Rating: 
Summary: Get more of what you want
Review: Annette Simmons has done it again. Her book about storytelling beautifully illustrates what she is trying to teach us: that we are more powerful through story telling. With a great story we can make a difference in this world, bridge gaps that we once thought were unbridgable, excite, unite, create... we get more of everything we want in life if, instead of demanding, forcing or whining, we let others know what is really important through story telling. The book is a page turner with fascinating illustrations from all walks of life that inspire us to take her advice. I read a negative review about this book in this section and all I could think of was, "What book was HE reading?" Certainly not the well written invaluable guide to story telling that The Story Factor is!
Rating:
Summary: Get more of what you want
Review: Annette Simmons has done it again. Her book about storytelling beautifully illustrates what she is trying to teach us: that we are more powerful through story telling. With a great story we can make a difference in this world, bridge gaps that we once thought were unbridgable, excite, unite, create... we get more of everything we want in life if, instead of demanding, forcing or whining, we let others know what is really important through story telling. The book is a page turner with fascinating illustrations from all walks of life that inspire us to take her advice. I read a negative review about this book in this section and all I could think of was, "What book was HE reading?" Certainly not the well written invaluable guide to story telling that The Story Factor is!
Rating:
Summary: The Power of Storytelling Revealed
Review: From the moment I started reading The Story Factor I was satisfied. Finally a book that explains why stories are such effective communication tools. As a trainer and communication consultant I was looking for the deep structure behind storytelling. It's all here: how stories move and motivate people, the six kinds of stories you need to tell, the psychology of influence and how a good story trumps the facts. The author includes her own stories and draws upon those from other cultures as well. Nearly every page is complete with examples and anecdotes you can take into the classroom or boardroom. It's a practical book. For example, chapter seven deals with convincing the "unwilling, unconcerned or unmotivated." While there are no surefire remedies for every situation, Ms. Simmons provides a common-sense overview of resistance and some skillful ways to work with it. Even if you're not telling stories regularly the psychology lesson is valuable. True, this is not a paint-by-numbers book because good story telling is too subtle for simple how-to formulae. You learn the art of storytelling by telling lots of stories. The Story Factor provides solid structural principles and the tips and ideas to stimulate creativity. Start telling stories and use the book as a guide. The style is fast and readable with catchy phrases and subheads. My copy is thoroughly underlined and annotated so I'll never be able to resell it! If you're interested in how to craft stories that sell, motivate, inspire and persuade you'll be glad you bought this book.
Rating:
Summary: Insightful and compassionate
Review: I loved the the sassy insights, the short stories and the literary references that make this book a good read! And I found its analysis useful too. I have just started to think about how I can use story-telling to communicate with others more effectively. And Ms. Simmons book offers me a wealth of practical detail, and the motivation to get started right away on telling my own stories. Thanks for the combination of theoretical details, how-to tips, and laughs along the way. This is a book that I am going to turn to over and over again to position myself as a good story-teller.
Rating:
Summary: Learning a Critical Leadership Skill
Review: I am responsible for leadership development in the largest healthcare system in the country--the Veterans Healthcare Administration. As part of a rigorous two-year leadership development program for mid-management high potentials, we use this book to not only highlight the power of communicating through storytelling, but we give participants experience in finding, constructing and telling their own powerful stories by using the guidelines in the text. We floundered in this part of our curriculum until we found The Story Factor, which combines the "why" and the "how" in a very easy-to-understand fashion. The frequent examples from the business world help to overcome the resistance of the physicians and other "reluctant yarn-spinners" in the room. If you need a "how-to" on storytelling, this is your book. And if you appreciate listening to an author's unique voice as she speaks with passion, it's for you, too. Useful AND enjoyable!
Rating:
Summary: Learning a Critical Leadership Skill
Review: I am responsible for leadership development in the largest healthcare system in the country--the Veterans Healthcare Administration. As part of a rigorous two-year leadership development program for mid-management high potentials, we use this book to not only highlight the power of communicating through storytelling, but we give participants experience in finding, constructing and telling their own powerful stories by using the guidelines in the text. We floundered in this part of our curriculum until we found The Story Factor, which combines the "why" and the "how" in a very easy-to-understand fashion. The frequent examples from the business world help to overcome the resistance of the physicians and other "reluctant yarn-spinners" in the room. If you need a "how-to" on storytelling, this is your book. And if you appreciate listening to an author's unique voice as she speaks with passion, it's for you, too. Useful AND enjoyable!
Rating:
Summary: Simply the best
Review: I had been interviewing with several other companies for about 5 months, called back for second rounds, but still not hired. Then a friend recommended Annette Simmon's book, The Story Factor, prior to my being interviewed for an executive position that interested me and represented the biggest promotion opportunity. Preparing my own stories while reading the book prepared me for the interview better than any coaching I have ever had. By sharing the different types of stories that the author discusses, I found that I was not only more confident in my presentation, but that I was much more convincing and persuasive in impressing my interviewers. Reading the book helped me to remember my own stories. The people that met me that day learned in a very powerful and personal way who I was and what I was likely to bring to their company. Telling your own stories well is essentially the backbone of performance based interviewing. I was ready. When invited back for a final round, I again relied on the types of stories that The Story Factor challenged me to develop. I was happily hired and am very enthusiastic about the direction of my career today. The Story Factor continues to influence my work today in my development of generative relationships with my new coworkers. As an aside, I noticed one reviewer on line that complained that the book did not deliver enough stories or enough direction for writing your own. Given how amazingly different my experience of the book was, I can only assume that this reader may need to try the book again when it comes out on tape-- the book that I read is packed with stories, is extremely engaging, and is above all very useful. I have already highly recommend The Story Factor to others who are preparing important presentations or interviews, just as it was recommended to me. It is as inspiring as it is practical. A business must!
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Summary: Storytelling eye-openers - how to reach people
Review: I highly recommend Annette Simmons The Story Factor for a new and different look at the way we communicate. I especially found it useful in analyzing how people process information, and then applying that to how to reach people on difficult topics.
Storytelling is a fine art in the entertainment world, and there are many sources to hone your skills on this. But Annette has provided insights and practical tips that have been particularly useful for me using story-telling in the working world. There is nothing more painful than learning that your work or project is ending or not being used. With some of the strategies in this book, I have found ways to help people recognize and be satisfied with what they have done, and continue on to the next project with a shorter "grieving" cycle, so we can all become more productive again quickly. Also, I have found ways to use story to help build our work teams to quickly coalesce around the goal and tasks at hand, when we have incredibly tight deadlines and little time for the usual necessary "bonding" that a team needs to reach optimum productivity.
I highly recommend this book as both useful and an entertaining read at the same time.
Rating:
Summary: The way to capture passion is with a story
Review: I must confess that I'm a little surprised at the occasional dissent from the almost unanimous praise this book has received.
Some accuse Simmons of not "walking the talk"--presumably, this means that she does not ladle story upon story into the text until it groans.
Her point is clear. When you want to persuade, use a story and understand its power. It's perhaps only way to inject passion and conviction into a verbal argument, and still remain acceptable in a professional discourse.
That's what the first chapters of this book do to its readers. Simmons uses her story-telling skill to convince us of her passion and conviction, and we end up sharing both.
This job done, she moves on to a different task. She takes us from persuasion to instruction; and the appropriate tool for instruction is the good-old fashioned example, which she gives in abundance.
This book led me to understand what I'd been doing instinctively in business for a long time, and in so doing, become more effective at it. And it's a pleasure to read, to boot.
As far as I'm concerned, $11.95 well spent!
Rating:
Summary: A major contribution to organizational storytelling
Review: This book does what any book about applied storytelling should do: it describes how to apply storytelling without compromising storytelling's artistic heart. Annette offers the book as a way to achieve "inspiration, influence and persuasion." By the end of the book, the reader learns that the "secret" of influence is, in fact, what has drawn so many fans to the art of storytelling: stories persuade because they lead us to the common ground of mutual respect - not by giving one party a secret weapon with which to manipulate the other. In Annette's words: "Story doesn't grab power. Story creates power.... As a storyteller you borrow a story's power to connect people to what is important and to help them make sense of their world." (Page 29). "The Story Factor" is my favorite "storytelling in business" book. To be sure, I had the pleasure of writing the forward to it. I did so in part because Annette has been my student in storytelling as well as my mentor in my own work with businesses. But I would never write a forward to any book in which I did not believe as deeply as I believe in my own books. I receive no payment from sales of "The Story Factor." Here are some particular things I liked about "The Story Factor": 1. The description of the "Six Stories You Need to Know How to Tell" is worth the price of the book. People want the answers to certain questions before they'll give you a chance to persuade them of anything. These six stories achieve some of your essential interpersonal goals right away, and lay the groundwork for you to achieve the others. 2. In the chapter called "What Stories Do That Facts Can't," Annette shows how your stories can de-escalate conflict, side-step traps laid for you, avoid the "because I said so" kind of arguments, broaden a discussion by grounding it in a wider reality, etc. 3. One of Annette's chapters takes up one of my least favorite questions: "How do I tell a good story?" Why do I dread being asked that question? Because it seems to pre-suppose that there is a recipe for telling stories that works in all situations. In her characteristic Aikido-like way, however, Annette directs her readers to follow solid, easy-to-use advice that doesn't lock them into a limited formula. She briefly and convincingly outlines nine key points to keep in mind - that will nearly guarantee good telling. 4. Annette's tone hits that "sweet spot" between the hype of so many pop business books, on the one hand, and the dense, soggy prose that deadens so many academic-type books on communication, business strategies, etc., on the other. She speaks to her reader with conversational ease - but without "selling" or oversimplifying. 5. Annette's book is filled with memorable, well-told stories. Some are brief enough to throw into a conversation; others could be the keystone of a speech. The story about the red and green shoes is now part of my permanent mental landscape, as are the burning piano and the silent door-to-door salesman. With few exceptions, Annette integrates the stories into her chapters, rather than separating them into self-contained boxes. She never says why; I'll bet, though, that it's because she believes that stories persuade best when they aren't self-consciously introduced as "stories," but when they flow out of your very being, your attitude toward your listeners, and your commitment to your message. If you care at all about using storytelling in an organization, for persuasion, or to get across a personal message, you'd be foolish to pass up this book. Beginners in the use of story will be well guided; experts will find great new stories to tell as well as a clear, systematic exposition of how story works in practice - and, underlying it all, a refreshing, inspiring perspective about how humans actually persuade each other. This book is not only about influence; it has already become highly influential. Miss it at you own risk!
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