The worst presenter I ever saw did everything wrong, from not understanding his audience to lecturing instead of engaging us to turning the session into one long sales pitch. Worst of all, his talk was nothing but data — endless columns of it, packed onto dense, ugly slides. There was no narrative holding his points … Read more
Last year I outlined 10 fatal storytelling mistakes — common ways we undermine the power of our stories — and now I’m back with five more. They all center around one big theme: simplicity, simplicity, simplicity. Storytelling does not have to be that difficult. But we tend to make it hard on ourselves. Here are some common … Read more
What can an elephant teach us about the art of persuasion? Plenty. Emotion is the six-ton beast stomping all over our desire for logical, rational thought. And that’s why stories are such an effective tool for influencing and persuading others. What’s Emotion Got to Do With It? We are not creatures of reason. Deep down, we make … Read more
Want to learn how to use stories to win hearts, change minds and get the results you want from your business, your career and your life? Here are more than 50 of the most important storytelling tips from my new book, Unleash the Power of Storytelling. These are compiled from a long series of tweets over five weeks surrounding the … Read more
The audiobook edition of Unleash the Power of Storytelling is now on sale! Learn how to use stories to advance your career, build your business and improve your life — all while driving or working out or shopping. Look for it at your favorite audiobook retailer: Amazon Audible iTunes Narrated by the Author (That’s Me) If you’ve … Read more
Today’s the day! Your guide to using stories to advance your career, build your business and get more of what you want out of life is here! Unleash the Power of Storytelling is now available in ebook and paperback (and soon, on audiobook, narrated by me). I loved writing this book, and I hope you’ll … Read more
Through their constant tinkering, Facebook has foisted a lot of unpopular features on us over the years (Ticker, anyone?). But to me, the worst is the new Story function. Excuse me, “story.” Those should read as air quotes. The biggest, most sarcastic air quotes you’ve ever seen. Dr. Evil-style air quotes. Why has this feature earned … Read more
Have you ever been caught tongue-tied when someone says, “So tell me about yourself” in a job interview or asks, “What’s your story?” at a networking event? This Friday I’ll be conducting a free webinar that will help you tell your story in a way that makes a strong first impression and get the results … Read more
Few things test my patience like listening to a meandering story that wanders from tangent to tangent without ever getting to the point. Learning to focus your story on the essentials may be the hardest part of storytelling, which is why I compare storytelling to a tree. That means when you’re telling a story, you want … Read more
In my last post I talked about the importance of telling original stories. One of the best ways to be original is to tell personal stories derived from your own experience. Some of my clients are reluctant to do this. They’ll say that nobody wants to hear their stories. Which isn’t true. Especially if you’re … Read more