Sunday Rewind: Storytelling: Don’t convince; Inspire by Petra Wille

This week’s Sunday Rewind is a 2023 ProductTank Perth talk by coach and author Petra Wille, in which she highlights the importance of storytelling and actionable strategies to present stories to keep your audience engaged and involved.

Petra starts by emphasising the importance of storytelling - it’s used as a tool to engage and entertain from early childhood. A good story triggers the release of hormones and “lights up your brain”, she says. These hormones can be extremely beneficial for product managers in helping to create a sense of trust and commitment towards your ideas.

Petra points out that many companies fail to integrate storytelling into their business strategies, and shares an example of how storytelling can be used as a communication tool. It can also be  a valuable design tool. 

Petra then shares a list of steps to create stories that engage and entice your audience and offers some advice on how to get your story to stick in the minds of your audience. She also offers a checklist to help you narrate the story. 

Facts and data are not enough to influence your audience’s decision, Petra concludes. It takes real stories and sentiments to build trust and compassion across your audience.

Watch the original talk: Storytelling: Don’t convince; Inspire by Petra Wille