We are all drowning in information, searching for context, looking for inspiration, and hoping for change. May we humbly suggest a solution? We can use storytelling to bring everyday impact and change to our work!
Imagine if we tell you this- “I used a multi-tuned tool to process a starch resource.” What are we even saying?
Translated to simple English, it means I used a fork to eat a potato.
Simplicity is one of the best gifts for authentic storytelling. Yet, jargon and obfuscations often prevent us from reaching that goal.
One way is to do a quick readability check (Flesch Kincaid Readability score), which indicates how readable the text is. The lower the score, the more readable the text. Scores less than 10 are considered good for a general business audience.
So, next time we try storytelling at work, let’s check for simplicity.
In the movie ‘The Big Short’ (based on the book by Michael Lewis), the celebrated chef, Anthony Bourdain, explains Collateralized Debt Obligation in a highly “fishy” way:
“OK, I’m a chef on a Sunday afternoon, setting the menu at a big restaurant. I ordered my fish on Friday, which is the mortgage bond that Michael Burry shorted. But some of the fresh fish doesn’t sell. I don’t know why. So, what am I going to do? Throw all this unsold fish, which is the BBB level of the bond, in the garbage and take the loss? No way. Being the crafty and morally onerous chef that I am, whatever crappy levels of the bond I don’t sell, I throw into a seafood stew. See, it’s not old fish. It’s a whole new thing! And the best part is, they’re eating 3-day-old halibut. *That* is a CDO.”
He used a metaphor to explain an esoteric concept. Does it work? Metaphors help us connect with a story through a known context. So, next time we explain a complex idea, let’s test the metaphor power.
One tip: keep the metaphor simple and visual and continue the connection between the metaphor and your story throughout, not dropping it midway.