Transform your workplace
through storytelling

Any group of people that work together.

Any team.

This could be within small work teams, across a whole division, an entire organization, or even between stakeholders and external partners and collaborators. A senior leadership team. Leaders and who they lead. A front-line team. Individuals who perform similar roles across different organisations.

The options of who to include are endless.

I am an award-winning storytelling facilitator, creating the right environment and preparing individuals of any team or organisation to share personal stories with the people they work or collaborate with.

Storytellers have the chance to reflect on their own experiences. Their audience benefits from hearing them. The process of resonating with personal stories creates engagement, connection and compassion in your team.

Storytelling session last strictly for one hour. Following an introduction and setting of ground rules, between two and four storytellers share short five-minute stories on a theme. The audience then share their responses to the stories after they have been shared in a facilitated discussion.

A storyteller is prepared well in advance of a storytelling session by me as facilitator. Each story lasts around 5 minutes. It is not a scripted story that is read out like an audio book. With some notes/prompts, a storyteller should share a story as if they were speaking to a friend over a meal or a beverage. Storytellers are provided support and guidance in crafting their short oral story.

Both the storytelling sessions themselves and the process of preparing and crafting the personal stories can take place anywhere in the world, either online or face-to-face.

They can take place during working hours, or out-of-hours to accommodate organisations with teams around the globe. They could be at away days, conferences, training days, or as a regular part of work schedules.

I have worked on employee engagement with teams in the UK, USA and online.

No – the stories crafted and shared are true personal stories of someone’s life and/or work.

Participant storytellers are invited to reflect on stories related to a particular theme and will be guided by an experienced facilitator to mentor them through their storytelling journey.

Common employee engagement themes relate to organisational values, diversity and inclusion topics, or of-the-moment issues.

Strictly not. The purpose of employee engagement storytelling sessions is to create psychologically-safe spaces where people can share their thoughts, feelings, and opinions. Recording the sessions inevitably put people under pressure or on edge.

I strive to create spaces where people can express themselves without fear of repercussion or judgment. Participants are reminded NOT to record the sessions themselves.

A major part of employee engagement storytelling sessions is listening.

Some of the most positive feedback I have received have been from introverts who have joined sessions online or in-person who have just listened to the stories and the subsequent discussions without saying a word.

Everyone is of course welcome to share their response and resonances to the stories shared, but listening alone is still very powerful.

Anyone can be a storyteller with the right guidance and support. Of course, many extroverts will volunteer to share their story.

However, I am also very interested in supporting those who normally would not come forward to have a platform to have their voice heard by their colleagues.

Discussions about the stories can also take place in-person and online in smaller breakout groups.

This is a common belief. To you, your life and work experiences may be pretty mundane, boring perhaps.

To someone else who has not lived your life, your narrative may be fascinating and could stimulate them to think differently.

Everyone is important.

Everyone has a story to share.

Expressing emotions at work has often been considered as unprofessional, I am here to change that.

Storytelling sessions give employees access to confidential, psychologically-safe, reflective spaces with boundaries where all emotions are welcome.

And yes, some of the stories can be triggering and emotional. My role as employee wellness consultant and facilitator is to provide immediate support if requested and signpost you to ongoing support as required.

This is also a common fear. Speaking your truth requires bravery. Many fear consequences of being their authentic self in a work setting. My only advice is to come along to a storytelling session as a silent, but deeply listening observer. You may find that the space created is right for you to speak. Many take time to feel comfortable before expressing themselves, and this is completely normal.

One thing I must be clear about is storytelling sessions are NOT fix-it sessions.

They are not Question & Answer panel sessions where the audience interrogate storytellers on their stories.

The sessions are opportunities for people to listen with the intention to understand, rather than to fix or reply with solutions. Stories can lead to change, but this should be kickstarted outside the sessions.

All stories should be anonymised and should not make reference to individuals by name.

However, part of my preparation would coach and mentor storytellers to involve and include other staff members if they feature as part of the story.

My advice is to be open, honest but always respectful of different views and perspectives. My role as employee engagement consultant and facilitator is to hold space for inclusive dialogue.

Anytime. Many teams feel that if they are in a period of flux, change, or upheaval that it would be best NOT to do it

On the contrary, storytelling in times of crisis has been proven to be very useful in normalising emotions, uniting teams, and giving members perspective.

Use storytelling for special occasions, times of crisis, as part of learning and development – lots of possibilities!

Sharing personal stories within teams and organisations fosters authentic leadership, compassionate workplaces, and human connections: desirable workplace qualities for all generations of employees.

There is strong evidence that sharing stories is good for both physical and mental health in terms of nervous system regulation.

Storytelling in the workplace will improve staff engagement, reduce staff turnover, and create a humanised workplace.

Happier workforces and positive work cultures will lead to greater productivity and team performance. Storytelling can help reconnect colleagues as humans.