This is the ‘win with stories’ newsletter. Every week I send an email with a message wrapped in a short story. I also share an actionable tip and a recommendation to help you enhance your communication skills.
Michael Dell is the founder of one of the world’s best known technology brands. Did he learn entrepreneurship at business school? Or did he display business acumen much earlier? As always, let me tell you a story…
Michael Dell, the teenage entrepreneur.
Michael Dell narrates a story about his childhood pretty often. I learnt about it from Indranil Chakraborty’s book ‘Stories at Work’, more on that later.
When Dell was a teenager, his friend’s father happened to be an avid stamp collector. That’s how he got into the habit of collecting stamps as well. During those days, he was also working as a water boy in a Chinese restaurant.
Dell had developed the habit of glancing through Linn’s Stamp Journal. He noticed an interesting thing. The prices of stamps were rising. He was a teenager, yes. But he realised the business opportunity.
Some people in the neighbourhood agreed to consign their stamps to him. He then advertised ‘Dell’s Stamps’ in that very journal. He was expecting a lacklustre response, if any.
To his surprise, he made about 2000 Dollars! Quite a cool amount for a kid back in the 70s, right?
But he also learnt something. That it paid to cut out the middleman.
Now for today’s communication tip:
How to come up with connection stories?
Wouldn’t it be great if we could all narrate an interesting story like Michael Dell does? Well, the good news is that we can. Indranil Chakraborty or IC, author of ‘Stories at Work’, recommends these steps.
- Situation: write down the situation(sales meeting, job interview, partnership deals and so on)
- Messages: Once that’s done, it is time to list the qualities we need to showcase to our connection. Or you could think of this as messages you want to deliver about yourself.
They may look like these: honest, creative, perseverance, etc
- Anecdotes: Think of a moment when you demonstrated each of these qualities. Remember stories are about character, conflict and change. So write your anecdote that way. Additionally, IC suggests that we mention when and where the story happened. That’s what makes it a story in the first place.
Voila! Connection story is ready!
One book you could read this month:
You may have guessed by now which book is my recommendation for this week. IC’s ‘Stories at Work’ is arguably the best Indian book on business storytelling. Being a marketing veteran, IC possesses a wealth of knowledge about business.
But the book is a great resource for consultants, startups or SMBs as well. It highlights the problems with business communication. Then shares notes on why stories work. Finally, on how to communicate effectively using story techniques.
You can buy the book on Amazon via this link. I don’t make any money if you do 🙂
Hope you enjoyed this edition of ‘win with stories’ newsletter. If you have a question about your brand, startup or SMB’s story, feel free to connect with me. I am quite active on Linkedin or Twitter.
One last request – forward this to friends and colleagues who’d find this story and the tips useful. If you received this email from someone and liked it, you can subscribe here.
Cheers.
Sachin.
