📖 Karen Eber: "The Perfect Story" Author
Learn Storytelling for Impact Skills
Welcome to this edition of The Switchboard. It’s an interview with Author Karen Eber of The Perfect Story: How to Tell Stories that Inform, Influence, and Inspire, sharing her best practices and career journey.
In This Edition
Recognize that storytelling can happen in many forums
Learn a solid structure for storytelling
Embrace storytelling no matter your experience or comfort
About Karen
Karen Eber is an award-winning, best-selling author, international consultant, TED and keynote speaker who has educated and inspired more than three million people globally. As the CEO and Chief Storyteller of Eber Leadership Group, Karen helps companies build leaders, teams, and culture, one story at a time.
Karen’s bestselling book, The Perfect Story: How to Tell Stories that Inform, Influence, and Inspire is a two-time Goody Award winner and was selected as a Next Big Ideas Club “Must-Read.” Her TED Talk: How your brain responds to stories – and why they’re crucial for leaders, continues to inspire millions. Her work has been featured on Fast Company, NPR, Inc., Forbes, Entrepreneur, Quartz, MSN, and Business Insider.
Karen frequently delivers leadership and storytelling keynotes and workshops to companies, conferences, and universities worldwide. Previously, Karen was Head of Culture and Chief Learning Officer in companies like GE and Deloitte.
What sparked your passion for storytelling?
When I was at my first business dinner, it was an incredibly awkward experience. We were a bunch of introverts — no one was making conversation and it was very uncomfortable. Finally someone said something, a guy at the table started talking about building his deck. We all exhaled in relief because it was something to break the silence.
He started telling us about a stack of wood he was moving and how he came face to face with a raccoon, both with hands frozen in the air as if they were each under arrest. He was standing up, acting this out and telling us this story.
At that moment, our table flipped from that awkward quiet table to one of laughter where everyone was looking at us with envy. I realized you don’t have to tell stories for a presentation. They are the way we relate and connect. Stories took this business dinner that felt uncomfortable and helped us relate to each other. Stories are relevant in all ways in life – they are such a great way to build rapport.
I remember reading about this story in your book! Can you tell us about your book?
Before opening my company, I worked in corporate roles as a Head of Learning and Culture at global companies. My role as Head of Culture at General Electric focused on 90,000 employees in 150 countries. I realized that the only way you shape culture is to connect with each person to help them individually reflect on what it meant for them. I couldn’t do this in a classroom so I started using stories to talk about leaders and the types of things we valued. It connected with each person regardless of experience or geography.
Over my career, I’ve used stories to connect and inform. A lot of leaders feel allergic to telling stories because they are afraid they don’t have the right stories to tell or only so many places to tell it. I wrote The Perfect Story to help people realize it’s an accessible skill and anyone can tell a story — there’s no such thing as the perfect story. It’s about you finding your ideas and making them perfect for any situation or audience.
Is there a story you're proud of including in it?
At the end of each chapter are interviews with different storytellers – the co-founder of Sundance, an executive producer at The Moth, a Neuroscientist, a Head of Data Analytics and more. I wanted to show that there are so many different ways to tell stories and each person figured out how to be a great storyteller.
What are the skills needed for great storytellers?
First, anyone can be a storyteller! It’s really learning the steps and the habits that get really clear on the audience. Because you may already know the story that you want to tell, but you're going to tell it differently each time you tell it, depending on the audience.
I tell a story in both my TED Talk and in the book about this woman that dropped her phone in an elevator shaft. If I was telling that to security guards, I would tell it differently and the order would vary. There are four questions to ask yourself:
What do you want the audience to think and feel as a result of the story?
What do you want people to know or do? Is there some action or behavior as a result of your story?
What is the mindset of my audience? Have they experienced this before?
What might be an obstacle to getting them to what you want them to know/think/feel/do? This allows you to start with who is going to be receiving your story.
Once you’ve done this, you can take an idea and use it to tell a story. You want to build a basic structure. It’s a four-part process:
Set the context: Describe the setting. Who are the major characters involved? Why should the audience care?
Conflict: This is the heart of the story. What is the tension? This typically sits in the moment between the “before” and “after.”
Outcome: What action is taken? This is what happens as a result of the conflict. .
Takeaway: What message do you want the audience to come away with? This should connect to the know, feel or do.
This is the skeleton of your story. It helps you put a structure that prevents rambling, but gives you place to expand with details, senses, and emotions. This will help you tell a story that will resonate with the audience to engage with senses or emotions and make it feel more compelling.
What about when you’re telling a story for business — is there anything different?
The only difference is sometimes we feel we need to be more formal at work. But stories are about experiences and characters. There isn’t one type of storytelling for business and a different one in our personal lives. It’s about figuring out who the audience is and what you want them to experience. Then you use the story structure to build the experience around it.
Storytelling is driven by values, what’s one that matters to you?
How to bring the best out of people. I try to help people feel seen and valued. You want to know that people value you, hear you, and understand you. It helps you feel seen. It helps bring out the best in people.
I find people are often hesitant to share a story because it feels vulnerable or someone else has a story that’s already been told before. Storytelling is personal, but it doesn't mean you are revealing personal details, every time you tell a story, there’s a reason you tell it, you bring a unique perspective and people connect to different perspectives.
What's a hack or habit that grounds you in life and work?
I am an introvert. I need solid thinking time. If I have a day that’s back to back, I schedule everything stacked so I can have a solid chunk of time elsewhere. Each week, I dedicate time to planning out my schedule, planning time for thinking, working and connecting with others. I optimize my weeks to do my best work and regularly check: what do I need to do to protect my time?
Also, a walk outside is such a great reset. I do so much thinking when walking, it helps keep me in sync.
What’s something someone might not expect of you as a public speaker and writer?
I give keynotes on big stages to thousands of people. People might think it’s natural, but it’s all learned. I remember the first talk I gave, I was awkward, stiff and formal. But I learned and practiced. When I’m on stage it’s not about me, it’s about bringing ideas to scale. Anyone who is struggling with presenting, be kind to yourself. Most people feel nervous, don't let it stop you, you can do it.
Thanks for tuning into this edition of The Switchboard. I’m always grateful for your support growing this community of caring communicators and connectors. If you enjoyed this article, consider sharing it with a friend or posting on LinkedIn. Signing off — Julia
This was such a great article and so timely. I’m also more focused on storytelling in my communications. I’ll be picking up the book this weekend.