This portfolio work project will give you practice with professional writing expectations, as well as motivating and persuading others by telling a story.
Create a brief slide presentation, and speaker notes, that analyzes the tools and strategies that leaders can use to build trust and collaboration, and explains why you believe storytelling is one effective tool for you to use to lead your team.
Slide 1. Cover slide with title and your name, and a graphic for interest (be sure to credit graphic artist in the reference slide).
• Slide 2. Introduce the subject matter or business content, much as the introduction to a paper would do.
◦ Example: “NASA has a reputation for communication issues among teammates, but our team is going to change all of that. This presentation does this and that.”
• Slide 3. Building Trust and Collaboration. Discuss the importance of trust and collaboration in the workplace, then identify and discuss at least two tools or strategies (other than storytelling) leaders can use for building trust and fostering collaboration.
• Slide 4. Storytelling. Explain ways in which leaders can use storytelling to build trust and relationships.
• Slide 5. Transition into the story. This slide should transition into your story, setting the expectations of the audience of what is to come.
◦ Example: “I once worked at another company that had some major communications issues. It wasn’t life or death like here at NASA, but we did have some serious problems in communications that impacted our ability to be effective. Let me share with you a story to illustrate a vision of how we can work together . . .”
• Slide 6. Tell the Story. This slide should actually tell your story:
◦ Set the stage.
◦ Describe the conflict.
◦ Describe the resolution.
▪ Example: “About 10 years ago I was working as a shift leader at a manufacturing facility where safety was supposedly part of the culture, yet we had a frighteningly bad safety record . . .” Continue the story.
• Slide 7. Connect the story to a teaching point or subject matter. This slide should bring your
story back to the issue at hand.
◦
Example: “In this situation, we learned this and that. Here at NASA, we can do the same thing. We can prove that communications this and that.” Think of this like explaining the moral of the story.
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Slide 8. References. Include references here.
