In an era dominated by AI, algorithms, and automation, it’s easy to feel that career success hinges on mastering technology – not storytelling and listening skills. While digital proficiency is important, uniquely human communication skills are critical – because these skills can mean the difference between advancement and disappointment in your career. Developing listening and storytelling skills, especially through public speaking, can teach you how to persuade audiences. Whether you’re leading a meeting, pitching an idea, interviewing for a job or just trying to get a second date, listening and storytelling are vital skills for career success… and more.
Scott Galloway, NYU professor and serial entrepreneur, tells it like it is: “The story isn’t the thing—it’s the only thing.” Storytelling, he explains, is the foundation of human connection, and our ability to craft and share compelling narratives is a skill no machine can replicate. “If there was one skill I could give to my boys,” Galloway says, on TikTok, “it would be storytelling.” Equally important is listening, the quiet counterpart to storytelling, which allows you to truly understand your audience and respond in a way that resonates. Together, these skills are the bedrock of successful communication—and career advancement.
The Power of Listening and Storytelling
Storytelling isn’t just for bestselling authors or Hollywood screenwriters. It’s the most effective way to communicate ideas, motivate teams, and inspire action. Stories engage the human brain in ways that raw data and facts cannot, tapping into our emotions and creating memorable connections.
But you don’t have to be a keynote-level speaker to harness storytelling in your career. Whether you’re presenting in a small meeting, interviewing for a job, or negotiating with a client, your ability to tell a story can mean the difference between being heard and being overlooked. Here are three ways to enhance your storytelling:
- Start with What Your Listener is Thinking: Do you know what’s top of mind for your audience : your boss, your board of directors, your bride? Start there. Candor and honesty can be a powerful and brave beginning, especially if you story has some difficult news inside of it.
- Relate to Your Audience: have you been in their shoes? It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking, “Well, I don’t have a lot of experience”. That may be true from a professional perspective. But from a human perspective, you’ve been experiencing what it means to be a human being since birth. Talk about the human condition – the aspirations, goals and desires that we all share, regardless of age or gender. Via universal connection, the story of one of us is the story of all of us. When faced with a challenge or opportunity, consider this prompt: “I’ll never forget the time when…” The circumstances may not be the same, but the emotions are incredibly relatable, in the hands of a great storyteller.
- Make the Second Person First: not to turn this into a grammar lesson, but the second person is “you”. The way to start with what your listener is thinking, and to relate to your audience, is to make your story about them. While you may be sharing a personal adventure or a historical anecdote, the point of the story is always about your audience. Consider when you might be able to say, “Have you been there?” or even, “You know how our inventory turns were down last year…”
Listening: The Secret to Better Storytelling
If storytelling is the art of speaking, listening is the art of understanding. The two go hand in hand.
Listening to discover, or listening with an open mind, allows you to gauge your audience’s needs, emotions, and perspectives. Unfortunately, it’s a skill that ChatGPT can’t help you with – because it must be demonstrated, in the moment, from a uniquely human presenter. That’s the listening perspective and the training experience I create in my corporate leadership workshops – because you can’t lead if you can’t listen.
Helping executives and entrepreneurs to shape powerful narratives is an important part of my coaching work, whether my clients are trying to land on Shark Tank or just trying to find a new way to deliver the fourth-quarter inventory report. The stories you tell will teach people how to treat you, how to pay you and how to follow your ideas. But listening – reading the room – is where storytelling really begins.
Listening to Discover: Storytelling in Action
One of my clients, a division president at a finance company, had a problem talking to government regulators. He said, “I stood up to give a very detailed presentation, and I asked the regulators to hold their questions until the end.” That made sense to me. How did that go, I wondered?
“They interrupted me in the first three minutes!” he said, indignant. “They told me, ‘We are the regulators and we will ask questions when it suits us.’” Furious, flustered and frustrated, my client started listening to defend. Forgetting his place in his PowerPoint, his choo-choo jumped the tracks and the presentation turned into a disaster. How could coaching resolve this communication challenge?
Helping the president to reframe the presentation was the key. He came to realize that the presentation was actually a conversation. Instead of a one-way dialogue, where he would just show up and throw up all of the info he had collected, he decided to listen. He needed storytelling and listening to create the solution he needed.
He decided it would be OK if somebody interrupted him, because that interruption wasn’t rudeness – it was guidance. If he could listen to discover, he would discover how to be of greater service to his audience. He shifted his focus – his listening and his storytelling – to find new results. Could you do the same?
With practice and intention, anyone can become a better listener. Start by putting your phone away during conversations, maintaining eye contact, and focusing fully on the speaker. If you have never received training on how to listen effectively, you’re not alone.
Listen Up: AI Can’t Replace Communication Skills
In a world where AI tools can write emails, crunch data, and even mimic human voices, some may wonder if communication skills still matter. The answer is a resounding yes. Especially for Gen Z, where communication skills are causing career concerns, according to Psychology Today.
While AI excels at processing information, it lacks the ability to connect emotionally or respond authentically in real-time. An AI can generate a script, but it can’t tell a story with heart—or listen with empathy. These are innately human abilities that machines cannot replicate. And these skills are desperately needed for Gen Z.
“For employers, it’s important to know that experts say Gen Z’s rough ride in recent years means many are also coming into the workplace lacking a set of critical, often invisible skills for interacting with colleagues and handling jobs—a situation that can lead to frustration and burnout not just for those born between 1996 and 2010, but for bosses and coworkers,” according to an article in Fast Company.
What Happens When Listening and Storytelling Are Lousy?
For Gen Z—and anyone else in the workforce—an inability to communicate effectively can short-circuit a promising career. Employers consistently rank communication skills (read: storytelling and listening) among the top qualities they look for in candidates.
If you’re ready to level up your communication skills, here’s where to start:
Practice Active Listening
- Turn off distractions and give your full attention to the speaker.
- Summarize what you’ve heard, via your notes.
- Offer reflective responses and questions, to confirm understanding.
Learn the Structure of Great Stories
- Great stories begin with great moments. Are you giving a history lesson, or starting with the part that people really need to know?
- Do you want to instruct, or inspire? Your story makes a point – what is it? Share how your story relates to your audience, and provides a lesson, guidance or insight. Why not do both: instruct and inspire?
- More Hemingway, Less Fitzgerald: great storytellers say in a few words what others take pages to describe. Can you be brief, and powerful?
Adapt to Your Audience
- What’s top of mind for your audience? What’s something that everyone knows is true? What is a challenge that your audience is facing? Start your story in your audience’s world – connection is the key.
- Use language and examples that resonate within universal (relatable) experiences.
- Listening to succeed: Focus on your audience and don’t be afraid to adapt when needed.
Building a Competitive Edge
ChatGPT is excellent at writing stories, but a ‘bot can’t tell them for you. No AI or LLM can connect to your audience, or respond in real time, or teach you how to listen. Listening is an experience, a uniquely human skill, and one that can help you to discover untapped potential inside your career, your organization, and yourself. In a world of AI and tech, an understanding of the human operating system is more important than ever before. That’s why listening and storytelling are the keys to your future success.