As AI transforms how work gets done, how information gets created and shared, the ability to connect with people becomes an increasingly powerful leadership advantage. 

Today, leaders are expected to guide organizations through change, inspire teams amid uncertainty, communicate complex ideas clearly, and build trust across increasingly distributed and technology-enabled workplaces. Data may inform decisions, but stories help people understand why those decisions matter. While AI can generate content, it cannot replace the authentic human experiences, values, and perspectives that create genuine connection.

In this highly interactive course, you will explore storytelling as a critical leadership capability. You will learn how stories can help you communicate your vision, motivate action, navigate change, build culture, influence stakeholders, and make complex ideas clear and memorable. Drawing on techniques from journalism, podcasting, narrative nonfiction, and learnings from leadership communication, the course provides practical frameworks and strategies for creating stories that resonate with audiences and drive meaningful outcomes.

Throughout the course, you will explore the foundational elements of effective storytelling: substance, structure, and style. Guided exercises, peer feedback, coaching, and repeated practice will help you shape stories from your own experiences, including professional challenges and successes. By the end of the course, you will have developed one or more stories you can use immediately, along with a practical playbook of frameworks, techniques, and strategies for continuing to build your storytelling portfolio.

At the end of this course, participants should be able to:

• Recognize storytelling as a strategic leadership capability for building trust, alignment, and action.
• Craft authentic stories from personal and professional experiences using practical frameworks for substance, structure, and style.
• Use storytelling to communicate vision, purpose, change, and complex ideas in ways that resonate with diverse audiences.
• Begin building a portfolio of workplace-ready stories and a repeatable process for developing them over time.

This course is designed as an immersive storytelling workshop where participants learn by doing. Central to the experience are five integrated learning elements:

• Storytelling frameworks: Learn practical frameworks for understanding and developing stories through the lenses of substance, structure, and style.
• Storytelling laboratory: Engage in hands-on exercises that encourage experimentation, iteration, and practice. Participants actively develop and refine stories throughout the course.
• Personal story development: Identify meaningful experiences, values, and insights that can be transformed into authentic leadership stories.
• Strategic storytelling applications: Apply storytelling techniques to real leadership challenges, including communicating change, inspiring teams, securing buy-in, influencing stakeholders, and making complex ideas accessible.
• Coaching and feedback: Receive coaching from faculty and peers in a supportive environment designed to strengthen confidence, clarity, and impact.
• The course culminates in a Storytelling Showcase, where participants will have the opportunity to present the stories they developed and refined during the workshop. Participants who volunteer will have a chance to practice in front of a global executive audience and receive feedback.