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 Conference NewsStories have a power that facts don’t.
That was the lesson at Monday’s "Becoming Your Association’s Storyteller in Chief," a riveting Learning Lab by American Forests President & CEO Scott Steen, CAE, FASAE. Steen opened by telling a tale about his childhood, and he interspersed his own stories and experiences throughout his session in order to drive home the power of storytelling.
As a former association executive and now head of a national conservation organization, Steen often speaks to crowds, but how he approaches audiences has evolved throughout the years. Today, instead of looking to inform his audience solely with facts and figures, his goal is to inspire. He said by connecting on an emotional level, his audience is more engaged.
The lesson for association leaders is that by making your audience care, it moves them to action – whether that’s renewing a membership, volunteering or donating to your foundation or PAC.
Here are five essential principles to telling a great story that Steen shared with yesterday’s audience.
1. Parachute in. Steen said you have seconds to capture an audience, so don’t start with small talk about the weather or by thanking sponsors. Instead, thank your sponsors by delivering a great speech that engages your audience.
2. Your first and last words matter the most – make them count. Your first words in your story invite people in, and your last words drive home your point.
3. Remember the Goldilocks Principle. Details are vitally important to your story. But too few and you don’t capture your audience’s attention, and too many and you risk overwhelming or boring them. Find just the right amount of detail to drive your narrative forward.
4. Use poetic language. Storytelling gives you permission to use language in a way that you wouldn’t in a traditional speech or everyday conversation. Choose words that will have an impact.
5. Silence – don't fear it. Silence has the power to make your audience stop, think and feel something. It can be a scary but extremely effective tool in connecting with your audience.
Steen said storytelling is a skill that everyone can learn. All it takes is guts and the courage to open up about personal experiences and connect on a deeper level.
  
So much education, so little time. Again today we offer quick summaries of education sessions you may have missed from the day before. Click on the "Learn More..." link to catch up on these sessions:
• "Grow Your Membership Without Raising Dues" • "Rethink Your Revenue Models" • "The Next Big Thing" 
Daily ScheduleTo be members-only or not to be members-only? That is the association member communications question. Most 2016 Annual Association Communications Benchmarking Study respondents reported that at least half of their communications are for members only. Both options have strong pro and con arguments, and there couldn’t be a better time to discuss the subject than with peers this week @ASAEAnnual. Learn more about members-only information sharing by downloading our report at www.naylor.com/benchmarking. Keynotes, Sessions & Seminars
 Kevin Bacon, right, and his brother, Michael, are the Bacon Brothers.
This year's The Classic gave ticket holders a glimpse at Utah's iconic Sundance Film Festival. Scenes from some of the independent film festival's most memorable movies surrounded the ballroom with food and cocktails inspired by Pulp Fiction, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Napoleon Dynamite and more. But it was Kevin Bacon, the actor whose films have been at Sundance multiple times, who brought the crowd to their feet. The Bacon Brothers band (featuring Kevin and his brother Michael) rocked the stage with their funky, bluesy rock. And, of course, the crowd sang along with every word when Kevin broke into the chorus of "Footloose." All proceeds from the evening benefit the ASAE Foundation, which advances association and nonprofit leadership. ASSOCIATION ADVISER: Having two astronauts as opening keynote speakers was an intriguing choice for this type of gathering. What do you think attendees got out of their talk most?
GRAHAM: The main takeaways for me: Just because you are not good at something initially, doesn’t mean you can’t get good at it and improve. The second thing is that you should simply focus on what you can control.
ASSOCIATION ADVISER: We’ve heard a tremendous emphasis on innovation and the need to create breakthrough products, service and business models. Can you ever have too much innovation and run the risk of not having the bandwidth to sustain it?
GRAHAM: I look at innovation through two lenses. The first lens is the discipline of examining something, evaluating it and making adjustments as needed. Some of those adjustments may not be sexy. It may not be rocket science, but it’s improvement, and that’s one form of innovation. The other form of innovation, that’s more difficult – that’s the Blue Sky, Blue Ocean type. How do you develop a discipline around creating new ideas? We use a process at ASAE called Design Thinking that came out of Darden Business School at University of Virginia.
ASSOCIATION ADVISER: We’ve been talking a lot about the "new normal" this week. What can associations do to better serve the "what’s in it for me?" membership mindset?
GRAHAM: At the end of the day, you need to maintain your relevance to members. There are a number of ways to do that. We are moving into an engagement model. It means people engage on a continuum of activity. No matter how large or small your organization is, you need to have ways for customers, constituents and potential members, not just active members, to engage with you on the level they want to engage with you that they find most valuable. It’s based on what the individual wants. They may not know everything you have. They may not know everything you have on your menu. The trick is to make it easy to peruse your menu, but don’t penalize them if they only order the entrée or the appetizer.
A full interview with Graham will appear later this month on the Association Adviser website. Follow Association Adviser on Twitter @AssocAdviser for the latest association thought leadership and best practices.
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