Ronald Reagan – The Importance of Stories

“One day, as secretary of state in the Reagan administration, I brought a draft foreign policy speech to the Oval Office for Reagan to review. He read the speech and said, “That’s fine,” but then began marking it up. In the margin on one page, he wrote “story.” I asked what he meant. “That’s the most important point,” he said. Adding a relevant story will “engage your readers. That way, you’ll appeal not only to their minds but to their emotions.” Telling a story, he made me understand, helps make your case in a way that no abstraction can: A story builds an emotional bond, and emotional bonds build trust.” George Schultz

Just wanted to share this quote from George Schultz, former Secty of labor, Secty of State, and various other cabinet posts under Republican Presidents Nixon and Reagan.  He talks about the 10 most important things he’s learned about trust in his 100 years.

He is quoting Reagan who was called “the Great Communicator”.  Very relevant to  the “Tell Us Something” classes