Why Leaders Need to Tap into the Power of Stories with Patricio Larrea and Athulya Pulimood

In this episode, Bart welcomes two members of The Humphrey Group to talk about the rise of storytelling as a leadership imperative and why great stories exist inside you. 

 

Patricio opens the conversation by sharing why storytelling has become an increasingly critical skill for leaders in this day and age. A trend that the rise of AI has only accelerated. Athulya builds on this by explaining why storytelling has always been something that is more memorable and impactful than just sharing information and data. Together, they introduce the STORY framework, a new tool developed by THG at the heart of The Power of Stories program, and break down how both Star Wars and real-life business stories can follow the same powerful structure. They show how even those who feel like they don’t have stories can tap into meaningful experiences and turn them into powerful narratives.

 

Whether you're a seasoned executive or just starting your leadership journey, this episode will make you a more effective and confident storyteller no matter what role you hold or what industry you are in. 

 

 

1:17 Welcoming guests to the show
3:10 When did you first realize how important storytelling was?
7:23 Why stories are powerful
7:27 Our brains are wired for stories 
7:42 The research behind it
8:47 Why is storytelling more relevant now than ever before
9:03 Social media has changed the way we connect
9:32 15% of social media posts — influenced by AI
10:07 When you tell a story, you connect
11:00 Building trust as a leader
11:21 Showing vulnerability
12:07 Stories stick
12:27 People remember stories, not data
15:16 A framework for building storytelling skills
15:45 A lot of stories SUCK!
16:38 S: Situation
16:58 T: Tension
17:21 O: Opportunity
18:07 R: Result
18:23 Y: Your Learning
18:43 Take a movie plot and break it down
21:37 Business story
22:06 The Steve Jobs story
25:19 An executive says, "I have no stories"
26:20 Is it appropriate to share stories?
27:39 Stories you probably shouldn't be telling
28:40 How to find your stories?
28:41 You don't have to have gone through James Bond scenarios to have good stories
31:07 The 'why' determines whether a story is useful or not
31:25 Tips for finding your own stories
32:32 The four plots that every leader needs
32:51 The hero's journey plot
32:59 Overcoming obstacles plot
33:08 Discovery plot
33:20 The rise and fall and rise again plot
34:09 Doesn't working at your stories kill the authenticity?
34:31 Making sure you're present in the moment
34:48 Do you practice stories? 
39:45 How telling a personal story created connection 
41:36 Thank yous

 

Patricio Larrea: After that, more than half of my colleagues came to me different times to say why the story resonated, to tell me their adventures with their kids, to tell me some of the adventures that, they're going through and some of the challenges. So it created a level of connection that nothing would have done it. There's no words that I would have shared that would have created the level of vulnerability, connection, transparency. We need more of that. We absolutely need more of that, especially today, where there's so much of our connection happening through other channels, social media, which are not really human.

Bart Egnal: M welcome to the Inspire Podcast, where we examine what it takes to intentionally inspire. I'm your host, Bart Egnal, president and CEO of the Humphrey Group. And if you've ever asked yourself how can you develop an authentic leadership presence or how can you tell stories that have people hanging off every word, well, then this podcast is for you. And it's not just for executives. This is a podcast for anyone who wants to influence and inspire others in their work, but also in their life. So today, I'm really excited to do a rare twofer episode on the Inspire podcast. Normally, for those of you who have been listening to this show for seven seasons, you know, it's one guest. And today, the topic that we're going to cover, storytelling, is so compelling, so important, that I'm bringing two on. And so joining me today are Patricio Larrea, the head of business growth at the Humphrey Group, and Athulya Pulimood, who is a learning and development specialist, and, really one of the key architects of some of the work we're doing to transform how we teach storytelling.

Pato, Athulya, welcome to the Inspire Podcast.

Patricio Larrea: Thank you, Bart. Appreciate it. Great to be here.

Athulya Pulimood: Yeah, thanks, Bart. It's very exciting to be on this with you.

Bart Egnal: It's, very exciting to have you both here. In fact, you probably don't know this, but we keep statistics on all of the episodes listened to. We're in well over 150,000 listens, and the number one, and I think the number three episode in terms of most listened to, are on the topic of storytelling. So we know that people love to hear about stories, and it's not surprising. and stories. In the 25 years I've been in the leadership communication business, storytelling has gone from something that no one really talked about. I mean, it really was something where I remember writing speeches and there were books of stories. You would just go in, you'd want a humor story, and you want this to now Just a fundamental imperative for leaders. And I know to respond to that, we at the Humphrey Group and really affiliate, you're the driving force behind this, are creating a brand new program around storytelling. So it's wonderful to have you both on, to talk about the power of storytelling. And maybe I'll just start off by asking you, Athulya, what was the moment in your career or your life where you realized that stories were critical?

Athulya Pulimood: Wow, that's a great question. But I feel like that might have been when I was really young. Really, really young. I think it might have been when I was about four or five years old. Even my, mother, who, is an English professor, used to tell us stories as kids. And I was drawn to them. I was absolutely mesmerized. It might have been also that she was a great storyteller and the way she said really, you know, drew me in. But at that young age, I realized that there was a power in this. There was a power in communication through stories.

Bart Egnal: Yeah. And Pato, how about for you, let's pull into the business world, you know, because obviously Athulya’s touched on something which is that storytelling, we're storytelling animals. And, from a young age, we learn through the power of story, especially with a parent who's great. But where in business, when you think about your career, what was the moment? I know you've been a big champion for building our clients capabilities around storytelling. What was the moment where you thought storytelling is a critical tool for leaders who want to inspire?

Patricio Larrea: It was around 2013, actually. I will never forget. I was about a year in with the Humphrey group, and I was coaching a client of mine. Her name was Maria, and she was presenting to the executive team. She had an initiative, and she was presenting to the executive team and had a great presentation. All this data, the points, the facts that supported the initiative. Over lunch, I asked Maria, why is this so important to you? And she shared a story with me about her struggles. How, of her kids had been going through a difficult time of treatment and that was impacting her work. And one day, as she was, she was a truck driver in a mining company, and so she was getting into that truck. One, of our colleagues pulled her down and said, maria, you don't look good. You need to take the day off. So Maria, comes, surprise, starts walking away. And then all of a sudden she collapses. And because she was in the middle of everyone, she got immediate medical attention. And so she, she said to me, my colleague saved my life. And I said, maria, you gotta share that story. And so she started the presentation with that story. And I'll never forget the, leader of, that organization stood up as soon as she finished the story and said, maria, I want to hear more about your presentation, but your initiative is approved. And I just saw the emotion that there was in that room and the fact that she didn't have to share data, facts, and she immediately convinced the people in that room that is something needed to be done. It really showed me the power of a story. And so since then, I've been a huge advocate for my clients to use the stories to create that connection, to create that level of trust. And I'm sure we'll get into that conversation why that happens. But. Yeah, it's been a long time now.

Bart Egnal: Yeah. And yet still over 10 years later, that story is burned in your mind and the results it had. And I think it's really, you know, that kind of led us as a company. And we'll talk about why it's so important, if you're listening now, why it's more important than ever to tell stories as a leader and tell the right kind of stories to create an entire program called the Power of Stories. And so that's what we want to talk about today. We want to talk about why. Why, if you're in leadership, you have to be able to tell stories and good stories. And we'll talk about what makes a good story versus a bad story. We'll introduce you to the framework that we've created called the story framework. And then we'll give you a few ideas on how to unlock and unearth, some of the stories there within you. So let's start with the why. Let's start with the why, Athulya. Why? You know, can you quantify for us why stories are powerful?

Athulya Pulimood: Yeah. So our, brains are, ah, wired for stories. Right. When we hear a good story, we don't just process it, we experience it. We feel like we're there in that moment. And there's neuroscience behind this. There's research done by Paul Zak behind this, where he says that when stories are told, it triggers dopamine and oxytocin in our brains and, in our bodies.

Patricio Larrea: Right.

Athulya Pulimood: It releases these. And oxytocin is called the trust hormone. And it's released and we feel connected, we feel safe, we feel engaged emotionally with someone. And dopamine is the reward chemical. And that's when we experience excitement, suspense, curiosity. We want to know, you know, what's happening. So yeah, so it's not just, I mean, there's science to back this up, that stories are powerful and we really need to make connection through stories.

Bart Egnal: Yeah. And I think that, you know, we feel that, right. We feel those, that presence with the story. But you know, Patrick, why now? Like, hasn't that always been the case like for leaders? Why is it when I joined The Humphrey group 25 plus years ago, we had no program in storytelling and frankly no one really talked about storytelling. So what's changed? Why is storytelling more of an imperative today than it was back then?

Patricio Larrea: There's a couple of things there. I'll start why now? And then I'll talk about why for leaders, this is a really key tool to use. Why now? So for the last 10 plus years we've seen how social media has changed the way we connect. A lot of the connection happens through social media. And more and more the posts are tweet, polished, curated by AI. In particular today, I was reading an article that said that in 2022 it was like something like 15% of the posts on LinkedIn were in some way involved with AI. Today it's more than 50%.

Bart Egnal: Wow.

Patricio Larrea: And it's not just on LinkedIn. There's a university of Chicago did a research about how much AI is involved in the scientific abstracts of the studies and in a span of two years it has doubled. So a lot of what we see in social media, which is one of the ways that we connect with people, a, lot of that is curated and all of that is polished. And so there's no human there. And when you share a story, you are saying to others, this is something I've lived, this is something I have felt, this is something I've learned. And there's nothing that beats that in particular today, where we need more connection because of that distance.

Now to the other part of your question around why is this important to leaders? I would say a couple of things and I'll start by defining the way we at the Hanford Group see leadership. We define leaders. Anyone, it's not related to title, but really anyone that wants to inspire action. In our case, we teach them how to do that through communication. So if you think about leaders inspiring action, one of the things that you need in order to get someone to do an action is for them to trust you.

And so trust me, I'm a leader. Exactly, exactly. As if it was that easy, right?

Bart Egnal: That's right. Done.

Patricio Larrea: So Athulya was saying there's some chemical Things in your brain that happen. And so when you share a story, one you're saying, I've went through this difficult thing. And so you show vulnerability, which is a key pillar in trust. And when you in particular share stories that have some kind of uncertainty, failure, personal growth, you show your human side, which allows the other side to see themselves in that story. And when they see themselves in that story, that's really powerful because they're bought in. One of the things that we say when we teach our programs is one of the best ways that you can get someone to persuade someone is if they believe it's their idea, like they're really bought in. And so when you share a story and they see themselves in that story, they're bought in. Now there's another reason stories stick. There's a, there's a book called Made to Stick. It's a professor.

Bart Egnal: Been around for a while. Yeah, it's been around for a while.

Patricio Larrea: And so they did this thing where they got students to present topics for 60 seconds and then they would ask other students how much they remember. And more than 50% would remember the stories, and just 5% would remember the actual data. so when you think about that, let's put it in the real world. Let's say you're running an initiative. Let's say you're, you're implementing a new CRM with your sales team. And to get them on board, you have two options. One is you share the facts, the data, right? You could say, look, it's going to save us time, it's going to help us avoid problems, blah, blah, blah. What happens is when things get hard, and let's say there's, an adoption curve there, and they're like, okay, this is taking way longer than what my usual method does, they drop it. But even steady, you share a story at the beginning and say, look, a couple of weeks ago, Kim called me and said, Pato, I need you to jump in on a meeting. It was the end of the day and she was going to the doctor. And I was like, yeah, of course. Hang up the phone. And I realized I don't have the information that I need. Call her back. She didn't answer. And I start panicking. And then I remembered she takes notes and puts them in Dropbox. I'm looking Dropbox. Found the notes, unfortunately found what I needed. And the meeting went really well. And so you can share that story. And the learning is, we all have a CRM, we can share that information. It was going to really help us feel confident about the information that we have with our clients. So what happens at a moment is now they see themselves in that story, and when things get hard, they're going to connect with the why. It's a lot easier for them to connect to the why. So the stories stick.

Bart Egnal: Yeah, I think you've made some great points there. I mean, look, stories, you know, like that book, Made to stick. I think I read it 15 years ago and it's true. It's still compelling. And what's really changed now is that we're in this world of an abundance of content and abundance of, as you pointed out, AI driven content. It's not real human content. So the humanity is there. I also think in everything I've observed in our work with clients is that in Covid, the move to remote first and the shift in what people wanted from their leaders, people no longer wanted the command and control. They wanted the kind of human led leader. And so that's. Even though many companies are going back to the office, those demands on leaders have really remained so. Storytelling has always been powerful, but now more than ever, you've got to be able to tell stories. You've got to cut through and stand out from the AI.

Okay, so let's talk about how to do it. And I think one of the things that we really set out to do, I know when we build a program is, sure, it's great to build awareness, but we want to build the skills. We think this ability to tell stories is a skill. So, Athulya, talk about the story framework. What did you set out? What did people need? Like, if someone's like, hey, I want to be a better storyteller, why do we need a framework? And then tell. Take us through what that framework is at. Ah, a very high level.

Athulya Pulimood: Inherently, all of us tell stories, right? Like, that's a given. We know that. But there are some people that just drone on and on and on, and they don't.

Bart Egnal: A lot of stories suck, let's be honest. A lot of stories suck, let's be honest. Yeah, we were merging and we did it and then we were successful.

Athulya Pulimood: Or this story that goes on for one hour and nobody remembers the beginning, nobody remembers the point and all of that stuff. So, you know, when we were, like Pato and I were building this program, we said we need something that's simple, a simple framework that anybody and everybody can use to structure their stories. And as we built it, we realized that it could actually fit into this beautiful acronym called S, T, O, R, Y.

Bart Egnal: What does it spell? What does it spell?

Athulya Pulimood: What does it spell? It spells story. So, yeah, so we made it fit into that, and it works beautifully, wonderfully well. And so I'm going to explain what that acronym stands for. Right? So the S in story stand stands for the situation. So you start with the situation, you start with the setting. It sets the stage, it provides context. Where are you? Who's in the story? What is happening? Right, so that's your S. Then we move on to the T, which is the tension. Now, this is the crux of the story. So this is really like, what is that challenge? What is the conflict? What is the problem in your story? Why are you telling the story? What, What? You know, it almost gives people that moment of like, oh, my gosh, what happens next? This is when that dopamine gets released in your brain, right? When you bring in that tension into the story. The next one is. Oh. Which is opportunity. So every story, of course, has a setting and attention, but then you come to this point where there is an opportunity. An opportunity might be a decision that somebody has to make in the story. It might even just be a realization that happens. A growth moment, right? A change. Change moment. and this is where, you know, when it's a leadership story, which we'll talk in the course, how, you know, stories are different and you have leadership stories, this is where a leader gets a chance to present their values, their beliefs, their. The opportunities that were presented to them and the choices they had to make. Right? Which, brings us to the next one, which is R, which is the result. So, so after, all of this, what happens, right? What actually happens? What is the outcome? What is the resolution of these decisions that you've made? and then the most important part for a leadership story, and I love that it is why? Because in a leadership story, you always need a why. Why are you telling the story, right? What is the message or what is the learning that's happened? And so there you have it, S, T, O, R Y.

Bart Egnal: So let's let me do a run of a, movie, and then using the framework, and then you could do a business story. Okay, so let's say, like, people who know me know I'm a Star wars nut. So let's just do. Let's do the classic. Let's do Star wars episode. And we're none of the new stuff. We're going to do the original Star Wars. Here we go. Okay, so this so s. Ah, so you give me, you quickly Give me the letter and I'll try and play that.

Athulya Pulimood: Okay. What is the setting? What is the S?

Bart Egnal: So the setting is the galaxy far, far away. You have the Rebel alliance trying to sneak plans out, being pursued by Vader. And you have Luke Skywalker discover the plans and the droids and sets off on a quest to deliver this warning and return the droids to protect from the evil Empire.

Athulya Pulimood: Okay, so what is the tension here?

Bart Egnal: Yeah, well, as he goes on this quest and he's got, you know, his new friend, and they rescue Ben, Kenobi, and run into Han Solo as well, they realize that the Empire has this incredible super weapon, the Death Star, and they're going to destroy, you know, they're going to destroy worlds and kind of crush the universe under their. Their foot if something's not done.

Athulya Pulimood: Okay, so that's a real, like, what happens next moment. Right.

Bart Egnal: And, you have seen the movie, right, Athulya, I want to make sure of this.

Athulya Pulimood: Yes, I am.

Bart Egnal: Good. Okay. I was worried we might have to have consequences otherwise.

Okay. The opportunity. So they break Leia out of the Death Star, and they get away. And the opportunity is, do they go to the rebel base and. And help them get ready and take on the Death Star? And, you know, there's a division, right, because, Luke and Leia decide to go, and Han decides to leave them. So it's kind of this fork in the road. Are they going to really be heroes or are they going to be selfish?

Athulya Pulimood: Right. And that's a place where there are some values and core beliefs being tested. Right. So. So that's the opportunity. And so the result. What happens?

Bart Egnal: Well, they prepare to defend the base. And, Luke kind of taps into his Jedi skills, but things aren't going well. They're on an attack run that's going terribly. And Luke's about to get shot down by Vader and miss a shot, when suddenly, hand comes back, shoots Vader, gives him the clear shot. Luke connects with the Force, blows up the Death Star, and they win.

Athulya Pulimood: Yeah. So what's the message? Or what's your learning your message from this? Maybe not yours, but.

Bart Egnal: You know, stand strong and be a hero against the. Against evil. So. All right, there you go. It works. I guess it works. So we can pass that.

So let's give us a business story then, because that's obviously this kind of iconic film. People listening might be saying, look, that's fine for Hollywood, but how do I bring a story like that into the business world or story structure like that? Into the business world.

Athulya Pulimood: So I'm actually going to take a story that was said by a, powerful leader, Steve Jobs. Right. it's a common story that gets said. He says it in the commencement speech that he makes to the Stanford graduates. And it's about connecting the dots, right? And I'm sure many of you might have already listened to this story, but he, still follows this framework so beautifully, right? And it just goes to show that leaders innately do have that sense when they tell stories, right? So he talks about how he was adopted by these parents that were professors. And, the adoption almost didn't go through because they wanted a girl. But, you know, he ended up being born a boy, obviously. So, he tells how he gets adopted because his parents promise his biological mother that they will definitely send him to university and he will get a degree and an education in college. And, you know, that's kind of like the setting that he gives us. And then you go forward and suddenly there's this tension where he drops out of college. And, you know, it's like all of this, his whole life has been, like, dependent on this one crucial moment, and he just drops out of college, and then there's this opportunity where he has to decide what he has to do in life. Like, he obviously has to do something. He's broke, he's a poor student just sleeping in other people's rooms and all of that. And he chooses to take the calligraphy class, right? And it was just a random, like, it felt like a random decision for him that he chose to do the calligraphy course. But the result is that the Mac that was launched, it was beautifully launched with these amazing typography, apps. And, you know, all of the computers were beautiful because of the calligraphy classes that he took way back when. And, he even goes to say that Microsoft also copied, you know, the Mac, the first Mac. So basically everybody today that has beautiful fonts and ability to design is because he took that calligraphy course way back then. and then, you know, he concludes with this message, and I'm going to quote him here. He says, you can't connect the dots looking forward, you can only connect them looking backward. So you have to trust the, that the dots will somehow connect in the future. And, you know, that's a beautiful message to somebody that's on the brink of, like, stepping out into the world, and, you know, trying to see, you know, does anything that I've done make sense or is it going to make sense?

Bart Egnal: I love it. It's a great example. And, you know, Jobs has so many powerful stories. And I remember, you know, whether it was the introduction of the iPhone or his commencement addresses or the story of him coming back to Apple, it is the narratives that he crafts that are so memorable. Pato. And thank you, Athulya, for sharing the story framework with us.

Pato, I, want to ask on behalf of people listening. Sometimes when I coach clients and we work on storytelling, one of the things they say to me is, I just don't have any stories. Tell. I was literally working with a private equity executive earlier this year. He goes, I just have no stories. I have no stories. So what would you. To someone going through a program with us on the power of stories? What would you say to that? And how would you help them spark stories?

Patricio Larrea: Yeah. And Bart, I'm with you. I was coaching a, COO a couple weeks ago, and he's at TechWiz, and it was one of the first sessions. So I said, give, me your elevator pitch. And so he shared the elevator pitch. And it was clear all the credentials, the knowledge all showed up in one area that I thought needed to improve. And I said, here's an opportunity. Here's more of the human side of it. And so I said, is there a story that would explain why you've made some of the decisions that got you here? He looked at me, blank stare, and said, I don't have any stories. And then he also said, is it appropriate to share stories? And so those two questions, I hear that really often in work with clients, and, you know, we've explained what stories do. The stories create that connection. The stories build a trust. So do. Do. Is it appropriate to share? Yes. And we want that. We want, as humans, and we see. You know, I love this story that Athulya was sharing from Steve Jobs. We have such this connection with that leader, and it is in part because of the stories that we've heard, and.

Bart Egnal: I think I've heard that comment too, that is it appropriate, that concern? And I do think there are two things there. One is, there is a long history in the corporate world of this idea of, bifurcation between your work and your personal. And I think, look, I think in some respects that is being blurred, became blurred when our lives ceased to be office and home. And so I think that has eroded somewhat as a concern. But where I do see a concern remain, and a legitimate one, is, for lack of a simpler, better term, TMI or oversharing. Right? People have been on the receiving end of stories where you're like, you meet someone and suddenly they just unveil themselves in hideous ways to you. You're like, you know, like literally like how are you doing? Well, honestly, you know what, I just had my mother in law visiting and she just told me that her ex is a despicable person. You're like, I don't need this story. So I do think there are reasonable hesitations. So how do you navigate that and still help people unlock those stories but in a way that doesn't alienate their audiences?

Patricio Larrea: Yeah, I totally agree. Well, Athulya highlighted one of the key pieces of the story framework which really will help you determine should I be sharing a story. And that is the why the learning at the end. because if you're going through a certain situation, then if you have a story that the learning aligns to certain situations, then it, it is totally appropriate to share it. But let me, let me backtrack a little bit because how do you find those stories?

Bart Egnal: So.

Patricio Larrea: There's multiple ways and one of the things that I want to highlight here is that you don't need to have this James Bond type of life with adventure to be able to have great stories. You can find stories in simple things in your everyday life. And so one of the ways that we teach in this program to connect with your stories is just to be more aware. And so we teach how you can find stories through simple interactions, observations or reflections. And so if you think about your last couple of weeks, I'm sure you can find a lot of those. So for instance, an interaction with someone in your team. So I'll give you an example. Let's say your team, you're trying to build, some, you're trying to build team bonding and trust with your team. And you've noticed that some people in your team are not speaking up. And so by the way, that's the setting. And so the tension is. We were in a meeting and I noticed in particular one of the people, one of the people that our junior in my team was not saying anything. And so I thought, what do I do? And that was the intention. Now the opportunity would be, I thought I'm going to ask everyone to one by one give me an idea or a reaction to what we're discussing. And so we went one by one. That was the opportunity. what was the result? We ended the meeting and this junior member of my team approached me and said thank you for making the space. I was afraid to speak up. And so that would be the result. And now what's the learning? The learning could be psychological. Safety is not a big thing. Are small decisions or intentional decisions that you make in your everyday. In your everyday interactions with your colleagues. So that could be a simple story about an interaction that you had with a team. And perhaps you can use that story if, let's say you're a manager and you're speaking to other managers and you want to share the power of the decision that you made. Well, there you go. That's the story. And doesn't have to be like anything out of the world. It is still very powerful.

Bart Egnal: Yeah. And I think you really answer the question. It doesn't have to be an epic journey to be a compelling story. And I think it is that final piece, the why, you know, the lesson, the reason that determines. Is it the story that has relevance or is it pointless?

Patricio Larrea: I totally agree, Bart.

Bart Egnal: So how do you find these stories? How do you. Because I know we talk about that in the program to get to prompt. Like, what are the prompts that people listening, they say, okay, I want to tell more of those little stories that have big impacts. How do you spark them? Athulya, what would be some ways that you would encourage people to. Or help people find those sparks?

Athulya Pulimood: I'm going to answer this in two parts, and we talk about this in much more detail in the program.

Bart Egnal: So take the program.

Athulya Pulimood: Take the program for sure.

Bart Egnal: But over plug, overt plug.

Athulya Pulimood: We have, we have. We've created a tool, it's called a moment mapping tool. And, we. We really show people that, you know, if you just try to think back on an interaction, an observation or reflection that you've had, you know, try to describe it, explain it, and then what is the impact that that moment had on you? Like, if you just try to apply that, you definitely find stories, right? And you'd find personal stories that you can connect with, stories that are vulnerable and, you know, really authentic. And, you know, Pato was talking about the authentic part in leadership, and that's what is missing. And this will help you find that and build those.

But also in our program, we talk about the four plots that every leader needs, right?

Bart Egnal: So you talk about what are the four plots?

Athulya Pulimood: Quick, ta da. Ta da. No, it's not. It's not. It's not complicated. It's plots that we know. The famous plots, they're famous stories. It's the hero's journey, right? And this is the kind of plot that usually you'd share if you wanted to inspire like bold moves and transformation. Right. You could, do this. Then we have the overcoming obstacles plot. And then this is used, like, build trust, Unite teams. Like, what are those challenges that you faced and you came over? Then we have the discovery plot, which is, it makes ideas more memorable. It reveals deeper lessons that leaders have learned and want to share. And of course, the fourth one is, the greatest plot. I feel every leader has a story with this. It's the rise and fall and rise again. Right. And again, Steve Jobs fits ideally into this moment where he was ousted from Apple, starts this great company, Pixar. Next is bought by Apple, he rises again to become the CEO. Like, what an inspiring story. Right? So, we talk about these plots, we give you examples, we share how you as leaders could make your stories fit into these plots and really inspire and influence people.

Bart Egnal: And Pato, I want to just ask when I'm listening, you know, because I think something. I've heard this from clients when I work with them, so I wonder what you'd say. They say, you know, all of this work that goes into writing or creating stories kind of kills the moment, doesn't it? Like, shouldn't these stories shouldn't great? Aren't great storytellers spontaneous? How would you respond to that?

Patricio Larrea: I would agree with the statement, doesn't it have to be spontaneous? I agree. And one way that you do that is by making sure you're present in the moment, listening. And if you feel that there's an opportunity, then you share a story. It's not can. So the being present helps you not be canned. But to the point about, do you practice your stories? Of course you practice your stories. And one point that we try to drive home m in this program is you gotta start building your book of stories. In fact, you'll get a little mini book where you will come out of the program with a bank of five, six stories that you build through the program. Because there's some in Athulya, was talking about the plots. We will give you some prompts for every plot. So you. With prompts, questions. A question. Like, for instance, think of a time in your life that you made a decision that changed the course of your life. Boom. That's a question. There's, I'm sure, a story that you can tell in regards to that. There you go. You have one story. And so you build it, you practice it until it's natural to tell it, until it really flows, right? And when, if you do that, if there's an opportunity at any point, because you never know.

Bart Egnal: Right.

Patricio Larrea: And. But there's an opportunity now. You.

Bart Egnal: Then you're ready, then you're ready with it. Right.

Patricio Larrea: And you tell it with a lot of presence and with a great delivery. Something that would be really hard to do if you haven't practiced that story.

Bart Egnal: Yeah. The most natural storytellers have worked unnaturally hard to get those stories.

Patricio Larrea: I'm sure Steve Jobs practiced so many times.

Bart Egnal: He was known for his meticulous preparation.

Patricio Larrea: Exactly, exactly.

Bart Egnal: So it doesn't come easy, but it becomes easy to do with the work. And I think the combination of the work, the intention and the tools, and that's really what I'm taking away. Leaders do need to tell stories now more than ever. And the first episode of this season was with a person who founded the company on emotional intelligence to talk about it is the humanity that is increasingly unique in communication and leadership. And I think that's never more the case in storytelling. But you have to bring structure to it. You have to bring structure. Otherwise your stories are probably going to suck. Yeah.

Patricio Larrea: Yeah.

Bart Egnal: And the last thing I was going to say was, you've got them within you. But. Yeah, go ahead, please.

Patricio Larrea: Yeah, I was going to share something that happened, as a team to us very recently. We were that retreat back in January and Athulya, and I had the opportunity to share with everyone some of the concepts of the, of the, of the program. And it was awesome to see everyone sharing stories and creating connection. And so at the very end of the retreat, but, you know, it's become almost like a tradition. You do the opening speech and I do the closing words.

Bart Egnal: Right.

Patricio Larrea: And I was thinking, what, what do I say to the team? And I knew that I want to do something that was adventure related, that would talk about the importance of sharing an adventure together. And so I thought, you know, I'm going to share a story. And so I share the story of my son, Valentino. So I recently moved to Houston, and, my partner and I had been preparing him to go to his new school. And so I dropped him off the first day. and so we say goodbyes, and he walked in and I was like, wow, that was easy. So I turned around and I started walking away. And I hear his voice saying, papa, don't leave me. So I turned around and he was crying. He comes to me and he says, papa, don't leave me. So there was a little bench to the side, so we sat down and he kept repeating, papa, don't leave me. Don't make me be sad. And if there's some words that break your heart is apparent, those are the words. So I was inside of me thinking, what did I do? I moved my family to a new place. Did I do the right thing? I was just questioning everything. And then he stopped crying. He all of a sudden hugged my neck. And then he got up and just walked back to the school. And as he's walking away, I'm thinking, wow, one, he knows there's adventure at the other side of that door, and he wants that. He knows he's going to grow there. But the other thing I was thinking is how much more meaningful it was for me to share this adventure with him. He just taught me something. I shared this story with the team at the end of our retreat, and I said, we're here in this adventure together. And sometimes it's scary, Sometimes we don't know what's at the other side of the door, but we know we have to do it. And I'm grateful that we're doing it all together, because this makes it more meaningful. I shared the story, and the immediate reaction was great. But what's even cooler is what happened after. The reason I'm sharing this part is to the point that you made the need for connection. After that, more than half of my colleagues came to me different times to say why the story resonated, to tell me their adventures with their kids, to tell me some of the adventures that they're going through and some of the challenges. So it created a level of connection that nothing would have done it, huh? There's no words that I would have shared that would have created the level of vulnerability, connection, transparency. And so we need more of that. We absolutely need more of that. Especially today, where there's so much of our connection happening through, other channels, social media, which are not really human.

Athulya Pulimood: I was at that retreat. It was my first retreat because, you know, I was a new employee, and it was my first time meeting everybody at that retreat in person. I will admit that that story that Pato shared was so emotional and connected. It, helped me connect so much that I. That was the moment that I felt like I belonged. I felt included. I felt, oh, Kato's not this leader of this company that's sitting somewhere high up and telling me to do this or do that or a floating head on a screen like he's a dad, like he's a parent, just like me. He's gone through this experience of moving somewhere. I'm an immigrant to Canada, and I've been through that. Same experience too. Like, we share so much that, you know, tomorrow if Paddle comes and asks me something, I would willingly, voluntarily do something for him because he shared that moment that resonated so deeply with me, that made me feel included and like I belonged. Right?

Bart Egnal: And that really just sums up the power of stories.

So, Pato, Athulya, I really want to thank you both for coming on the podcast. You've laid out why it's so critical for leaders to tell stories and introduce some, tools I know our clients and everyone listening will be able to put into practice. We'll link to a lot of the resources we've talked about in the show notes, and if you want to know more, you can go to our website and learn more about the power stories or just use what we've talked about today to go out and tell stories. They are within you. Start telling them. Start inspiring. So thanks to both of you for coming on the podcast.

Athulya Pulimood: Thank you.

Patricio Larrea: Thank you, Bart. Thank you, Athulya. Great job.

Bart Egnal: I hope you enjoyed that episode of the Inspire podcast and the conversation that I had, with our guests. And hopefully you left with some really practical, tangible tools and tips that you can use to be more consistent, consistently inspirational.

If you're enjoying the pod, I'll ask you a favor. Please rate and review it. I love the comments. Appreciate the reviews. And the visibility allows others to discover the pod. It's really how word of mouth has spread the Inspire Podcast to so many listeners and helped us keep making this great content. Stay tuned. We'll be back in two weeks with another inspiring conversation. Thanks so much for listening. Go forth and inspire.