Whether you’re proposing a risky new venture, trying to close a deal, or leading a charge against injustice, you have a story to tell. Tell your story well and you will create a shared experience with your listeners that can have profound and lasting results.

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The Story Factor

What’s your story? Who are you? Where do you come from? When you seek to influence others you face these questions and more. Whether you’re proposing a risky new venture, trying to close a deal, or leading a charge against injustice, you have a story to tell. Tell your story well and you will create a shared experience with your listeners that can have profound and lasting results.

“the oldest tool of influence is also the most powerful—through the words, gestures, tone, and rhythm of story you can captivate an audience of skeptical, resistant, nay-sayers…”In The Story Factor, Annette Simmons reminds us that the oldest tool of influence is also the most powerful—through the words, gestures, tone, and rhythm of story you can captivate an audience of skeptical, resistant, nay-sayers and simultaneously construct a believable picture for your ideas and goals. In this hyper-competitive, techno-centric, and results-oriented environment it is easy to forget that all organizations are social systems and that work is personal—learning to tap into the personal element through story gives you a key to the social system. Alignment improves, problems get solved, group decisions are easier to make, and trust develops in ways and in places you might never thought possible.

Over one hundred stories drawn from the front lines of business and government, as well as myths, fables, and parables from around the world, illustrate how story can be used to persuade, motivate, and inspire in ways that cold facts, bullet points, and directives can’t. These stories, combined with practical storytelling techniques show anyone how to become a more effective communicator. From “who I am” to “I-know-what-you’re thinking,” Simmons identifies the six stories you need to know how to tell and demonstrates how they can be applied.

As master storyteller Doug Lipman notes in the foreword, Annette Simmons articulates “the emerging realization in the business community that thriving organizations need whole persons working for them – that anything less cheats both the individual and the firm.” Let The Story Factor be your inspiration for transforming your relationships with colleagues, bosses, employees, customers, and even adversaries so that each story you are living right now – work, personal, and community – becomes the kind of success story you will enjoy telling for years to come.

Recently named one of “The 100 Best Business Books of All Time,” The Story Factor explores hundreds of examples that show when, where, how, and why story transforms relationships.

“The Story Factor is full of entertaining and useful stories to enhance our ability to communicate effectively. It will be very useful to teachers and managers alike.”
Edgar E. Schein
Sloan Fellows Professor of Management, Emeritus, and Senior Lecturer, MIT Sloan School of Management
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“As the author herself notes, you can’t make someone listen; you can only entice, inspire, cajole, stimulate or fascinate. Stories do that; so does this book. It’s a pleasure to dive into and an extremely useful tool for the would-be influencer or change builder.”
Art Kleiner
author of Schools That Learn and The Age of Heretics
“Annette Simmons was my guiding star when I was looking for a way to work with stories. The Story Factor paved the way for me to do rewarding work building communities and broadening education. With this third edition Annette proves once again that her knowledge and insights are alive and more relevant than ever.”
Peter Frühmann
Founder of Storybag.nl
"The Story Factor remains required reading for anyone working at the intersection of communication and culture. For better or worse, the future requires storytellers willing to imagine what is truly good for humans and wield their power thoughtfully. I’m grateful that Annette’s wonderful book is confronting the ethical aspects of the stories we tell. I hope that many will pick it up and do the same!"
Zack Bryant
Creative Director, Journey Group
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