So You Think Your Job is Too Boring for Storytelling? Think Again.
Storytelling is one of the most valuable skills a technical employee can learn. Engineers, analysts, and other technical experts often have the best data in the room, but data alone rarely wins buy-in. Storytelling is what turns technical expertise into decisions, promotions, and sales.
People in technical roles often assume storytelling doesn't apply to them. But communication skills aren't just for people in communication fields. Storytelling workshops matter far beyond marketing teams, communications experts, and HR departments (though we've worked with and love all of those teams, too!).
Why Storytelling Matters in Technical Fields
At Better Said, we’ve partnered with companies in finance, education, real estate, healthcare, technology, and more. You might not think “storytelling” when you first think of a company like UnitedHealthcare or WasteManagement. But those are the exact companies we’ve led workshops with over and over.
Whether you studied communications or not, clarity, connection, and engagement matter in every area of business. So if you’re “not much of a talker” a storytelling workshop is exactly what you need to lead that next meeting, ask for that next promotion, and make that next big sale for your company.
The Snorkel vs. Scuba Framework
We use a framework here at Better Said for the more technical thinkers we workshop with: the snorkel vs. scuba.
Hyper-technical speakers tend to assume everyone in the room is wearing scuba gear, so they take their audience deep underwater. But most of the audience is only wearing a snorkel.
Your listeners can't follow you into the deep unless they've been properly equipped. A quick meeting, or diving straight in after one minute of context, isn't enough to get them there. Data dumps, technical details, and corporate jargon pull you down to depths your audience can't reach, and they lose you.
Ask yourself before every presentation: Is my audience wearing scuba gear or a snorkel? Then stay at the depth they can handle.
Numbers Tell, Stories Sell
Technical experts are often the smartest people in the room, and they have the data to prove it. But data alone doesn't move people. We often say: numbers tell, stories sell. Wrap every data point in a narrative that explains why it matters to the people listening. If it takes you three minutes to explain your chart, the chart isn’t working.
We also teach the difference between what should be said and what should be read. A 27-step process walked through out loud is something nobody in the room will remember. Say the few things that truly matter, and send the rest in an email, a short video, or an appendix people can come back to.
Technical and data-driven skills are great, but without the stories, you won’t land the sale (or the buy-in of your coworkers/boss/client).
Start with Your Audience, Not Your Expertise
When most of us prepare a presentation, we ask, "What am I supposed to say?" and "How do I sound smart?" Better Said's ATV framework replaces those with three better questions:
Audience: Who is in the room?
Time: How much time and attention do they actually have for this?
Value: What do they care about most?
A room of executives might have 10 minutes of attention for your topic, while the engineers in that same room want every detail. Knowing the difference changes what you say first.
When you answer "What do they value?", dig deeper than money. Security, team growth, and fewer headaches on their plate are what make people lean in.
Bring Storytelling to Your Technical Team
If your team is full of technical experts, we'd love to bring corporate communication training to you. We've partnered with brands like Workday, Optum, CrowdStrike, and Cushman & Wakefield, and many more whose teams do deeply technical work and need to be strong storytellers to connect and succeed.
Book a Better Said workshop for your team.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Technical experts often have the strongest data in the room, but data alone rarely persuades people. Storytelling helps technical employees explain why their work matters, which is what wins buy-in from leadership, colleagues, and clients.
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Start with your audience, not your expertise. Figure out how much they already know, how much time they have, and what they care about. Then stay at the level of detail they can follow, connect each data point to why it matters to them, and send deeper detail in writing afterward.
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It's a Better Said framework for technical presenters. Technical experts often assume their audience is equipped to go deep, like scuba divers, when most listeners only have a snorkel. The framework reminds presenters to stay at a depth their audience can follow.
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ATV stands for audience, time, and value. Instead of asking "What should I say?", presenters ask who their audience is, how much time and attention that audience actually has, and what they value most.
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Wrap each data point in a story that explains why it matters to the people listening. If a chart takes more than a few minutes to explain, simplify it. Numbers tell, but stories sell.
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Say the few points that truly matter. Detailed processes, full data sets, and step-by-step instructions are better sent as an email, a short video, or an appendix people can reference later.