Feb 22, 2024
If I could make any observation about our growth in business storytelling training over the past decade it would be that a disproportionate number of new clients are companies or organizations that work in scientific, engineering and technological realms — pharmaceuticals, computers, health sciences, information technology, software, medical research, even space exploration. I love working with these groups, in part because they are freakishly smart and quick studies, but also because they are driven by an innate curiosity to understand how something works so they can make it work better and use it to tackle tough challenges.
At the risk of generalizing, I will say that these participants can sometimes be skeptical, coming into a storytelling training workshop wondering how this softer skill fits in their hard-facts, evidence-based world. They can also be nervous about storytelling, believing it’s a talent inherent in only the most gregarious and extroverted and therefore not compatible with their quieter, more introverted nature. But they often become the biggest converts and advocates of storytelling, as they quickly learn how to use it to connect audiences (especially less scientific or technological ones) to their work, to its value and potential, and to themselves.
However, for storytelling in science, engineering, and technology to work, individuals must put some work into it, especially when doing a report-out on an existing initiative or proposing a new one to senior executives. It’s not a ton of work, but it does require some effort and intent to strategically identify the right story to tell and make it a good one.
With this in mind, outlined below are four ways that scientists, engineers, and highly technical professionals can use storytelling to effectively engage and align others around their work, influence the way they think about it, and inspire them to support it. As you look through these, keep in mind that they are not mutually exclusive to each other. In fact, they may all be applied at once.
ONE — Think of storytelling as a way to position the details of an initiative before diving into them.
For many scientists and engineers, the magic is in the details of an initiative, and they have a desire to jump straight into presenting those details during a presentation. Understandably so, because those details are what these bright and passionate individuals are educated in, working with, and evaluating every day. However, if a scientist or engineer jumps immediately into the details of an initiative, they run the risk of quickly losing people who don’t have the same depth of education, experience or, frankly, interest (especially senior executives). The details quickly become too complex, overwhelming, or even boring for those individuals, and they mentally check out.
Simply presenting details usually accomplishes little more than informing an audience. Instead, when developing a presentation, scientists and engineers should dig deeper to consider how they can enlighten an audience about the details, shaping how they think about them. Going even further, they should contemplate how they can inspire an audience about the details, shaping how they feel about them.
Using storytelling up front in a scientific, engineering, or technological presentation can be an effective way to enlighten (and even inspire) an audience about the details and position them before diving into them. It’s also an effective way to connect with a broader audience more deeply, capture their attention early-on, and hold it longer when you eventually (and rightly) get into the weeds. Because while the details are the vernacular scientists and engineers work and converse in, not everyone speaks that language. But storytelling is a language we all speak, regardless of our roles, experience, or education.
TWO — Use storytelling to help audiences understand the “why” behind a scientific or engineering initiative: its reason for being.
More specifically, use storytelling to bring to life the problem or opportunity that initiative is addressing (if you’re reporting-out on it) or will address (if you’re proposing it). Importantly—and consistent with the first point above—establishing the “why” of an initiative before jumping into the details of its “what” and “how” is an effective way to position that initiative and engage and align everyone around its intent. It also connects everyone in the room to the bigger picture before wading into specifics, taking a more macro-to-micro approach with a presentation or discussion. For example:
“Good morning. Over the next fifteen minutes, I’m going to provide you with an update on Project Atlas. But before we dive into that update—including some key findings from our Phase One research and our plans for Phase Two—I want to quickly tell you about a conversation I had with an oncology nurse last week that reminded me exactly why we are doing this initiative.”
And the presenter would then tell a tight, compelling story about that conversation that demonstrates the opportunity or problem Project Atlas is trying to address: the positive impact it is looking to have on a key stakeholder group(s). This relevant, relatable story gets everyone in the room on the same page, reconnecting them to the objectives of the initiative before taking a closer look at its details.
THREE — Use storytelling to help remove the “why nots” that might prevent an audience from fully embracing an initiative.
To effectively use storytelling in business, you must be strategic in your approach to it, making sure you are clear on the intent of your story and the desired impact you want it to have on your audience. This helps ensure you are always telling the right story for that audience, versus just telling any story. When you take that strategic approach, you consider what you want your audience to do: the action you want them to take (e.g., approve this proposal, continue to support this initiative). But you also need to consider what they need to think and feel to take that action…or sometimes stop thinking or feeling, because those thoughts and emotions are getting in the way.
For example, if you are proposing a bold, groundbreaking, somewhat risky initiative to a senior executive, and you know that executive doesn’t like to do anything too crazy and is risk-adverse, you recognize that that apprehension or fear might prevent that person from approving your proposal, much less even listening to it. So, you might start with a story to untether them from those thoughts and emotions to help them be more receptive to what you’re proposing.
“Thank you for your time. I am here to propose a new software initiative that we believe is going to make a big difference in how we serve our small business customers. But before I dive into that initiative, I will tell you, it’s innovative. Like, we’ve-never-done-anything-like-this innovative. And it might make you a bit nervous when I start walking you through it. Frankly, it made us nervous as we conceptualized it, but it also made us excited when we came to realize its full potential and promise. As I was thinking about that tension, I remembered that we were at this same ‘existential’ juncture with the Normandy Initiative when we start developing that five years ago…and we all know what a game-changing success that turned out to be!”
And then you’d quickly tell the story of the Normandy Initiative, reminding those in the room who were a part of its perceived risks but also its tangible rewards, while enlightening those who were not a part of it of the same. In recounting that experience and telling that story, you get the most risk-adverse, the most skeptical not only nodding their heads in recollection, but you also opening their minds and hearts to what you’re about to recommend.
FOUR — Don’t hesitate to infuse your storytelling in science with some data points (just don’t turn it into a report).
As I often point out in our business storytelling and presentation skills training program, too many people believe storytelling and data are like oil and water. They don’t mix. But they do mix, they can mix. In fact, you can use data points to make a story more concrete, more tangible, offering concrete proof to elements you’re bringing to life. For example:
“And then it became time to launch Normandy and see what it could do. And we did. And we held our breath and waited. And then the results started coming in, and we realized, ‘It’s working!.” Things were improving. And when I say improving, I mean an immediate 4.7% improvement.”
That’s a data point you’re inserting into the story, not to derail it, but to provide evidence to a central part of it, thereby strengthening its impact on the audience.
BONUS — Use storytelling in science to connect with an audience in a more human way.
Lastly, a fifth and final way you can use storytelling in science, engineering, or technology is to simply enable an audience to connect with you in a more meaningful way: let them see more of the person behind the professional. The vast majority of us get nervous when we have to speak in front of a group of people or present to them, especially if that audience is filled with senior executives or directors. We feel threatened by the situation. So, to protect ourselves we put a bunch of armour on, put our heads down just try to survive the experience.
And most of us are remarkably adept at doing that: surviving. You play it safe. You stick to the facts. You become more of a robot going through the motions, bringing little of yourself, your perspectives, your personality into the mix. And you get through it, but no one remembers you because no one connects with you.
But when you use storytelling in science, engineering, or technology, you are not only communicating in a more universally human way, but you are sharing part of your own humanity in doing so. Even if the stories you share are customers, consumers, or colleagues, the very fact that you are bringing that story into the room says something about you. Your audience gets to know you better, trust you more because of that familiarity, and follow you as a result. And then, there is no stopping you.
Bill Baker is the founder and principal of BB&Co Strategic Storytelling. For over 15 years, BB&Co has been providing Business Storytelling and Effective Presentation Skills training to organizations such as GE Healthcare, Bristol Myers Squibb, Dell, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab, Dell, Adobe, Oracle, and others.
