Donna Schwarz of Schwarz Consultants to be Featured on Close Up Radio

NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES, July 30, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- A 2020 article published by NPR titled How Stories Connect And Persuade Us: Unleashing The Brain Power Of Narrative illustrates how important stories are for effective communication. Donna Schwarz, founder of Schwarz Consultants elucidates, “Stories provide context and a way for people to understand what a business does, the value it provides. Stories evoke our imagination, new ways of thinking, and are highly memorable. Most importantly, when people hear stories, they begin to form mental images in their own heads that apply directly to their needs, and they begin to imagine a company’s services or product in our environment. In fact, storytelling is probably the number one thing that clients are asking me to help them with because stories are key to influencing.”

A good story makes us think and feel, and speaks to us in ways that numbers, data and presentation slides simply can’t. “We’d like to think that we make decisions objectively, based on facts, and to some extent we do, but when we think about the decision-making process, a lot of times it comes down to a binary choice. At that point, decisions are influenced by trust and relatability, and emotional components to play a big role. This is where stories really help business leaders communicate effectively and influence —by building trust,” shares Donna. “And trust is not built by winning all the time. Rather, trust is built by demonstrating how you are able to deal with mistakes. Leaders who are able to build trust demonstrate how they handle situations when they go south. This is true with stories from our personal lives as well. When leaders tell personal stories about a challenging situation they faced in their career or personal life, how they overcame obstacles or their journey to leadership, the audience makes an emotional connection with the leader because it humanizes them and makes them more relatable. These personal stories create a strong bond between the audience and storyteller that inspires trust, motivation, and aligns the audience around common values and goals.”

With over eight years of experience as a licensed psychotherapist, Donna understands the psychology behind effective business leaders. “After moving from California to New York in 1996, I worked with a large outplacement company, which gave me the opportunity to work with thousands of professionals in career transition and understand challenges in their worlds. I began working with clients on interview skills and resume writing. That’s when I realized my experience as a psychotherapist was instrumental to helping professionals successfully express themselves. Being self-aware of how they come across when they are speaking and writing allows professionals to understand the impact of their words, and say what they intend to communicate. Leaders who are self-aware calibrate stories to their audiences in a way that resonates with them. Being self-aware also means knowing how to pay attention to emotional needs and speak to what they really care about.”

“Being a leader is about people. And to be effective with people, self-awareness is key. In my coaching practice, I use the EQI 2.0, which is one of the leading emotional intelligence assessments we have. The EQI 2.0 breaks emotional intelligence down into usable components so we can measure EQ areas that are highly developed –strengths, and areas that are not as developed. By using one’s natural strength, I help clients learn new approaches to challenging situations. We can all learn how to be more self-aware. For example, let’s say you’re in a meeting and somebody says something that makes you think, ‘I can’t believe that this is what this person is really saying!’ Instead of responding with this reaction, what you want to do to ‘pause’ this initial reaction and learn more about what the speaker means before responding. One way to learn more is by using active listening to get clarification. One technique is to say, ‘Here’s what I thought I heard you say, do I have this right?’ You can keep asking clarifying questions until you begin to understand more about the person’s underlying reasons for their opinion. By understanding more about what the other person is thinking and feeling, you can factor in this “information” into your response, which instead of challenging the other person, you can help them broaden their perspective and think differently.”

Executive presence creates a more cohesive environment all around, and emotional intelligence is key ingredient of executive presence. Donna explains, “Executive presence is a secret sauce of charisma, talent, and emotional intelligence. Some people believe these are qualities a person is born with, but they can be developed. At its core, executive presence comes from self-confidence. Strong leaders understand their strengths as well as their weaknesses. This understanding brings with it a level of humility which makes leaders authentic and relatable. With self-awareness leaders recognize their strengths, as well as areas where they are not as strong, and build teams to achieve objectives. I believe all of us can develop self-confidence and a stronger presence. For leaders, self-awareness is essential for executive presence and effective leadership.”

The ability to develop a fluid personality also helps leaders be inspirational. “Great leaders are able to read the room, connect with people, build trust, and motivate. This is why stories and executive presence go hand-in-hand—stories gives leaders a way to share their values and what is important to them with personal stories. These stories communicate what teams can expect from them and what they expect from their teams. Being able to express themselves in a way that is congruent with who they are, is authenticity at its core. We all have well-honed internal meter that can detect when someone is not authentic. All of us have a well-honed ‘authenticity meter’—even children can detect inauthenticity,” shares Donna. “Being authentic has an element of vulnerability, and vulnerability is what really connects us as humans.”

Close Up Radio will feature Donna Schwarz in an interview with Jim Masters on Thursday, August 1st at 12pm EST and with Doug Llewelyn on Thursday, August 8th at 12pm EST

Listen to the show on BlogTalkRadio

If you have any questions for our guest, please call (347) 996-3389

For more information about Donna Schwarz, please visit https://www.schwarzconsultants.com

Lou Ceparano
Close Up Television & Radio
+1 631-850-3314
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