Persuasive Business Storytelling
Learn the fastest way to engage and persuade any audience using Business Storytelling. Practice these skills in VR.
Enroll NowBuilt in partnership with The Colin James Method
The Colin James Method is a proven communication skills training methodology that transforms your ability to influence, teach and engage the hearts and minds of your audience in any situation – from the boardroom to the stage and in a team meeting.
Learn the fastest way to engage and persuade
Let’s face it, most of us already feel overloaded with new content in today’s fast-paced and ever-changing world. If you want to be heard, cutting through the noise is tough. So how can we grab people’s attention and engage them with our message?
Gone are the days when facts and figures are the currency for influence. If you want people to lean in with curiosity when you deliver your message, you need to connect on a human level.
Business Storytelling is the answer. It enables a faster understanding of ideas, captures attention and compels more action. Stories conjurer up images in our minds, evoke feelings and emotion and when used cleverly are the No.1 way to ensure your audience are present in the moment, listening to you and absorbing your message.
It is a crucial communication skill that will increase your impact immediately.
Learn how with the Online Persuasive Business Storytelling Course. Increase your communication effectiveness with the flexibility and power of online learning and virtual reality scenarios to help embed the training.
- Learn how to be memorable, confident and relevant so you stand out
- Streamline content through stories and save time in presentations and calls
- Inspire and engage colleagues, unstick resistance to an idea and encourage action
- Overcome difficulties with getting your message heard and decisions made
Online learning, done differently
We combine online classes with VR for a unique learning approach. At certain points throughout this online business storytelling course, you'll be prompted to practice what you've learnt in VR.
Learn with tutorial classes
You’ll complete a series of videos, quizzes, slideshows and case studies through our online platform - available to access at any time.
Practice in realistic VR
Practice what you learn with VR scenarios specific to this course. Business Storytelling is just like any other skill - you need to practice to improve.
Improve with VirtualSpeech's loop
Learn online and then practice in VR. This loop occurs multiple times throughout the course and helps you improve more effectively.
Why take this course?
Achieve stakeholder buy-in
Overcome difficulties with getting your message heard and decisions made.
Create concise messages
Streamline content through stories to get attention and save time in both presentations and calls.
Implement change
Inspire and engage colleagues, remove resistance to an idea and encourage action.
Be memorable
Be confident and relevant in your stories to avoid awkwardness and achieve stand out success.
Featured in
Business Storytelling: Course curriculum
- Overview of the VR app, course and resources. We explain where to download the app and how VR can help you improve your storytelling by letting you practice in a realistic environment.
- Course guide and resources
- Welcome
- VR and the VirtualSpeech app
- Gain a deeper understanding of why storytelling is such a good tool in business and the outcomes you can achieve by using it. We walk you through the types of stories you can use and how to identify the right type of story for different scenarios.
- Why use stories
- Effective communication: Telling stories in the workplace
- Presenting a story type
- Why storytelling in a sales presentation is essential
- Explore where stories come from and how to build a story library to share your key ideas and messages. Find out about the latest trends in business storytelling and why they are so influential. Put it all into practise by linking objects in a virtual room to your message.
- Where do the best stories come from?
- Linking objects and stories
- Communication skills 101: Storytelling for influence
- Holding your audience’s attention from start to finish is critical to the success of your persuasion. Find out how to construct an engaging story using our magic formula and try building an analogy between two seemingly different things. A useful tool for master storytellers.
- How do you construct a story?
- Magic formula stories
- Creating the links
- Analogy
- Analogies: Impromptu storytelling
- In this module we share with you the fundamental techniques for good storytelling and how you can seamlessly weave stories into your business presentations for greater impact. Learn how to deliver a captivating story that will compel people to feel, think and act differently.
- Fundamental techniques of good storytelling?
- 5 fundamental techniques of good storytelling
- How to tell a captivating story
- How you can weave stories into your presentations
- It’s time to start writing your story! Put what you have learned from the previous modules and resources into practice and use the worksheet to construct a persuasive business story.
- It's time to write your story
- Let’s take it up a notch. In this module we widen the scope by exploring the key elements of storytelling mastery. Delve deeper into the craft and learn how you can build a bank of stories that will enhance your influence and engagement in business. Then put all of your knowledge into practice and receive valuable feedback on your performance.
- How to become a master storyteller
- Use story to become a superstar communicator
- Final: Telling a story
- On the home stretch we provide you with some final resources to continue your learning journey after completing the course and ask you provide feedback on your experience learning how to use Persuasive Business Storytelling.
- More resources for you
- Before you go
Your instructor
Colin James
A deep introvert with a passion for teaching, Colin James was determined to infuse his training with the insight and value that would make a lasting difference to every participant.
To understand what constitutes excellent communication he studied the best educators and communicators he could find. He studied, teachers, keynote speakers, actors, dancers, comedians and politicians.
He observed the way that they held the attention of their audience and how, regardless of the content, they had the ability to deliver their message in such a way as to profoundly influence the way people think, feel and behave.
Over the past 30 years Colin has facilitated executive education sessions in Australia, New Zealand, SE Asia, USA, England and South Africa. He has deep experience working with any size group whether it is an audience of six or 6,000 people.
VR Training: Scenarios for this course
Practice storytelling with the leading VR training app on the market, downloaded by over 250,000 users. At key points during the online part of the course, you'll be prompted to practice what you've learnt in one of the following VR training scenarios.
Presenting a story type
Practice delivering one of the 5 story types covered. You’ll be presenting your story at a meeting in attendance by two managers. Record your verbal delivery and listen back to it – identify any areas of delivery you need to improve.
Linking objects and stories
You’ll be immersed in three different rooms and in each room, you’ll need to link objects in that room to the given phrase. For example, you may need to explain how a computer links to being a great communicator.
Analogies: Impromptu storytelling
This impromptu storytelling room helps you build analogies. You’ll be in a boardroom with presentation slides. Each slide contains two images and you have 2 minutes to talk about the link between the two images before the next slide is shown.
Putting it together: Telling a story
This scenario lets you put the storytelling techniques you’ve learnt into practice. Prepare a 5 minute story to tell the audience and receive feedback on your performance, including an eye contact rating and voice analysis.
VR features to improve your storytelling
Learn storytelling more effectively with our VR features.
Record storytelling
Save your delivery to the learning portal, where you can receive additional feedback and identify areas you need to improve.
Voice analysis
Receive instant feedback on your communication skills with our voice analysis and eye contact technology.
Realistic scenarios
Practice a range of storytelling techniques in our virtual rooms, from linking stories to finding analogies.
Need a VR headset?
A headset is required to use the VR training. If you don't already have one, select the headset option when you enroll and we'll send you one.
Training a team? Purchase 1-2 Oculus Go headsets and share them amongst your team. Contact us to learn more.
Step 1: Course Review
Business Storytelling Course
$200
Full online curriculum, access to all Business Storytelling scenarios in VR, unique VR features, voice and eye contact analysis and more.
Step 2: Need a VR Headset?
No Headset
Choose this option if you already have a headset or will purchase one locally. Recommended headsets.
$0
VR Headset Included
We provide a Merge VR headset, which has an adjustable focal distance and comfortable outer frame.
$45
Total: $200 USD
Enroll NowBuying for a team? Click the 'Enroll Now' button and select the number of courses and headsets you require.
"Never have I come across such an original approach and genuinely engaging facilitator as Colin. The day has lead me to rethink my own approach to training and development, leadership and my career overall."
- Mike Wallace, MCW Aviation Consulting Pty Ltd
"A wonderfully insightful course into the power and relevance of utilising storytelling in the professional landscape! I have thoroughly enjoyed learning from Colin – a true 'Master' in communication."
- Jacqueline Bohuslav-Andrews, Mindfulness Consultant, Yoga Harmony
"Colin is a master at his craft, yet he is able to distill the methodology into simple techniques that I can apply to my everyday communication."
- Todd Pironis, Senior Marketing Manager Joint Replacement, Stryker
"The best training course I have attended. Colin James is absolutely brilliant, he is very talented and more importantly what the teaches makes sense."
- Anthony Ferraro, Risk Executive Bank Counterparty Group and Alt Ass, Commonwealth Bank of Australia