A few months ago I found myself writing what felt like a rather unusual workshop proposal. It wasn’t about publishing. It wasn’t about marketing books. It wasn’t even about writing. It was about communication, resilience and creativity.
The premise was simple, but slightly unconventional. Could the lessons I use every day as a psychological thriller author actually help business owners and managers make better decisions, understand people more effectively and communicate more clearly?
It made perfect sense to me. After all, I spend my days asking questions like:
Why did this character react that way?
What belief is driving their behaviour?
What aren’t they saying out loud?
Those are exactly the same questions I find myself asking when I’m running Author Events, organising festivals or navigating difficult conversations.
The question was whether anybody else would see the connection.
Last week I finally had the chance to find out.
I delivered the workshop to members of the Bournemouth Chamber of Trade & Commerce.
Would business owners look at a psychological thriller writer and think, “What could she possibly teach me about communication?”
Or would they recognise that understanding people is understanding people, whether you’re writing a novel or leading a team?
What surprised me was how naturally they applied the ideas to their own businesses.
The conversations afterwards weren’t about books. They were about customers. Teams. Leadership. Decision-making. Conflict.
The exercises sparked discussions that had very little to do with fiction and everything to do with understanding ourselves and the people around us.
Years ago, my manager sent me on an assertiveness course because I was so quiet I rarely spoke up. The course taught me techniques. It taught me knowledge. But it never quite changed how I felt.
Writing did.
Not overnight. Not magically. But gradually. As I spent years exploring psychology through fictional characters, I also started understanding myself.
Somewhere along the way, writing stopped being just a creative hobby. It became a way of thinking. A way of processing. A way of communicating.
And eventually, without really noticing it happening, those lessons started appearing in my business life too.
One of the things I love most about writing psychological thrillers is that you’re constantly trying to understand human behaviour.
Every character has a reason for what they do.
Every reaction comes from somewhere.
Every conflict has layers beneath the surface.
As writers, we spend hours exploring those layers. We ask why. Then we ask why again. And then, usually, we ask why one more time.
Somewhere along the way, I realised I had started doing exactly the same thing in real life. Not because I was trying to analyse everyone I met. But because writing had quietly changed the way I think.
It had made me more curious. Less interested in judging behaviour. More interested in understanding it. And I think that’s where creativity has something valuable to offer business.
Not because every manager should write a novel. But because curiosity is an underrated business skill.
When we become curious about what’s driving a customer’s frustration, a colleague’s reaction or even our own thinking, we often find better questions.
And better questions usually lead to better conversations.
I’m not going to give away the workshop exercises here—that would rather defeat the point of booking me! But I left the session feeling genuinely excited. Not because I’d delivered another author talk. But because an idea that had been quietly growing in my head for months had finally been tested in the real world. And, thankfully, it made sense to people other than me.
Sometimes that’s all you need to know before taking the next step. I’m already looking forward to seeing where the next conversation takes me.
Creativity isn’t just about coming up with ideas.
It’s about asking better questions.
Have you ever discovered that a skill from one part of your life unexpectedly transformed another?
I’d love to hear your story in the comments.
And if you’re interested in bringing this workshop to your workplace, organisation or networking group, I’d love to hear from you.
Interested in bringing this workshop to your organisation?
Learn more about my talks and workshops:
www.AlexStoneAuthor.com
Follow Author Events:
Upcoming events:
Author Workshop - Beating the Blank Page: Overcoming Procrastination
Saturday, July 25 • 10:30 AM - 12:30 PM
No posts
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.