Quick Tips: Style Your Language

Lead & Follow

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If you’re a strongly narrative thinker, you may respond to any kind of question by telling a story. That usually starts by providing considerable background information and then describing what happened in chronological order. Stories are definitely a crucial part of how we learn, but they can also be time-consuming and therefore sometimes distracting.

Abstract thinkers like me fall on the opposite end of the spectrum. If this is you, you probably tend to zero in on one specific detail that you feel is important, or provide the verbal equivalent of a bulleted list. If someone asks you how your day was, you might just give a quick one-word assessment or list a few key events that took place.
Boiling things down to the essentials is definitely time-efficient, but it can also prevent people from relating to you and understanding why they should care about what you are saying to begin with. The single detail doesn’t always give someone that bridge into your perspective like a story does. We even know from research in neuroscience that stories create an emotional hook and that’s why they motivate people to act, to learn and to change.

Both abstract and narrative thinking are useful in the right context. The question is: Which one will help you the most with the conversation or interaction you are having right now?

A good rule of thumb is to use stories for presentations, proposals, and establishing common ground. Use concepts for troubleshooting, project updates, or brainstorming.

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