Using Story-Telling to Communicate

Some of the best managers I have had in the workplace were authentic and told personal stories so that I could possibly relate to them better. You know that feeling of the first day on the job, you don't know what kind of manager you are going to get. There is that tension of who is going to break the ice first, and you for sure don't want to be the first one in fear if they do not give you the response you are looking for. I found an article on a website called Mind Tools: Business Story-Telling, using stories to inspire where it had some really good information on ideas of how to use stories as leaders to connect to your employees. Leaders can use a good, personal story to motivate and inspire their people. It is also a good opportunity for the manager to reveal flaws about themselves so that their people again can relate to them and not have to feel like they have to measure up to perfection. I think once the manager has broken that ice with their communication skills by telling personal stories it then opens up better lines of communication because for me I feel more comfortable around my leader.