In this article, I share storytelling tips I’ve earned in my work as a global Trainer — practical ideas you can use in your own sessions to help people think and act.
This article is part of our Craft of Training & Speaking Series — tools and techniques for anyone who teaches, facilitates, or speaks to move people to think and act.
A Good Story Can Transform How People Learn at Work
After a training session earlier this year, a Participant said this to me:
I just loved all the stories you shared. It made the course so much more real for me. How can I improve my own storytelling skills?
That question got me thinking about what makes storytelling so effective at work. So I came up with three practical tips I’ve learned as a Trainer that anyone can use.
Step 1: Collect the Raw Material (so you have stories to tell)
If you want to tell better stories, you need more raw material than you think. Don’t put the cart before the horse.
You can’t be a storyteller without stories.
The good news?
Your stories don’t have to be epic. Small, everyday moments are often the best source material — especially when they reveal something true about people or work.
A simple three-beat arc helps you spot and shape stories:
- Hero — a person we can root for (often you, a colleague, or a Customer).
- Challenge — a trial, tension, or unexpected turn.
- Change — what shifted; what you learned.
I use this arc when I tell the story of becoming a Trainer.
- Hero: I moved from VP of Finance to VP of Contact Center Operations.
- Challenge: I felt out of my depth — even while my bosses were happy with my performance.
- Change: I invested time, effort, and money to master the discipline — which led me into professional training.
Start building a simple story bank — a running note of moments that made you think, laugh, or change your mind. Those are usually the keepers.
A useful reminder:
You cannot be a good storyteller if you don’t have life experiences. — Renée Zellweger
Step 2: Decide Your Intention
Before you tell the story, decide what it is for.
Clients don’t hire me to tell stories all day. They hire me to help & inspire people to do better work.
So every story that I share in a class serves a clear purpose and sits in a deliberate place in the learning journey. That’s where intention comes in.
Examples of intention in practice:
“Experts have blind spots.” I tell the story about my former boss and her green Jaguar to show how even senior leaders don’t know what they don’t know — and how data can challenge assumptions. (Related post: Contact Centre KPIs and the Green Jaguar)
“People do what they’re measured on.” I share the story of how Contact Center Agents began hanging up to increase calls per hour — a cautionary tale about metric design and unintended consequences.
“Observe the real world.” Observing the Kung Fu Panda character at a theme park became a lesson in ethnographic research — how a character’s behavior can improve a child’s experience.
When you choose a story, finish this sentence before you tell it:
After this story, I want people to… (know / feel / try / stop doing / ask / notice).
Step 3: Design the Delivery
Delivery is where the story lands — but only after you’ve chosen the right story and intention.
When people hear the word “storytelling,” they tend to jump to delivery. But delivery works only if you’ve chosen the right story and the right intent.
Now, plan how you’ll tell it.
This is learnable craft — structure, sequence, and performance choices.
- Structure: Use the three-beat arc. Keep it tight: setup → tension → change.
- Scene: Put us somewhere. Who’s there? What’s at stake?
- Signals: Use phrases like “What I didn’t know yet was…” to guide attention.
- Silence & pace: Let key moments breathe.
- Body: If it fits your style, use movement.
My own delivery tends to be kinetic — I use movement when it fits.
In my Green Jaguar Story, I set a clear scene: my boss drives up in her green Jaguar. So I tell three Agents to sign off and hide in the pantry.
She walks into the Contact Center — not knowing I’ve sent three Agents away. Then I ask the group, “What did she see?”
People visualize the floor — and then say, “Everyone is busy!”
That’s right — so I lift my arms and ask, “So what specifically went up?”
They call out, “Occupancy.”
“And what went down?” someone calls out. “Service level!”
Arms up, arms down — suddenly it’s a chicken-dance moment as we connect the key metric relationships.
People laugh — and they remember.
The good news is: you can study this craft.
I took a storytelling class with Bernadette Jiwa that sharpened my structure and sequencing.
Books help too. Made to Stick by Chip & Dan Heath is a favorite on making ideas engaging and memorable.
A Quick Example: Placing a Story in a Presentation
When I build a presentation, I look for the moment where a story can:
- crystallize an idea,
- shift how people feel,
- create a memory hook.
I draft the story using the three-beat arc, then decide the delivery choices that best serve the intention.
Tell Your Own Stories When You Can
As a Trainer, relevant stories come with the territory — and I prefer to use my own. There’s a time and place for case studies, of course. But personal stories often land deeper — for the audience.
The story you tell could be the one that changes how your audience thinks, feels, and acts.
Craft it well. Rehearse it. Tell it with intention.
Thank You for Reading
I regularly share stories, strategies, and insights from our work across Contact Centers, Customer Service, and Customer Experience. If this resonates, I’d love to stay connected.
You can drop me a line anytime, or subscribe on our site.
Daniel Ord
[email protected]
www.omnitouchinternational.com
