I worked with a business developer once who was very fact-orientated and technical. Whilst they had all the specific knowledge to evidence their service, they were as dull as a post and their lead retention figures suffered as a consequence.

If you want to connect with people in a real way, in my opinion, you need to be anecdotal.

 

The definition for anecdotal considers an “anecdote” not always true or factually correct, which is where my understanding of this term differs from its description. For me, an anecdote is an example, narrative or elucidated point to help people grasp a concept. When working in a complex field such as apprenticeships, I find this helps draw people in and help them fully understand some of the more technical language or processes involved. It can be used in more general use or to build rapport and of course I do this too. Before we continue, I need to clarify that my anecdotes are always truthful and generally always helpful.

 

My main reason for using anecdotes, particularly in business meetings, often whilst networking and frequently presenting is because people want to connect. We are not robots (not yet anyway), and people are often looking for a means to understand, connect and find “like-me-moments.” Like-me-moments – the familiarity when you realise other people are like you and maybe think the same way. This happens a lot in apprenticeships. People frequently ask similar technical questions, or sometimes they don’t know due to embarrassment. With a little anecdote, you can encourage them to realise it is OK to ask and alleviates any concern. If you start connecting early on through examples or narrative, it creates a safe space where you can be accommodating.

 

Other reasons I embrace the anecdote is that they:

  • Evidence your experience – there is a reason you are asked for examples at job interviews, and while when you hold a business meeting, you aren’t formally being interviewed, you might as well be. People are judging you, considering what you say and how this fits with their understanding. If your examples demonstrate the calibre of discussions you can have with large-scale businesses or the top-level strategic planning you can assist with, guess what it evidences your ability and builds trust.
  • Showcase your customer service methodology – using anecdotes may demonstrate the vast ways you work with others, the multifaceted approach you take and your responsiveness. These might all be major tick boxes for your client.
  • Share good practice – businesses love businesses. Companies can be quite flummoxed when it comes to strategy around how to spend apprenticeship levy (as an example). As long as you are self-aware and not sharing confidential information with competitor companies, you can share information and titbits to guide clients. I have often used this tool and even connected clients that might be helpful to one another.
  • Show you are listening – yes, no and technical responses are great but sometimes when you elaborate on response to a client, they realise the depth of practical knowledge you have. They also see that you fully understand their questions and are not just there to blind them with science. Quite often giving an anecdote as a part of the discussion can lead to much richer, detailed and fully realised conversation.
  • Combine technical and personal – you can still have facts, figures and stats about your service; in fact, these sometimes are a part of my anecdotes. There is no reason you can’t be data-orientated, but it is about ensuring your client is clear before progressing them. This is particularly relevant in the world of apprenticeships, and I have sat in many meetings watching clients slowly drift off because the “technical expert” is performing some rhetoric.
  • Help you manage and maintain – clients can get quite abrupt if they feel they can’t get the information they want or are being made too complex. They would never cite this as the reason but to confuse people early-on is a fool-proof way to damage any longer-term business. Being grounded, real and relatable are great ways to maintain good relationships.

 

Using anecdotes doesn’t mean making the content of the discussion ridiculously simple; in fact, the opposite is true. It is a nice combination of evidence, example, facts and figures. It creates a positive environment where people feel they can communicate freely, and this good feeling can set the tone for your ongoing professional relationship.

So, don’t be like my business development colleague above and embrace the anecdote for more meaningful meetings! People remember stories, not stats.

Thanks for reading! Here is one of my favourite anecdotes I sometimes share:

 

I worked for an organisation that offered Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs) to businesses. I met with an engineering firm recently who specialise in making pipes and shipping them worldwide. One of their Australian customers contacted them and explained that one of their pipes had exploded and the pure steel fixing had melted, which is an extreme and very unexpected reaction. The company couldn’t understand how this happened because steel has an incredibly high melting temperature, and it would have taken something highly unusual to cause this. After some investigation, the cause was determined to be that organic matter (a lizard) had entered the pipe. The combination of this and the product in the pipe had caused significant combustion. Now a KTP could help this firm. They could use on-programme engineering students and an academic staff member to research different melting points of pipe fittings to prevent future occurrences of this nature. The employer could use this research to improve their products, and they could gain a competitive edge over other pipe manufacturers. That essentially is a KTP.

The lizard didn’t survive.