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From the SXSW stage to the boardroom: Storytelling at work

Emma Andrews, our Director of Strategy, shares her reflections and insights from SXSW, drawing from a range of talks and discussions that highlighted the powerful impact of storytelling.

Emma Andrews
Emma Andrews

11 November 2024

9 minute read

Last month I attended SXSW Sydney; the much talked about US event that ‘has come to Sydney!’ for the second year running.

With countless overlapping sessions and no guarantees on what was worth my time, I quickly felt paralysed by choice. In an attempt to make the most of the experience, I tried a few different tactics each day: one day I shadowed a colleague at their choice of talks, on a second I focused on fringe talks, and on another, I simply went with gut choices. In between sessions, I even challenged myself to collect as much free merch as possible – my ‘swag day’.

I knew that the challenge from the week was to come away with something that I could present or share back to my colleagues at Luminary. So each session I went to I took notes, dissected, and analysed – was this The One?!

Despite all my efforts, the week ended and I was left feeling that I hadn’t gathered the definitive insights I was hoping to bring back and share with my colleagues. One of the talks I was most excited to see - and that I thought held the most hope for my playback to the team - also didn’t stick. I couldn’t recall anything from the hour I’d watched. I didn’t know what I was going to talk about and I had nothing to share back.

Over the subsequent days, friends, family (and colleagues) would ask me about my trip away for the week. “How was it?” they would ask. And as I spoke about my ‘working holiday’ I noticed that a few of the speakers came to mind quite easily; and so did their content. And I was able to retell some of the sessions I had attended.

Hmmm, I thought. What made them so memorable after thinking I had nothing to say?

I considered who these speakers were and what they said.

Grace Brown at the heart of robotics

First up: Grace Brown, CEO, Founder and Engineer at Andromeda Robotics who introduced us to the robots that her company has created.

Grace introduced herself to the audience and told us how she had always loved engineering and STEM subjects at school.

She took us back to the pandemic, when – like millions of others living in Victoria – she had to live in isolation for months. Being a Disney fan, she also binge-watched many movies during lockdown and felt inspired by the way they bring characters to life. Her experience of loneliness made her realise how important human interaction and connection are. 

Post the lockdowns, Grace realised that many people suffer from loneliness everyday. Those living in aged care for example, where there’s a huge staff vacancy rate, don’t have regular social connection with others because staff are (sadly) focused on the immediate care needs of residents rather than having the luxury of time to sit and talk.

These combined experiences led Grace to build Abi, a Large Language Model which has been anthropomorphised to look like a humanoid robot, programmed with empathy and emotional intelligence, whichnis being used in aged care to connect with the residents.

Grace Brown with 'Abi' the robot

Johann Hari on ‘stolen focus’ and the attention crisis

The second speaker that I found myself telling friends about was Johann Hari who presented his new book: Stolen Focus.

He told us how his godson changed from being a 10 year-old Elvis fan to a teenager who was addicted to his phone. In seeing this, Johann realised he too was at the behest of devices and started on a mission to heal his own attention. Here’s how his talk started…

“When he was nine years old, my godson Adam developed a brief but freakishly intense obsession with Elvis Presley. He took to singing Jailhouse Rock at the top of his voice with all the low crooning and pelvis-jiggling of the King himself. One day, as I tucked him into bed, he looked at me very earnestly and asked: “Johann, will you take me to Graceland one day?” Without really thinking, I agreed. I never gave it another thought, until everything had gone wrong.

Ten years later, Adam was lost. He had dropped out of school when he was 15, and he spent almost all his waking hours alternating blankly between screens – a blur of YouTube, WhatsApp and porn. He seemed to be whirring at the speed of Snapchat, and nothing still or serious could gain any traction in his mind. During the decade in which Adam had become a man, this fracturing seemed to be happening to many of us. Our ability to pay attention was cracking and breaking. I had just turned 40, and wherever my generation gathered, we would lament our lost capacity for concentration. I still read a lot of books, but with each year that passed, it felt more and more like running up a down escalator. Then one evening, as we lay on my sofa, each staring at our own ceaselessly shrieking screens, I looked at him and felt a low dread. “Adam,” I said softly, “let’s go to Graceland.” I reminded him of the promise I had made. I could see that the idea of breaking this numbing routine ignited something in him, but I told him there was one condition he had to stick to if we went. He had to switch his phone off during the day. He swore he would.”

You can read more of the story here, or in Johann’s book.

Johann’s journey to understand the broader impacts of our attention crisis took him around the world, interviewing experts and uncovering twelve key factors diminishing people’s ability to focus.

I began to wonder: what was it in these presentations that made me not only understand the content and remember it; but also feel engaged throughout the session? I was curious as to what made them ‘stick’.

Johann Hari at SXSW

A workshop with CultureCrunch provided the answer

Taking a break from the back-to-back presentations and whirlwind of the International Convention Centre, I decided to attend an interactive workshop away from the main site, at the UTS Building. 

Dara Simkin and Tané Hunter facilitated a two-hour session on how storytelling, collaboration and play can revolutionise people’s approach to adaptability at work.

CultureCrush workshop at SXSW

They shared with the attendees a framework to transform any idea into a narrative that sticks. They called this ‘The Story Spine’:

  1. Once upon a time, there was [a character or protagonist]
  2. And every day [the protagonist did something as a routine]
  3. But one day [something changed or an event occurred]
  4. Because of that [the protagonist had to respond or take action]
  5. And then [more events unfolded]
  6. Until finally [the protagonist resolves the situation or achieves their goal]
  7. And ever since then [things are a new normal].

It was instantly apparent to me. The talks I remembered were in fact stories. That’s how I’d not only felt engaged and remembered the content, but also had an emotional connection to them. I could almost imagine myself in both Grace’s and Johann’s scenarios.

Using this structure, Grace’s talk on Abi could be summarised like this:

  • Once upon a time, there was a young woman with a passion for robotics.
  • And every day, she felt inspired to bring inanimate objects to life.
  • But one day, a pandemic forced her into months of isolation.
  • Because of that, she understood the profound impact of loneliness.
  • And then, she began developing Abi, a robot with emotional intelligence.
  • Until finally, Abi was ready to bring companionship to aged care residents.
  • And ever since then, Abi has been on a mission to solve loneliness in aged care.

Grace’s talk wasn’t a technical breakdown of robotics; it was a story about empathy, purpose, and the human side of technology.

Turning to Johann Hari’s talk, you can see the same pattern. I’ve truncated it significantly and (if you’ve heard him speak you’ll know that) there are stories within his story. This is the overall arch:

  • Once upon a time, there was a young godson with a passion for Elvis Presley.
  • And every day, he would mimic his singing and dancing..
  • But one day, he started spending more and more time watching videos and engaging with screens.
  • Because of that, he became lost in a cycle of screen addiction and spent his days detached from the world.
  • And then, Johann took him on a journey to Graceland, giving him a chance to disconnect.
  • Until finally, Johann realised the gravity of the attention crisis affecting people everywhere.
  • And ever since then, Johann has committed to understanding and educating others about the root causes of this crisis.

This framework turns ideas into stories, and stories into engagement. It’s a technique that captivates audiences, whether the speaker is pitching an idea, sharing insights, or persuading others.

Applying storytelling in our work

The sessions I remembered weren't necessarily the ones packed with facts and detailed information – they were the ones which were the most compelling. The speakers who stood out weren’t just experts in their field; they were storytellers.

Storytelling isn’t just a method for captivating an audience; it’s a way to make ideas memorable and relatable. In my role, I’m often tasked with conveying complex strategies or contradictory diverse data sets in a way that makes sense for clients. By framing with stories, I can create a narrative that shows not just what we found but why it matters.

Next time you give a presentation, or pitch or you’re standing waiting for your coffee with a colleague and telling them about your project – try and lean into the story within it.

Here’s a variation of the story spine that might be useful:

  • Here’s where we started: The background or challenge.
  • Here’s what we found: Key insights or developments.
  • Here’s what was surprising: An unexpected or valuable twist.
  • This is what it means: The conclusion or action point.
  • And here’s what we’re going to do about it: The plan in response to the insights.

For strategists, storytelling is a powerful tool that can transform the way we engage, inspire, and drive impact.

Next time you have an idea to pitch or an insight to share, try structuring it as a story. It’s a simple shift, but it can make all the difference to how your message lands.

Emma Andrews
Emma Andrews

11 November 2024

9 minute read

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