Storytelling has always been at the center of communication. It is a key part of passing on information, persuading others, and building relationships. Regardless of how quickly communication changes and evolves, we still value storytelling in our everyday lives–from the content that we consume to the relationships that we build.
Why Do People Love Stories?
Stories compellingly communicate concepts and facts. Stories utilize people and emotions, which makes rote information more relatable, and more easy to understand and remember. While some people may easily digest theoretical information, most people prefer to hear stories that put information into a relatable context.
We are all used to basic storytelling formats, with beginnings and ends, and if you begin a story then the listener wants to hear through to the end and resolution. This makes storytelling an especially useful way of communicating.
Why Do Financial Advisors Need to Be Good Storytellers?
Clients work with you because they require help and guidance with their investments and other financial prospects. You offer expertise, experience, and information that clients likely do not have. Clients might be confused about how to proceed or about what to do with their portfolio, and might not have the clearest understanding of industry jargon and concepts. You can talk to clients instead of over them by using stories, and keep clients engaged in your services.
Here are some things that storytelling can help achieve.
- Makes difficult financial concepts clear.
- Gives the inexperienced investor an idea of what they can expect, and helps them build confidence in their investments.
- Builds trusting relationships.
- Persuades clients and prospective clients.
- Persuades clients and prospective clients.
- Helps others understand your vision.
Where To Start
The first thing is to keep an ear out for questions or concerns that you repeatedly hear. These could be questions about yourself, investing methods, and portfolio decisions. When you know what your clients or prospects want to know more about, you can set to work developing some stories to meet those questions and concerns. Figure out the information that you want to convey to the listener. For example, if a prospective client objects to your approach, you can offer an example that counters their issue.
You might find inspiration for your stories from things that you read, from personal experience, or from the experience of other clients or business partners. Collect a handful of stories to begin with, and then regularly weave them into your communication. After you get in some practice, you can adjust your approach and add more to your repertoire.
Some Tips About Storytelling
- Good storytelling is a skill that you have to practice. First off, keep it simple. You want to simplify difficult concepts and clear up concerns, not complicate things. Avoid meandering, and keep stories concise and to the point. While stories do not have to be long to be useful, it is key to make sure that you have enough context and resolution to make them relatable and helpful.
- Analogies are a great way to communicate messages. Analogies take two separate things that have something in common, which then makes a point about the comparison. If you find yourself often making comparisons between two things to make a point, this can be a great way of simplifying information. (“Apartment buildings are like wild animals. We have to learn to understand them before we can invest in them.”)
- The stories you tell can be fictional or fact, but you should be clear about what type you are telling. Be clear about whether you are sharing something that happened to you or to someone else—or simply something that you made up to drive a point home. Otherwise, it could backfire if they think you’re not being honest.
The Power of Storytelling
Storytelling is an effective way to personalize your business and skills to prospective clients, as well as instill confidence and clarity with your clientele. Storytelling is an important part of communication in all lanes of business and life, so integrating storytelling is a great way to take your communication skills to the next level.
While some people are natural-born storytellers and can work this skill into their everyday life, there is no reason why you cannot develop and acquire the same skill, too. As you tell your stories to different clients, you’ll gain confidence in your delivery. You’ll learn what points to emphasize and how to change your voice inflection and rhythm in engaging ways. Practice is the key.
Learn how to bring storytelling into your work as a financial advisor by contacting me. As a top coach for financial advisors, I utilize the power of counsulting and mentoring to help wealth managers build the life and business that they want. If you believe you have untapped potential, I stand ready to help you realize it.
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Storytelling is a powerful tool that financial advisors can use to persuade their clients. Making use of stories to relay information and build strong relationships is one of the benefits you can get from this. Storytelling is the center of communication and it is used in our everyday lives. How do you use storytelling in financial advising? Read on.
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