Whoever Tells the Best Story Wins: How to Use Your Own Stories to Communicate with Power and Impact by Annette Simmons

Whoever Tells the Best Story Wins: How to Use Your Own Stories to Communicate with Power and Impact Reviews

• 
  Zahra Naderi

  فرقی نداره که تو این دنیا کجاییم و داریم چی کار می‌کنیم. یه اینفلوئنسر، معلم، بازاری، منبری، دانشجو یا دانش‌آموز یا حتی پدر و مادری که می‌خوان درسی به بچه‌هاشون بدن؛ ما همه نیازمند تاثیرگذاری بر دیگران هستیم.
  هرچه‌قدر هم از قدر و منزلت عقل و منطق صحبت کنیم، در نهایت اغلب ما در بیشتر موارد از جنبه‌ی احساسی‌مونه که تحت تاثیر قرارمی‌گیریم. و خب چه چیزی بیشترین تاثیر ُ روی احساسات ما داره؟ قصه‌ها.
  وقتی از «قصه» حرف می‌زنم، بیشتر از این‌که منظورم هزارویک‌شب و کلیله‌ودمنه باشه، تجربه‌هامونه از زیستن به عنوان یک انسان.
  
  این کتاب می‌خواد به خوانندگانش (بخوانید صاحبان کسب‌وکار) یاد بده که بیشترین اثرگذاری ُ داشته‌باشند؛ که یعنی قصه‌گوی خوبی بشن. بنابراین اگه دنبال کتابی هستین که به شما برای یک «نویسنده‌»ی خوب شدن کمک کنه، متاسفانه باید بگم این کتاب انتخاب خوبی نیست و اسم‌ش گول‌تون نزنه.
  
  
  کتاب موقعیت‌های مختلفی ُ ترسیم می‌کنه که افراد توش قرارمی‌گیرند مثلا زمانی که می‌خوان اعتماد مشتری ُ جلب کنن، نویسنده داستان خودش ُ به عنوان نمونه بیان می‌کنه و در پایان هر فصل از خواننده می‌خواد داستان خودش ُ بر اساس اون اصول بنویسه.
  
  اگرچه کتاب کمک‌کننده‌ست، اما ترجمه‌ی خوبی نداره و این سخت‌خوان‌ش می‌کنه و ممکنه خوندن‌ش یه عمر طول بکشه.
  
  
  × بخش بانمک‌ش اینه جذاب‌ترین بخش‌های کتاب، همون تیکه‌هایی هستند که نویسنده داستان خودش ُ تعریف می‌کنه.
• 
  Saba

  یکی از بهترین کتاب‌هایی بود که تا حالا خوندم، این کتاب با جزئیات و با دقت توضیح داده که چطور میشه با قصه، تاثیرگذاری بیشتری روی آدما داشت و روابط بهتری باهاشون پایه‌ریزی کرد. آخر هر فصل هم یک سری تمرین و راهنمایی داره که اونا هم جالب بودند.
• 
  Mahdi Nasseri

  گرچه در کل کتاب نویسنده تاکید ویژه‌ای روی تفکر شخصی و غیرعینی دارد ولی توانسته ساختار اندیشیدن درباره قصه‌گویی روایی برای تاثیرگذاری را در یک چارچوب عینی و غیرشخصی تدوین کند.
  خواندن این کتاب برای هر کسی که می‌خواهد هدفی را دنبال کند و برای رسیدن به آن هدف چاره‌ای جز فعالیت در اجتماع و انسان‌های دیگر ندارد، قطعا مفید خواهد بود.
• 
  Amir Rajabi

  همچنان مقدماتی مثل قبلی ها و من به دنبال یک کتاب حرفه ای در باب موضوع قصه و روایت و بعدش فرم و پرفورمنس
• 
  Fateme

  من برای کار خوندمش و یه سری نکات به‌دردبخور نصیبم شد ازش. هرچند تکرارش زیاده ولی باز مخاطب رو باهوش‌تر از کتابای این ژانر در نظر گرفته. به طور کلی اگه با برند استوری و این چیزا سر و کار دارین، بد نیست خوندن یه قسمتاییش.
• 
  Ali Choopan

  بالاخره امشب تمومش کردم، شاید ۶-٧ ماه طول کشید، خیلی کتاب خوبی بود. قبل از اینکه تموم کنم به چند نفر معرفی کردم که بخوننش!
• 
  Crawfords444

  This book is a slow reading but worth it. It is more a workbook than a how to book. There are many pages with blanks in five categories for you to fill in as you study. It is tied together nicely in the last chapter. I recommend reading it through first, slightly slower than skimming, and then reread it, filling in the blanks/writing with your own ideas. Optionally you may wish to use a small separate notebook, matching and titling the chapters. Then read the whole again. If later, you decide to add or delete stories or improve, using the notebook will be practical and keep a running record. The book is nonfiction and a study book. I would rate the difficulty level as fairly high, requiring some background in story reading or story telling. It is not a quick formula. It contains stories to illustrate points and as examples. Most are from Annette Simmone experiences, movies, and classics. They entertain, spicing up the book, but are not entertaining in the purely for quick fun sense. I hope you benefit if you study it. Notice I did not say "enjoy." I am on my reread.
• 
  Agile Kindergarten

  Reminds me of the old saying, "Numbers don't tell stories, people do." Set up like a workbook to help people develop concise yet vivid stories that communicate concepts more effectively than simple statements or numbers. The best thing about the book is the reinforcement it provides that a certain type of story telling belongs in business and government. We depend on facts at our own peril. All decisions have an emotional component, if we don't use appropriate emotional tools, we weaken ourselves.
• 
  Nancy

  The art of storytelling again explained beautifully and sensibly by Annette Simmons
• 
  Mohammad reza khorasanizadeh

  یک کتاب خوب در مورد قصه و انواع آن و استفاده از قصه و قصه گویی در زمینه ها و کارهای مختلف برای رونق بخشیدن به کار. واقعا جذاب و جالب بود
• 
  Banafsheh

  وقتی ترجمه‌ی بد یک محتوای معمولی را به فنا می‌دهد !!
  
  این کتاب قراره به ما قصه گفتن یاد بده. اینکه چطور در موقعیت‌های مختلف یه قصه‌ی جذاب رو کنیم و دل مخاطب رو ببریم. برای این کار هم یه چارچوبی رو معرفی می‌کنه یا به قول خودش یه سری ظرف که قصه‌هامون رو باهاش پر کنیم.
  
  واقعیت اینه که این چارچوب رو من اصلا نفهمیدم😁 یعنی لااقل می‌تونم بگم با سیستم کارکرد مغز من همسان نبود. باید خیلی براش زحمت می‌کشیدم و این در حالیه که می‌تونستم توی یه چارچوب دیگه یه قصه‌ی خوب دیگه برای خودم جفت و جور کنم !!!
  
  مشکل بعدیم این بود که خیلی تکرار مکررات بود. یعنی یه چارچوب و چهارتا مثال، مطلب رو جمع می‌کرد. انگار خانوم نویسنده خواسته بود خیلی چارچوبش رو برجسته کنه و کلی مثال ردیف کرده بود که راستش انقدر تکراری بودن که من یه جاهایی رو نخونده رد کردم.
  
  بعد تازه مثال‌ها هم خیلی بی‌جون بودن و در موارد زیادی ربطی به تیتر نداشتن. مثلا قرار بود از مزایای گنجوندن حواس پنج‌گانه در قصه یه مثال بخونیم. نمونه‌ای که تعریف کرد هیچ کجاش، ببین هیچ کجاش، هیچ اشاره‌ای به هیچ حسی نشده بود😂
  
  از همه‌ی این موارد اگر بگذریم که محتوای کتاب رو برای من حداقل از جذابیت می‌انداخت، این رو هم اضافه کنید که ترجمه به شدت بد بود !!
  واژه‌ها خیلی نامتعارف انتخاب شده بودن و مشخص بود مترجم هیچ سواد بیزنسی نداره و نتونسته درست مفهوم جملات رو دربیاره. نتیجه این شده بود که یه سری جمله‌ی بی‌معنی می‌خوندم که وقتی به انگلیسیش فکر می‌کردم تازه می‌فهمیدم منظور نویسنده چیه.
  تکرار چیزایی که قبلا گفته !!
  
  خلاصه که خیلی کتاب خوبی برای من نبود. خوشحالم که قرضی بود و بابتش پول نداده بودم.
• 
  Kirk Hanley

  A guide to stories and how to use them in a business setting. The author presents six categories of stories:
  
  Who-I-Am Stories
  Why-I-Am-Here Stories
  Teaching Stories
  Vision Stories
  Values-in-Action Stories
  I-Know-What-You-Are-Thinking-Stories
  
  Within each, she gives examples of stories inspired by a time you shined, a time you blew it, a mentor, and a book, movie, or current event. The concrete examples were nice, but I could have used a little more information on how organizations can draw out these stories. Still, it's a clear guide to those who are new to using stories to persuade, enlighten, and inspire.
• 
  Hossein Mahmoodi

  بصورت کلی کتاب خوبی هست
  نکات مفیدی رو بهتون یاد میده که می تونید هم در زندگی و هم در کارتون ازش استفاده بکنید.
  
  یک مقدار بعضی جاهای کتاب ترجمه اش جالب نیست و یکم سنگینه ولی میشه خوندش.
  
  روش های مختلفی برای قصه گویی بهتون آموزش میده
  که در ۴ حالت کلی هست
  ١- زمانی که در کاری درخشیده اید
  ٢- زمانی که شکست خوردید
  ٣- از یک مربی یا استاد چیزی یاد گرفتید
  ۴- از فیلم یا کتاب چیزی یاد گرفتید
  
  حالا این چهارتا رو در موقعیت های مختلف بهتون نشون میده که چطور ازش استفاده کنید
  
  من همزمان که هر فصلی رو میخوندم باهاش تمرین هم میکردم و می‌نوشتم
  به همین خاطر این کتاب ٢٠٠ صفحه ای رو ٢ هفته شد که بخونمش
  
  ٣ تا بخش داره
  بخش ٢ و ٣ ش به نظرم مهمتره و بخش یکش فقط یک سری توضیحات اولیه در مورد قصه گویی بهتون میگه
• 
  Lester

  I am a big fan of Annette Simmons, but was disappointed by the messages, structure and content of this book. There were certainly a lot of good stories, but I was not impressed by the 'four-bucket' structure, and her attempt to find examples for each of the types of stories she suggests we should be able to tell.
  
  When I got to part three - how to perfect the craft, I ended up skipping the rather badly addressed - though important - issues, which were not very thoroughly (and sometimes explained in a less useful way than they should have been).
  
  "The Story Factor" is - for me by far - her more defining work on storytelling.
• 
  Ali Najafy

  در کل کتاب جالبی بود، ولی به نظرم نویسنده تا حد زیادی گفته های خودش رو داخل کتاب تکرار می‌کرد و برخلاف چیزی که از خیلی‌ها شنیدم مخاطب این کتاب فقط گروه خاصی از آدم ها میشن که در حوزه تبلیغات و مارکتینگ و ... حضور دارند، به همین دلیل شاید برای باقی مردم خیلی جالب نباشه.
• 
  Ken

  Very disappointed in this book. light stories on how people can you their personal stories to aid in selling. not captivating or promising to me.
• 
  Matthew Miller

  Excellent use of storytelling to teach storytelling. The four main storytelling styles Simmons gives are great prompts to discover meaningful stories that are personal or fictional.
• 
  Amirhossian

  کتاب خوب و جالبی بود . نکات جالبی برای قصه گویی داشت.
  در زندگی حتماً به کارم می آید.
• 
  Jian Du

  I agree with the concept and many statements are good reminder. But I found it hard to carry through the principals in real life and the book didn't offer too many practical tips to really make changes for myself.
  
  Summary and quotes:
  
  Facts are important, she writes, but they often fail to connect with those who hear them. To truly be informative and persuasive, you need good stories — especially personal stories.
  
  Emphasizes the importance of story telling and emotional connection in an increasingly automated world, especially helpful for the logical minds.
  
  The same facts, dem and rep may tell different stories to evoke different emotions. But doesn’t this weaken the book’s point?
  
  But story can make numbers alive, and help people remember your point.
  
  为每种感官列出一系列生动的具有刺激性的描述。让故事更易俘获人心。
  
  Using logic and numbers to simplify things sometimes is due to innate laziness and may make us overlook important aspects of complex situations.
  
  我们的行为变得越机械化，我们的故事就会变的越缺乏内涵。
  
  讲我是谁的故事。人们不会相信不甚了解的人。如果你表现的太专业，或是太孤僻，人们无法真正了解你，那么想让人们相信你就更难上加难了。
  
  Simmons identifies the six types of stories that, she writes, “lead to influence, imagination, and innovation”:
  
  Who-I-Am Stories. People won’t trust you if you don’t get personal. “Reveal who you are as a person,” Simmons writes.
  
  Why-I-Am-Here Stories. Use stories to explain your agenda and to be authentic. Explain what’s in it for you.
  
  Teaching Stories. Telling a story that creates a shared experience will be more motivating than just giving someone advice.
  
  Vision Stories. Describe, through a detailed story, your vision of the future.
  
  Value-in-Action Stories. Use stories to show a value in action. Hypothetical situations will sound contrived. A true story will make a compelling case for that value.
  
  I-Know-What-You-Are-Thinking Stories. Use a story to show your listener that you are already aware of their unspoken objections or suspicions — and that you have an answer.
• 
  Peter Backx

  This book is all about story telling to convince and explain concepts to people.
  
  Simmons explains that story telling should be seen as an addition to "cool hard facts". Because humans are empathetic beings, we are inherently wired to understand concepts better and quicker through stories. Although stories are, by definition, subjective it's the quickest way to explain what needs to be explained.
  
  The book goes into different kinds of stories and different story lines and the combination of those. There are no formulas given, which is probably a good thing.
  
  After reading the book, I'm now more aware of how stories work and I'm sure I'll try to incorporate them in the future (which is pretty hard as an engineer ;-) )
• 
  Kristin

  Storytelling is such an important skill in leadership. I decided to buckle down and read this and The Story Factor with my colleague Jane. The author provided some food for thought on how to build my skills. We currently use several chapters from this in class.
  
  I prefer this one over The Story Factor.
  
  My Tweet: Attendance precedes influence. Draw from 4 buckets (i.e. a time you shined/blew it; mentors, pop culture/current events). Story increases subjective thinking.
• 
  Ray Kyo

  
  "If I feel I know you personally I will attribute twice as much trustworthiness to you"
  "When you reveal something personal about yourself, people feel they know you"
  "People don't relax and listen to what is in it for them until they are satisfied they know what's in it for YOU"
  "You can tell someone to be patient, but it's rarely helpful. Better to tell as story that creates a shared experience"
  
  These are few statements I like in this book.
• 
  Tricia

  I read this for a workplace book club.
  
  I didn't care for it. I think the concept is good. I would like to improve my own story telling techniques. I just didn't like the writing style of this book. Other books we have read in this group have had more direct and practical appliction.
• 
  Ben Smitthimedhin

  Read this in 2014. Was too practical that it became dull. The whole book was just fill-in-the-blank exercises.
• 
  Abby

  Lots to consider, favorite quotes include:
  “We are getting past the mantra ‘If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it’ and learning that if you can’t measure it, you have to manage it by paying attention to the stories you tell” Whoever Tells the Best Story Wins p.52
  
  “Morale is not a function of removing problems. Work is always full of problems. Good morale thrives when a clear sense of personal engagement shrinks unavoidable problems from mountains to tolerable bumps in the road” (p53)
  
  “The truth is, facts aren’t as powerful as human emotions. Feelings alter fact—at least the perceptions of facts…..Being right is only halfway to action. The rest of the way is through perceptions and feelings. Even big data are useless without stories to interpret what all the numbers mean…..no matter how much data we gather, we will always need stories to understand and influence the mystery of human desires and fears.” p. 56
  
  “integrity-in-action usually occurs without any witnesses. If you don’t tell your story, no one will ever know that you did the right thing. It’s not bragging.” p 108
  “values are never clear-cut. That’s why Value-in-Action stories are vital if you want to build collective values powerful enough to guide behavior.” p. 109
  “values often cost you something in the short turn….Values don’t pay off without continuous investment by real people who face real consequences for holding fast to values and that’s why Value-in-Action stories are so important.” 109-110
  
  “Simply identifying the age range and habits of your target audience is not enough. You only find stories after you shut off your computer, set aside the marketing research, and get out there and interact personally with the people you wish to influence.” p.145 [but in a non-exploitative way!!!!]
  “Often research is conducted on factors that are easy to isolate rather than factors that are most likely to change behavior. When subjective issues are prevented from ‘distorting’ research, the results are stripped clean of the subjective context that really drives behavior. Evidence-based research may be accurate, but it misses innovative ideas that only come from firsthand observations of actual behavior.” p. 147
• 
  chris mukhar

  A good read, but wasn't a big fan of the format or information. Easy, quick read that was still useful, but not sure I learned all that much practically.
  
  The author makes the point that to really engage people you need to tell engaging stories. The bulk of the book is spent on giving examples and detail on six types of stories:
  
  1.) Who I Am Stories: Reveal who you are as a person by telling a story about a time, place or event that reveals that you have the qualities your audience seeks.
  
  2.) Why I Am Here Stories: When someone assumes you are there to sell them something, they immediately discredit you. It's helpful to tell them what you get out of it besides money.
  
  3.) Teaching Stories: You can tell someone to be patient, but it is far better to tell a story that creates an experience of patience and it's rewards.
  
  4.) Vision Stories: Work, projects, challenges; these are all difficult situations. It is helpful to lay out a worthy, exciting future story that reframes these difficulties as worthwhile in pursuit of a vision.
  
  5.) Value in Action Stories: Values are subjective and mean different things to different people. It is better to tell a story that demonstrates the value in action and what it means to carry it out.
  
  6.) I Know What You Are Thinking Stories: If you suspect someone has doubts, it is better to tell a story that validates their suspicions, but then dispels their objections. The story allows you to bring this up and address it indirectly without seeming defensive.
  
  The book was an easy read overall and encouraged me to try to tell more stories. Worthwhile from that perspective. I also had a new perspective when listening to good communicators, they often speak in stories, which is part of what makes them good communicators.