Strategic Storytelling

When you’re new to your business or career field, you might be asking yourself, “Am I really qualified to do this?”

Your friend, mentor or coach assures you, “Of course! You know more than you realiz…

Yes - you should include vulnerability in your business story. But not YOUR vulnerability: it's about your clients. 

The experts don't tell you to bare all. They associate vulnerability with being br…

When you get an "aha moment" (almost what used to be called a "Eureka moment") you see the world a new way. Maybe you ask a new question. Maybe you see a way to reconcile conflicting viewpoints. Abov…

But what does a "catchy" slogan do for us?? For a big brand of cola or sportswear, a catchy tag line may stand…

You share "your story" -- especially a personal story--and you get backlash.

Often that story will be the *one* story your audience will hear about you. You're judged (fairly or not) by that one stor…

In traditional stories, the guide just appeared to save the hero's life, money, or dream. Cinderella's godmother showed up sponta…

Storytellling for business doesn't work like storytelling for movies and novels. You start with different ingredients and you assemble them strategically.

Persuasive stories don't follow the "beginni…

Small service businesses walk a fine line in branding. They don't want to blend in with everyone else (like "little boxes" of the famous song).

But sometimes it's tempting to go to the other extreme:…

As you build a portfolio of business stories, business owners often come up against a challenge: you've got a story but the audience can't relate to the context. How do you get your audience involved…

Anyone can make business plans - but turning business plans into business actions mean you need to believe you can do everything on your planning sheet. You need a clear picture of what you want your…

You attend a marketing workshop, get interviewed on a podcast, Or you're being interviewed for a podcast and the host says, "So let's start with this question: What's your story?"

How would you answ…

Storytellers sometimes experience external distractions. A classic example comes from the time a large black fly landed on a presenter's head during a political debate. 

You can't always control outs…

A lot of copywriting guides promise to give you a set of "power words" to jazz up your copy and get better results.

The truth is, you'll get more bang for the buck by starting with your power story.…

As a business, you choose how you will respond to what’s known as the “holiday season.” Will you incorporate themes into your marketing? Will you ignore it altogether? And what kinds of stories will …

Can you use made-up stories to market your real business?

The short answer is “yes.” The longer answer is, “Only under certain conditions.”

In this episode, we look at 2 kinds of made-up stories…

Entrepreneurs and small business owners often wonder about the whole storytelling thing. They figure stories just help entertain and captivate your audience. That's true, but stories do a lot more...…

Many business storytellers encourage us to learn from Disney movies and classic epic journey stories. In this light-hearted episode, I suggest that you might do better to take lessons from old-time c…