Hello there Reader,

What is the one Product Management skill I’m most grateful for learning early in my career?

Storytelling

In February, I gave a talk to the London product team at smartsheet on the importance of Storytelling. I consider storytelling to be the MVP of Skills for Product Managers. Every great PM I know is a proficient storyteller.

I don’t mean the “once upon a time” kind of story - I mean the ability to weave data, user needs, and business goals into a compelling narrative.

What is storytelling?

Storytelling is a memorable way to share information.

That’s it. That’s the definition.

Stories are easier to recount than simple facts or figures. And PMs tell stories all the time.

Why is it important?

First, I strongly believe that storytelling is the MVP of Skills. You can spend your time learning all kinds of frameworks or technologies but when you fail at storytelling, you will fail to succeed.

Bad stories lead to bad outcomes

Telltale signs of a bad story? You end up repeating yourself unnecessarily. People get the wrong impression unintentionally. Emails you send don’t get read, or worse.

Good stories lead to better outcomes

How can you tell your storytelling was effective? Your meetings, like a product review, a job interview, or a roadmap discussion are successful. Your big launch gets recognised and celebrated by leaders. People remember you and what you said.

What else does good storytelling achieve?

Good stories influence others. They substantiate decisions. A good story can also drive accountability.

Storytelling can be easy

These three principles make storytelling easy:

1. Deliver the right context. Figures on their own can mislead. The amount of information you share matters as much as how it’s shared (email, documents, meetings).