Storytelling & Influencing for Leaders

WORKSHOP OVERVIEW

The ability for a business leader to engage and influence others is vital to their success, and narrative is an incredibly powerful tool to capture the imagination of others, make a message more memorable and bring people along with you.

This one-day course will help participants tap into their natural strengths as storytellers and offer simple, practical, applicable tools that can be applied to a range of influencing situations, from negotiations to sales pitches. Drawing directly on the techniques used by actors and directors in rehearsal, the work will focus on participant’s personal communication style, authentic leadership presence, ability to influence others and handle challenging conversations with confidence - demonstrating how small changes in behaviour can have a profound effect on the way others perceive you and engage with your ideas.

The workshop is delivered in a small group to allow for individual practice and feedback.

The learning environment will be challenging, memorable and good fun.

Participants will be given the opportunity to:

• Reflect on and expand the range of their personal communication style
• Explore storytelling as a key leadership skill to engage and inspire an audience
• Try out narrative techniques and creative structures in order to explain complex
• and industry specific information in a simple and compelling way
• Practice flexing their style for different types of audiences and situations
• Increase their flexibility when faced with the unexpected
• Develop greater confidence in their own responses to challenging situations and
• their ability to take risks
• Rehearse specific influencing challenges that they are facing at work, and learn
• from watching others do the same

“Quite simply the best personal development event that I have attended. What can you expect? Lots of astute feedback, fun, and real insight…”

ABOUT

Simon has worked as an actor, stage fighter and voice-over artist for over 30 years. After training at RADA, he worked extensively in theatre, TV, film and radio. His theatre credits include work at the RSC, the Donmar Warehouse, and London’s West End, whilst his TV and film work includes productions for the BBC, Channel 4, ITV, Pathé and Warner Brothers.

Simon has worked independently developing and devising theatre as a director, trainer and coach with young people (including ex-young offenders) and gang members, and with the National Citizenship scheme. He is a co- founder and director of creativexpression, a company that provides experiential training in nature.

DR SPOTLIGHT

Simon has worked with many corporate clients with Dramatic Resources, including: Volvo Construction Equipment, Nestle and Deloitte. He also works closely with top global business schools such as Harvard, St. Gallen and ESMT Business

School on both their public and executive education programmes. Continuously expanding his field of practice, he invests time in Equine Assisted Learning and development programmes, has qualified as a coach and member of the Association for Coaching (AC), and is currently training in Mindfulness.

Simon is also a skilled craftsman and has been designing and building cabins since the 2020 lock-down!