Most of us have been conditioned to believe that business communication must be clear, rational, and objective, with no place for emotion or subjective thinking. But great communicators know that the best way to inspire, motivate, and persuade others is to infuse a human element into discussions through the simple telling of stories.

Stories help people feel acknowledged, connected, and less alone. Your stories help them feel more alive. To realize the power of stories is both an incredible opportunity and an awesome responsibility. Filled with enlightening anecdotes and practical guidance, Whoever Tells the Best Story Wins helps you to understand and use that power. You will be able to craft your own personal experiences into stories that will build consensus, win others over to your point of view, and enable better group decision making.

The book gives you a process for finding, developing, and using your own stories effectively. You’ll learn how to craft specific, intentional messages that get your ideas across using universal story structures, including:

Who-I-Am Stories -- What qualities earn you the right to influence someone? People need to know who you are before they can trust you, so get personal. Reveal who you are, as a person, by telling a story about a time, a place, or event that reveals that you have qualities your audience seeks.

Teaching Stories -- Certain lessons are best learned from experience -- some of them over and over again during a lifetime. Telling a story that creates a shared experience will change behavior much better than offering advice.

Vision Stories -- The prospect of a worthy, exciting future can help reframe present difficulties as “worth it,” turning seemingly huge obstacles into small irritants on the path to a worthwhile goal.

Values-in-Action- Stories -- Values are subjective. To some integrity means doing what their boss tells them to do. To others, it means saying no, even if it costs them their job. If you want to encourage a value, tell a story that illustrates what that value means in action.

I-Know-What-You-Are-Thinking Stories -- Sometimes people have already made up their minds about the ideas you’re trying to get across. It is a valuable trust-building surprise for you to share their secret suspicions in a story that first validates and then dispels their objections without sounding defensive.

People float in a ocean of data and disconnected facts that can often overwhelm them with choices. In this ocean of choice, a meaningful story can feel like a life preserver that tethers it to something safe and important -- at the very least, to a trace of humanity that proves there is a “you” communicating with them, whether the “you” is yourself or an organization you represent. This important book helps you lay the groundwork for using story as a credible tool to connect with your audience, and create a meaning more powerful than mere facts could do.

Annette Simmons is President of Group Process Consulting, whose clients include NASA, the IRS, and Microsoft. She has been featured on CNBC’s Power Lunch, and NPR’s Market Watch, and has been quoted in Fortune, The Washington Post, and other publications. She is the author of several books, including The Story Factor. She lives in Greensboro, North Carolina.