Corporate Storytelling Workshop FAQ

 

Before the Workshop


During the Workshop


After the Workshop

 

Before the Workshop

Q. Is the Corporate Storytelling Workshop instructor lead?
Yes. The workshop is a mix of lecture, exercises, and practicing.

Q. How many instructors per student are there?
There will be one instructor for up to 10 people or 2 instructors for up to 20 people.

Q.How is the workshop presented?
The workshop has 3 main components: lecture, exercises, and practice sessions. The lecture portions of the workshop are presented by the instructor using several forms of media: videos, PowerPoint, hand drawn sketches on a flipchart or dry erase board, stories from the past. The exercises are performed in groups and the practice sessions are done in groups while being recorded.

Q. Is the workshop interactive?
Yes. There will be exercises that the class will participate in. Also, at the end of each day the class will present in front of the room and be video recorded doing it! That’s usually the favorite part of the day for everyone. ;)

Q. Is there pre-work?
No. However, there is work that can be done to enhance the experience. If you sign up for a workshop we can let you know what that is.

Q.What are the main objectives of the Corporate Storytelling Workshop?
Become a compelling and persuasive communicator. You learn a process for developing a compelling message that takes complex and/or intangible ideas and makes them real and desirable to the audience. The workshop is focused on how people make decisions and how to construct a message to invoke decisions.

Q.How do I get more information?

Contact Articulus.


Q.What will I get out of this workshop? What is the expected outcome?
It depends on your situation. For instance:


Sales Staff – Sell more and shorten your sales cycles. The better you advocate new ideas, products, and services to your customers, the more likely they make a decision in your favor. With Corporate Storytelling you can achieve these results.

Technical Staff – Have customers and internal champions understand and embrace your ideas. Your concepts can be complex. You understand them, but others don’t. Corporate Storytelling will help you be crystal clear in your communications so that others can support you rather than impede you.

Marketing – Clear, consistent, compelling messages are a must in the information age. With Corporate Storytelling you will have a repeatable process for all your messaging and presentation needs.

Leaders/Management - No matter what field you are in, this will help you persuade others to change.



Q.How is this different than the e-Corporate Storytelling workshop? ... Expressions workshop?
Please see the Articulus services comparison page for a complete comparison..

Q.What is the process to set up a workshop for a group of people at my company?
Contact your Articulus account manager or use contact us..

Q.How many people are required for a workshop?
There is no set requirement and it can vary depending on the goals you have for your group. Typically we work with groups from 10-20 people.

Q.Can I sign up for an “open” workshop?
At this time we don’t hold “open” workshops. In order to make the workshop as beneficial as possible, the participants need to work on real life presentations. The presentation practice portions of the workshop cannot be done in an “open” environment because the topics being discussed are not meant for anyone to hear. As a result, we only offer workshops for a particular company or group.

Q.Where are the workshops held?
We hold the workshops wherever you want to hold them. We travel all over the globe and we hold workshops in all sorts of venues. For instance, it would be held at your office in Dubai, a hotel in Kuala Lumpur, or an auditorium in Detroit. It doesn’t matter to us.

Q.What is the success rate of this workshop?
It depends on how you define “success.” During the workshop we have the participants define a goal for what they want to get the audience to do as a result of this presentation. Based on our follow up surveys, the people who apply these techniques after the workshop achieve a success rate 84%-95%, depending on the company.

Q.It looks like it is for sales? I am not in sales. Do I need this?
Most likely, yes. When we talk about “advocating an idea,” “helping the audience make a decision,” or “being more concise, clear, and compelling” it may sound like the job of sales. And yes, sales people do need this skill and have seen huge benefits from it. We have also delivered tremendous benefits for a range of people like R&D, marketing, program management, solution architects, sales engineers, etc. For example, a program manager might need to explain her program to get others in the organization to buy in or possibly fund it. Corporate Storytelling can help. R&D might need to ask for new funding, explain a new idea/product, deliver a conference paper, or help sales with a customer.

Q.I am not a very confident presenter, should I take this workshop?
There is no silver bullet to making yourself confident; however this workshop provides techniques that will help you build compelling presentations. Once people know what to say, they are more confident when they present. Afterwards, you will feel empowered to get in front of the audience and communicate your ideas.

Q.Can I contact past workshop participants to get references?
Yes, please let us know if you have this request and we will provide you with references.



During the Workshop

Q. Do I have to do a presentation?
Can you learn to drive just by watching a movie about driving or reading a car’s manual? No. You have to go out and drive on real roads with real traffic. The same is true for using the concepts and techniques that are covered during an Articulus workshop. You have to try them and learn from the experience. At the workshop, you must work on a presentation in order to truly learn the concepts you will be exposed to.

Q. What type of presentation should I work on during the workshop?
It should be a presentation where you are trying to persuade an audience to do something or at a minimum teach them how to do something.

Q.Do you record the workshop participants when they present?
Absolutely. It is essential that each participant sees and hears themselves present. The only way to do this (other than having an “out-of-body” experience, which I am told are very rare) is by being recorded.

Q. How long is the workshop?
The typical workshop runs from 2-3 days. It can depend on the details you want us to cover during the workshop and how much practice you want while we are there.
 

After the Workshop

Q. Can I get a copy of the videos used in the workshop?
Everyone will receive the video of them or their group presenting. You will receive these electronically just moments after you are done presenting.

Q. Can I retake the workshop?
Yes, of course! What you will find is that the second time around you see things on a different level and you pick up things that you missed the first time around.

Q.What support do I get after the workshop?
You will have some access to help via the phone and some resources on the web. For instance, you will have access to www.StoryboardCreator.com.

Q. What other workshops do you offer that build on what I learn?
The next step would be to learn how to be a better coach and help others be Corporate Storytellers. If you are interested in being certified as a coach, please contact us and we can help you go through that process.

Q. What do I have when the workshop is over?
You will walk out of the workshop with videos of your presentations on a USB drive, a workshop manual that you can use for your next presentation, a presentation that could possibly be ready for prime time, and a new skill called Corporate Storytelling. You will then be provided access to the support website only available to Corporate Storytellers.

Q. Can I contact past workshop participants in order to share information or get help?
Yes, we encourage you to do so. If you’d like to join our group on LinkedIn, please do so. There are several discussions going on and you can interact with other Corporate Storytellers.