There’s a lot of confusion about “storytelling.”

Just the other day I was telling someone that I do workshops around storytelling and they responded, “Ah, storytelling. That’s the big buzzword these days, isn’t it?”

I politely laughed and tried not to take it personally that they’d just insulted my life’s work, but in my head I was thinking, “Buzzword?! Storytelling isn’t a buzzword! Story is at the heart of every single communication. It’s at the heart of every single organization!”

I know that sounds dramatic, but I stand by it. Here’s why.