Q and A with a Story Guru: Suzanne Henry: Storytelling Is a Surprisingly Easy Sell

See a photo of Suzanne, her bio, Part 1 of this Q&A, Part 2, and Part 3.

Q&A with Suzanne Henry, Questions 7 and 8:

Q: What has surprised you most in your work with story?

A: It surprises me that it’s such an easy sell. Every marketing director to CEO to whom I’ve tried to convince to use more stories has jumped in with both feet immediately. I thought people would equate this “technique” with Mother Goose. But, I was surprised at how much and how easily it resonated with every level of an organization. I think it’s because storytelling humanizes communication. And, how can you argue with that?

Q: What has been your favorite or most meaningful storytelling project or initiative and why?

A: My most meaningful storytelling project has been probono, actually. The Virginia Piedmont Regional Science Fair (which in full disclosure is chaired by my husband), asks me to help them with their media relations each year. Two years ago, I used the story of how my husband came in second at the International Science Fair when he was a teen in the late 1960s (he built a computer), which got him noticed by IBM and GE. The latter hired him right out of college at age 19. (He was a bit of an overachiever, graduating early!) He’s been helping science fairs out ever since. That personal connection story really resonated with our local media. His experience and his passion for supporting science, engineering and technology education in our area — because a science fair made such a difference to him — gave a concrete example of why it’s important to support and inspire young people today.