President Obama knows to tell a story, do you?

In Quixote Consulting’s Influence: The Power of Persuasion training, we strongly emphasize using stories to positively influence other people. Stories are universal. They bypass many defense mechanisms people put in place. And they remember stories – more than facts, and even more than stories and a fact. People respond to and remember stories.

President Obama, and any good influencer knows this. That is why in his recent Rolling Stone interview he ended the interview with this statement:

“You generally don’t hear in the press about what goes right, but you do hear it from the people who were impacted by it. I tell you, not a day passes where somewhere, somehow, I don’t hear about something we’ve done that’s really touched somebody directly. Somebody writes and says, “I’m 25 years old, and because of health care reform, I was able to stay on my parents’ plan and ended up getting a checkup, and it turned out that I had a tumor and it was caught early, and I just want you to know that treatment is going well, and I really think this health care bill saved my life.” Or you’re in a rope line and somebody says, “I know you’ve been criticized because a lot of folks have had their homes foreclosed on, but your housing program actually helped me stay in my home, and it’s made all the difference in the world.”

There’s an incredible generosity and recognition from people that these are tough times. It reminds you of what an incredible privilege it is to occupy this office. You’re touching people on a day-to-day basis, and sometimes you don’t even know it.”

Stories – the key to influencing for a positive outcome. What stories will you tell today?

Check out Quixote Consulting’s strengths-based leadership training Leader Quest to explore how to influence positively with your leadership team. Check out Quixote Consulting’s influence training Influence: The Power of Persuasion to learn more about influencing.