In this episode of CampusIDNews Chats, Adam Brooks, Director of the Public Speaking Program at the University of Alabama, shares practical guidance for campus card leaders seeking to better communicate their value. His core message centers on the power of storytelling as a leadership tool.

Data informs but story motivates

Brooks challenges the assumption that more data automatically leads to better understanding. “People aren’t motivated by evidence. They’re motivated by story,” he says. While metrics and operational details matter, they rarely inspire action on their own. Instead, leaders must frame information in a way that connects to what their audience already believes and cares about.

A lot of campus card leaders want to communicate what their offices do. Instead, think about what the things that you're doing enable the organization to accomplish?

For Brooks, storytelling means structuring communication as a journey – moving “from something, through something, to something.” That structure helps listeners see how an office’s work solves real problems and supports broader institutional goals. Rather than expecting others to interpret raw information correctly, campus leaders must place their work within a narrative that highlights its purpose and impact.

Influence comes from clarity and audience awareness

Brooks notes that many campus offices have influence but not formal power. In those cases, communication becomes leadership. He urges professionals to think beyond the immediate conversation and consider the “audience of your audience.” When someone leaves a meeting, what message will they share with others?

Think about the audience of your audience – meaning whenever that person is done meeting with you, what is the thing you want them to walk away telling others?

By distilling complex ideas into simple, repeatable takeaways, leaders make their work easier to translate across an organization. Brooks advises asking a strategic question before every interaction: “What is the one thing I want them walking away, talking about at the end of this conversation?” In some ways this is marketing 101, but that clarity increases influence and strengthens relationships, even in rooms where decision-making authority resides elsewhere.

Confidence grows through preparation and mindset

Addressing communication anxiety, Brooks emphasizes that nervousness is universal. Accepting it – rather than trying to eliminate it allows professionals to focus on connection and listening. He reminds leaders that most people enter conversations hoping for value, not failure.

To prepare for presentations or meetings, Brooks recommends returning to fundamentals. “There are typically five questions you can ask yourself that will get you through every conversation,” he explains. “Who, what, where, when, and why.” By keeping messages simple and centered on outcomes – the things their office enables the institution to achieve – campus card leaders can communicate with greater confidence and impact.

To check out the full interview, click the image at the top of this page.

TRANSCRIPT:

A lot of times, we think that data is going to work for us, and that the more information that we have – the more information that we're giving – is telling people everything they need to know.

But people aren't motivated by evidence. They're motivated by story. The most powerful story they have is the one that they believe.

For me, the art of storytelling is about making sure that you're engaging people and having information that is meaningful to them. It's telling them a ‘from something, through something, to something.’

It's helping them understand how this information that you're giving them is in service to someone or something that solves a problem that they're trying to achieve. And I think for a lot of people out there, they're focused on ‘well we have all this information, don't people just understand what we do?’ You've got to put that in the context of the story.

For a lot of campus offices, they have influence, but they might not have power. For a lot of folks, the way that you communicate is going to be how you lead. So it's not just about making sure you get in front of the right audience. It's ‘are you thinking about the audience of your audience.’ Meaning whenever that person is done meeting with you, what is the thing you want them to walk away telling someone else?

If you think about that, going into every conversation, distilling that complex idea down into something simple. It allows your idea to be easily translated and transmitted across an organization, which for a lot of folks is exactly how you increase your influence.

As you tell somebody something, and you create an opportunity when you build a relationship, where somebody's talking about you in your room that you're not in. You're only gonna do that if you're thinking strategically going, ‘What is the one thing I want them walking away, talking about the end of this conversation?’ If you go in with that mindset, you're going to be a lot more successful at achieving your goal.

A lot of folks think that their anxiety, their nervousness, is specific to them. “I just get so nervous talking to other people. This is not what I'm good at.” But the truth is that everybody feels that way. Every single person, in every situation, they're a little nervous. The best thing you can do is try to stop making it go away. Accept that it is real and then think that at the end of the day, each person you interact with wants you to succeed.

When you interact with somebody, you're not thinking, ‘I hope they're terrible.’ You're thinking, ‘I hope I can get something from this conversation.’ Be open to that, pay attention and listen.

The other thing is stop telling yourself you can't do something. Start telling yourself that you're capable of doing something. Get yourself in situations where at first you're going to be a little uncomfortable, but through repetition and getting that idea of being clear and concise about how you communicate, you're going to have the confidence that's going to enable you to feel like you are actually achieving the goal you're trying to make.

People ask me all the time, like, okay, ‘I've got a presentation coming up what do I need to know.’

I usually break it down in about five things. There are typically five questions you can ask yourself, that will get you through every conversation. And this is going to sound groundbreaking. But it's who, what, where, when, and why. If you know the answer to that, you're probably going to be more effective. Now, there are better techniques that you can apply to make that more compelling, but at the end of the day, keep it simple. Don't make it too complicated. Don't make it bigger in your head than it has to be.

I think for a lot of campus offices, you are often thinking about what you're doing, and you want to communicate what you do. Instead, think about what is the thing that you're doing, enable the organization to accomplish?

Start talking about it in that framework. Yes, you're providing credentials. Yes, you're providing cards or services that gets you into X, Y, or Z. But what does that enable? Start thinking about the end goal that your office accomplishes and talk to that. That is something that is motivating whether you're communicating up, down, or to anybody else in your organization.