"Stories are unprofessional."
"I'm too high up in the company to tell stories."
"My team doesn't want to hear my stories."
"I don't have any good stories."
"Most stories are boring anyway."
"Why would I tell stories when there's work to do?"
"Business is about profit not stories."
"I don't know how to tell a story."
"I'm an introvert and don't like to tell stories."
"Why would people trust me more if I told more stories?"
"Telling stories is too vulnerable; they make me look weak."
"Leadership isn't about stories; it's about results."
"The board would fire me if I sat around and told stories."
"This isn't Moth Story Hour; this is business!"
"Oh, look at the little storyteller. . . isn't he cute?"
"Isn't everyone's story basically the same?"
"What's all this stuff about stories and visibility and representation?"
"I am here to work; not to listen to stories."
"Telling stories is too revealing."
"What if someone tells me a story and I start to cry."
"Are we really 'hardwired to listen to stories?'"
"Do stories really connect us?"
"If I listen to someone's story, does that mean I have to care more about them?"
"Do stories really create belonging?"
"Do stories really level the playing field?"
"Do you honestly think that telling stories can change the world?"