Since Ben Franklin's Philadelphia volunteers first raised a pint in their local pub, firefighters have shared tales of perilous adventures and offbeat characters both to blow off steam and informally induct members into their fraternity. These tales not only can prove therapeutic, they can provide a non-threatening mechanism for passing along lessons in leadership that are critical to the success of a growing organization.

Stories can inspire us to strive for greatness or motivate us to acts of incredible dishonor. Stories can make us laugh or make us cry. They help to reminisce, teach and survive the human dramas of a profession that can unwittingly scar the psyches of its most-worthy participants.

The ability to tell a good story is one of the most powerful of all human skills. History is full of people who have used the power of words to change the course of a nation, and just about every fire department has at least one leader who has learned to harness the power of storytelling to ignite and drive changes in management policy and practice. Using a subtle charisma, they have developed an uncanny ability to narrate an experience or preach to possibilities in a manner that resonates with their audience.

A master storyteller

Many of our childhoods were dotted with the moralistic tales from the Brothers Grimm, Aesop, Mark Twain and C.S. Lewis. These authors communicated complex themes in a traditional format with a beginning, middle and end and with plots that allow the listener to immerse themselves in the imaginary world of the stories' characters.

Among other things, traditional stories are relevant for reinforcing an organization's preferred identity, encouraging people to work as a team and illustrating the characteristics of leadership. They most often include an antagonist and a protagonist besieged in crisis.

Conversely, some of the most effective narratives don't comply with the traditional principles of storytelling. Not all of the conventional pieces need be present to convey a desired message. They serve to communicate complex ideas and spark action; they share knowledge; they inspire people to imagine the possibilities that the future can hold.

Recently retired Phoenix Fire Chief Alan Brunacini has a third-degree black belt in storytelling. He's an expert at imprinting significant but entertaining documentaries into the brains of his audience to emphasize critical points in leadership, safety and priority decision-making.

It's not just that Brunacini's stories have meanings, but also that he has uniquely mastered the conveyance of the tale. His contorted facial expressions and mannerisms make it s eem that he has become one of his characters. It's not hard to imagine him waving to Mrs. Smith, a central figure in most of his teachings, while shuffling from his driveway every Saturday morning in a Hawaiian shirt, baggy pants and open-toed slippers to retrieve the morning paper.

That shirt has become his trademark. While it may be common to see fellow master Gordon Graham in a suit and tie, Brunacini's attire has become as recognizable to the firefighting enthusiast as Mr. Rogers's sneakers and sweater are to a whole generation of Baby Boomers.

Brunacini has the uncanny ability to cast a spell over the crowd. With little more than a notepad and a ballpoint pen, he can entertain a room full of seasoned fire officers for an entire day. In the end, his stories of generational differences, organizational terrorists and empowerment have filled the room and made a difference, all while keeping his audience in stitches.

It's not my intent to focus entirely on Brunacini's style as a public speaker; rather he is an example of the power of a story — and it's a power that anyone can grasp. We all know someone who is as dry as toast and who couldn't tell an interesting story if his or her pension depended on it. But with some focus and a few tips, storytelling can be a very effective tool available to anyone willing to spend some time on it. In fact, our differences can become our most potent advantages.

Building trust

Ask a firefighter to list a few words that best describe the relationship between a leader and his or her subordinates, and the word trust will eventually come up. If a relationship is solid, then it's usually founded in trust; if it stinks, the opposite is often true.

Our most-effective officers didn't just spring from the ground as though they were watered with some magical elixir. A colorful story, complete with a plot, hero and a humbling lesson, can build a bond of trust that can break through even the most fortified barriers of skepticism. A story has the power to put a human face on a decision. It creates an identity for otherwise faceless policy-makers by sharing the victories and the mistakes that have defined their careers and the nature of their decisions.

Stories become a mechanism for communicating more than a vague mission statement tattooed on the employees' paychecks and hung crooked on the lunchroom wall. They allow the values of an organization to be transmitted on a deeper, more meaningful level. Stories lend credibility to leaders charged with reaching a service goal that can seem impossible to achieve. Stories also can help make sense of rules that may otherwise seem unnecessary, inapplicable or just plain dumb.

The goal of a value-driven story is to create an environment where cross-organizational decisions are made with the confidence that they will coincide with the same principles embraced by the fire department and the community.

More than 3,000 messages bombard each of us every day. A good part of these require a leader to manage constant distractions that blur employees' vision and distort their focus. It's easy to point at a value statement and demand adherence, but the reality is that firefighters' behavior depends more on how they relate to a person than how they relate to a mission statement.

Storytelling is an incredible tool for meeting this challenge. By regularly telling stories that illustrate the organization's values, everyone will be clear about where the organization is going and how each can contribute to, and benefit by, achieving its goals. Just as we all fondly remember our most intimate family secrets, employees remember the stories that their leaders share; in turn, those stories become guidelines for carrying out their responsibilities.

Spark change

Firefighters tend to resist anything that forces them out of their comfort zone. Stories can help the membership understand the need for change while identifying the stakeholders who are responsible for its implementation.

Storytelling encourages listeners to visualize in a way that allows them to draw from their own ideas and experiences and, in turn, generate ideas that can become important components of the change.

When telling a “change” story, a leader should:

• Clearly identify the central theme of the desired change within the story.
• Share an incident that illustrates a context where the change idea was successfully implemented.
• Get the listeners' attention. Frame the story in such a way that listeners can relate personally with the character(s) in the story.
• Make it clear what would have happened if the change failed to take place.
• Strip the story of any unnecessary detail.
• Give the story a real-life happy ending.
• Make the connection between what happened in the story and how it may be applied within your organization.

As leaders within the fire service, we have to do more than learn to tell stories. We have to reinforce a culture that seeks opportunities to learn, rather than wait for them to be gift-wrapped in satire. Some of the most applicable lessons are found in books and articles that have very little to do with how to pull hose or read a prefire plan. The best teachings are not always cultured tales filled with revealing plots. If you were to look hard enough, you could probably find a valuable lesson within a graffiti message on a bathroom stall or passing railcar. The key is to have an open mind.

The storyteller also should:

• Relive the story as it is told. Use the kind of energy that will inspire a listener to want to hear more.
• Perfect a few stories rather than try to gather a large variety of stories.
• Immerse yourself in the world of the listener. Use their language, habits, fears and dreams.
• Practice. The storytelling performance should be enhanced in a manner that sounds like spontaneous conversation.

One thing to be cautious of is one of the more zealous forms of storytelling: gossip. While not all scuttlebutt is slanderous, its potential for harm can't be minimized. Stories are a powerful mechanism for spreading good; stories are also a powerful mechanism for fostering hate and discontent. Careers and reputations have been harmed by the careless spread of nastiness.

Lessons to be discovered

Stories can form personal connections on a level that is uncharacteristic of a society that caters to a fast-food communication approach. They also can build bridges between diverse people and organizations that may otherwise never cross paths. Men and women from all walks of life share similar experiences and therefore share similar passions, values and challenges. The only thing missing is the will and the mechanism to build an effective relationship that allows the lessons of each to be passed on.

Books are a fantastic source to draw from. Tuesdays With Morrie is a heart-warming story of a man who uses his last days on earth to put life's obstacles in perspective. For the bureaucrat, Tales From the Trenches has just over 300 pages of stories that tell of mistakes that people have made in local government. Even the fictional characters Hem, Haw, Sniff and Scurry in Who Moved My Cheese? can generate some useful conversation.

There are thousands of lessons waiting to be heard, and stories are a wonderful mechanism to make it happen. Storytelling has grown immensely in its scope and power, from its simple beginning of sharing tall tales over a campfire to epic movies shown on high-definition television screens half the size of your living room wall. Even the tremendous impact that technology has had on storytelling can't match the power of sitting around the kitchen table shooting the breeze after a fire call. In this way, greenhorn officers and peach-fuzz firefighters can learn tangible leadership lessons in real time and in a passionate manner that only can be relayed by those who have lived through the drama.

In the end, Ben Franklin may have started the first fire brigade and Alan Brunacini's name may ring throughout the service for generations to come, but it is you, with little more than a few well-placed words, who can make the most difference in the lives of those around you.

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A 22-year fire service veteran, Scott Ferguson is the deputy chief of operations for the Peoria (Ariz.) Fire Department. He has completed the Executive Fire Officer Program at the National Fire Academy, the Rocky Mountain Leadership Program and the City of Vancouver Leadership Institute, and he recently earned a master's degree in management and psychology.