal Plan

BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND

This workbook begins with the end in mind. Before taking one step on the hero’s journey, you need to know your destination and that means defining your goals.

In storytelling this is your destination. Your future self with strengthened storytelling skills and increased influence an impact in your professional life. In order to focus on the most valuable activities within the book and workbook, you need a personalized plan.

Determine your plan with the following steps:

Step 1:  Assessment

Step 2:  Goal Setting

Step 3:  Plot the Course

Step 4:  Work the Plan

Work through each of these steps on the following pages.

STEP 1: ASSESSMENT

There are two ways to assess your current storytelling skills. First is a self assessment and the second is gathering feedback from others. You’ll gain the most by gathering both forms and drawing comparisons. The value of having both your own assessment and that of others will help you identify blind spots and misalignments.

Blind spots are those areas of weakness that we don’t know exist. Misalignments are the areas where our intention does not equal our impact or it could be where our own assessment varies significantly from others. For example, I may rate myself a 3 (scale of 1 to 10, 10 being best) when it comes to