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Storytelling as learned behavior: the unusual example of Abraham Lincoln
One of the questions I am most often asked in my seminars and public speaking concerns the charismatic speaker. Are great orators born or made? For me, after some twenty years of coaching and observing leaders, of teaching seminars throughout the world, and of studying the characteristics of effective communication, this has become an easy question to answer. The “gifted” communicator is a societal myth. It is striking to me that many people continue to believe that some individuals are gifted communicators. Both in my work and in social circles, I often hear observations such as: “I have never been very good at expressing my thoughts in public”, or “Isn’t … Continue reading
Abraham Lincoln’s remarkable leadership
Lately, I have been reading quite a bit about the great (many would say greatest) American president, Abraham Lincoln. Along with my co-author Patricia Ward Biederman, I have been searching for examples of Lincoln’s storytelling, as he was a master at using his personal stories of identity. In addition, the press has turned its attention to this great man again recently, perhaps due to the recent release of Steven Spielberg’s latest film about Lincoln’s presidency. Last week, I read again the outstanding book, Team of Rivals, by the noted historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, along with a few recent New York Times articles and Harvard Business School cases. As a result, … Continue reading
Should we all focus more on learning to ask questions?
The concept of asking questions seems to be following me around lately. Several weeks ago, I read an article by Shane Snow in Fast Company: Click here Then, I went to have coffee with my neighbor, who told me I absolutely had to read a recent nonfiction book by well-known French journalist Bernard Pivot entitled Oui, mais quelle est la question? (Yes, but what was the question?). And third, a friend sent me a link to an interview on Charlie Rose’s website, where Charlie asks General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt about the most important lessons he would like to teach to future business leaders. The common element of these disparate … Continue reading
