Harry L. Davis Center for Leadership Leadership Storytelling
Practice the essentials of leadership storytelling.
Rhetoric and the Senses in Leadership Narratives
The Story You Tell
Saturday, October 11, 2026, at Gleacher Center
Craft your personal leadership narrative—and practice delivering it—in this culminating event of our storytelling series. We welcome back Marcia Alesan Dawkins, PhD, Rod C. Taylor, PhD, and Samantha Coleman, PhD, to lead us in an interactive, multi-sensory learning experience that bridges classical rhetoric with modern storytelling practices.
Explore the rhetorical triangle (ethos, pathos, logos) and the five senses (sight, sound, touch, taste, smell), and develop your ability to tell stories that resonate intellectually, emotionally, and experientially. You will learn and practice narrative techniques, as well as deepen your understanding of how storytelling can be a powerful tool for leadership.
In a special final session, we invite you to deliver your story for a live audience of your fellow storytellers. We will close with a celebratory social hour, offering time to reflect and connect on the day.
Registration
Advance registration is required and includes the full-day program, lunch, and a closing social hour.
$50 alumni & friends rate
$25 student rate
Refund policy
We understand that plans can change. Refund requests for this event will be honored if submitted at least 14 days prior to the event date.
Schedule
Saturday, October 11, 2025
Gleacher Center, Room 621
| 8:30 a.m. | Doors open |
| 9:00 a.m. | Fireside chat with presenters |
| 10:00 a.m. | Rhetorical Triangle Breakout #1 |
| 11:00 a.m. | Rhetorical Triangle Breakout #2 |
| 12:00 p.m. | Lunch break |
| 1:00 p.m. | Rhetorical Triangle Breakout #3 |
| 2:00 p.m. | Live storytelling |
| 3:00 p.m. | Social hour |
Workshop Outcomes
Participants will be able to:
- apply the rhetorical triangle to construct and deliver personal leadership narratives that balance credibility, emotion, and logic;
- incorporate multi-sensory details into storytelling to enhance resonance, memorability, and emotional connection with diverse audiences;
- and translate storytelling frameworks into leadership tools for influence, team alignment, and vision-casting in professional and community contexts.
Facilitators
Samantha Coleman, PhD, is a dynamic leader, educator, and storycatcher with a 20+ year portfolio career. She is currently the Senior Associate Director of Leadership Development for the Harry L. Davis Center for Leadership at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. There, she designs and facilitates innovative courses, fosters lifelong learning opportunities, and builds robust alumni communities. Additionally, she is a lecturer at the University of Chicago Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice.
Coleman’s expertise also extends to academic leadership. During her time at Adler University, she played a pivotal role in creating and restructuring courses in Nonprofit Management, Industrial and Organizational Psychology, and Organizational Leadership. She also developed the Global Campus’s first department to provide operational support and student experience services, in addition to developing robust student advising models. Her dedication to student success earned her recognition for maintaining an 85%+ retention rate in online learning programs.
As the founder of Do You…But Better!, LLC, Coleman provides leadership development consulting and executive coaching that emphasizes authenticity, personal mastery, and resilience in the face of life’s challenges. Her approach combines rigorous assessment and strategic feedback to guide leaders, teams, and organizations to reach their full potential. As such, she is a sought-after keynote speaker and master facilitator, known for her ability to create engaging and meaningful moments that inspire individuals to cultivate their inner H.E.R.O. (hope, efficacy, resilience, optimism).
A true changemaker, Coleman received numerous accolades during her time as a social entrepreneur (Assist Her, Inc), including recognition as an Unsung Hero by Ebony Magazine and Pine-Sol for her commitment to female youth empowerment. Coleman’s current legacy work is as co-founder of Black to the Beginning, LLC, where she uses her listening skills and storytelling expertise to amplify the Black Adoption Experience. Her work in this space is deeply personal and serves as a platform for healing and advocacy.
Coleman holds a PhD in Organizational Leadership from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, an MA in Community Counseling from Concordia University, and a BA in Psychology from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Her educational journey is complemented by certifications in a range of leadership assessments, including the Hogan Personality Inventory, Workplace Big 5, Benchmarks 360, DiSC, etc. She leverages these tools to offer personalized coaching experiences for professionals at all levels across industries such as: Fortune500 corporations, nonprofit organizations, healthcare, financial services, technology, amongst others.
When she’s not empowering others, Coleman enjoys a good meal and a glass of wine, exploring new cultures, biking on the lake, collecting perfume bottles, and spending quality time with her two children.
I am a researcher, storyteller, and communicator. In my next life I will be a deejay.
The headline: I'm a researcher, storyteller, and communicator with two decades of experience studying identity, communication, and leadership. In my next life I will be a deejay.
The main line: I’m a Sr. Research Scientist at The Center for Creative Leadership, where I make communication research accessible and tactical, lead innovative projects on the future of leadership, and teach clients to unlock their leadership presence by connecting stories to data-driven solutions. I'm the author of four books, which have been recognized by prestigious institutions such as the Social Science Research Council, Grawemeyer Awards, NAACP, and the National Communication Association. Media appearances include BBC World, AOL Originals, NPR, and CBS News, among others.
Before joining CCL, I was communication professor at USC Annenberg, Minerva University, and East China Normal University. Keynotes include UNESCO, Mayo Clinic Grand Rounds, The Wonderful Company, and University of Chicago Business School. I hold a PhD in Communication from the University of Southern California. Home base, and home to my prized vinyl collection, is Los Angeles, California, USA.
The bottom line: I believe communication is leadership, therefore… storytelling is power. I strive to bring joy to others every day with my word and song choices, and my motto right now is “sincerity over conformity.
Rod C. Taylor, Ph.D., is an award-winning educator, scholar, author, and the founder and CEO of Performance Learning Concepts, a leadership training and development company that works with a variety of top companies, like Deloitte, Nissan North America, LivCor, and ZS Solutions. He’s been active in teaching, leadership training, and speaking for over thirty years and has taught at Stanford, Indiana University, and the Honors College at Tennessee State University. His advanced degrees in education, literature, writing, and philosophy have influenced his approach to working with leaders in the business world, and his interdisciplinary approach to the arts and business keeps him busy providing workshops and keynotes on Communication, Design Thinking, Innovation and Creativity, Growth Mindset, and Change Leadership. Rod has also served as a Design Faculty Fellow at the Design School in Paris, France (d. School Paris-Est) and as an Artist-in-Residence and strategic leadership consultant to the College of Entertainment and Arts at Lipscomb University in Nashville.
A longtime musician, Rod lives in Nashville, TN, where he’s had the pleasure of playing bass for a variety of artists, including Victor Wooten, Chuck Rainey, the Warren Brothers, Krista Detor, Cindy Morgan, and Jenee Fleenor.
Series Overview
Leadership Storytelling, styled as The Story You Tell, is our leadership storytelling series designed to equip leaders with the essentials of storytelling that will inspire and influence others. Each event will explore the art and science of storytelling in connection to how leaders can use it to be more effective communicators that drive organizational success.
We hope this series may help you do all or some of the following:
- Understand the principles, and importance, of leadership storytelling.
- Develop the ability to craft compelling narratives that resonate with diverse audiences.
- Learn techniques to engage and inspire listeners through storytelling.
- Apply storytelling strategies to foster trust, build connections, and motivate teams.
- Use storytelling as a tool for leading change and innovation.
- Deliver impactful messages with clarity and authenticity.
- Develop a personal leadership narrative that reflects values, vision, and purpose.
- Use a variety of approaches, including written and verbal, to tell leadership stories.
- Enhance storytelling abilities by incorporating elements of active listening, such as mirroring, paraphrasing, and asking clarifying questions.
- Evaluate the impact of your storytelling in a leadership context.