Do you trust you customer with the decision to buy from you? In other words: If they knew everything you know, would they buy?
If not, then why not?
The best way to find out whether your product is breathtakingly good, is to tell a brutally honest story about it (even if it’s just to yourself). Then, observe what happens.
The best products are those which people fall in love with even more after they’ve been told the complete truth.
“We believe that everybody has a story and is creative in their own way.” – Astrid Klein
Long-time reader Thomas Maile nominated Mark Dytham and Astrid Klein as leaders who light the path.
The two founders of the PechaKucha movement have changed the rules for presenting forever. In a world that was used to death by PowerPoint with presentations that seemed to run forever while leading nowhere, they established a format that has made quite an impact.
PechaKucha Nights are held everywhere across the globe giving everyone a stage and the chance to tell their story and let us in into their world.
Thomas made his nomination with these words:
“German news magazine DER SPIEGEL once called PechaKucha speakers ‘pop stars of PowerPoint’. While that’s a cute description it’s also one that doesn’t quite do justice to what PechaKucha is really about.
First (and obviously), PechaKucha is a strict presentation format: exactly 20 slides each advancing automatically to the next after exactly 20 seconds, adding to a total of 400 seconds, i.e. 6 minutes and 40 minutes. Every presentation is the same length and has the same format.
But underneath, PechaKucha is way more. By spreading across 1200 cities around the world, PechaKucha gives a stage to the unheard voices. It allows people like you and me to talk about what matters to them. That to me is the power of “EVERYBODY HAS A STORY”. PechaKucha gives the opportunity to tell it. It’s also why the Spiegel headline is not quite true. It’s not for pop stars. It’s for everyone.
Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham have done an amazing job of fostering that movement. To me, they serve as a role model for leaders who light the path.”
I couldn’t agree more to Thomas’ words. Recently, I’ve had the pleasure to chat with Astrid and Mark and they deserve every word that Thomas has said about them.
What struck me most was their deep belief that everybody is equal. In their own words: “PechaKucha is about democratizing the stage”.
It gives everyone an opportunity to speak up. It surfaces those voices that don’t consider themselves pop stars but have stories to share that are just as interesting – often even more so – than the ones that the pop stars, influencers, and gurus share.
On their freshly remade website there are a lot of gems to discover. Head over to discover some.
And then, when you come back, read the “Leaders Light the Path” manifesto and nominate someone yourself. It’s really easy.
If storytelling is that ancient tool that fuels all human learning, then shouldn’t it be easier after all these years?
Shouldn’t we just have learnt by now how to tell a story? Just like we know how to add 2 and 2 together?
And yet, looking around (or googling the term “storytelling”) I sometimes get the impression that telling stories is designed to be complicated. That somehow only a privileged breed of “storytellers” are supposed to really master the art. And that you need to learn a complex framework (such as the hero’s journey) and a number of other techniques before you can even start to tell your story.
I don’t think that’s true. Quite the opposite: I firmly believe that if you care for what you do and if you have an offer that actually solves someone’s problem, then you already have all you need to tell a compelling story.
The most surprising aspect is that in my experience, the best stories are not even the stories you tell but the stories you spark in your audience’s minds.
Later this year, I’m launching a new online course to unleash the storyteller in you. My promise is that this will be the simplest and yet, most effective approach to storytelling you’ve seen, yet.
We’re doing without any complex frameworks and start from what you deeply care about. We’re looking at the fundamental reasons why stories work and then make them work for you. So that you can just start to tell your story from where you’re at.
If that resonates, I’d love to make you a special pre-launch offer.
Reserve your seat to …
Bad newspapers lead with fake tension.
Great newspapers lead with real tension.
What’s the difference?
Fake tension is created by holding information back.
Real tension is created by the information itself.
Here’s an example:
A. Scientists made a sensational discovery. Click to learn why space as we know it is about to change.
B. Scientists were able to create a wormhole in the lab. Read on to learn the story behind the discovery.
The first version doesn’t tell me what’s so sensational. I’ll have to click to find out. Most of the time, I’ll be disappointed because, well, wormholes aren’t the usual reveal. More often than not, what the writer called sensational, turns out to actually be lame to me.
The second version does tell me what’s sensational. The crucial difference, though, is that it trusts the reader to judge this. It doesn’t pretend to know better than me what I find sensational. It trusts me with that decision.
The problem with fake tension is that it easily becomes addictive for the writer. Because it works. At least for a while. People do click to find out. Which makes it appear as though the readers appreciate that kind of writing.
Real tension, however, is a lot harder to create. Because it requires empathy. What is it that my readers are actually interested in?
But when you consistently figure that out, not only do you get rid of fake tension. But because you deliver on your promise of real tension, you create trusted long-term relationships.
So, what do your customers actually find sensational? What creates real tension for them?
Here’s a tightly packed conversation I had with Bryan McAnulty on his podcast “The Creator’s Adventure”.
We discussed
We also discovered that we share a passion for playing the guitar and found an important business lesson from the way you become better at playing an instrument.
If you’re a creator – or generally have an important story to share – this episode will very likely be worth a listen. You’ll find it on all major podcast platforms (e.g. Spotify or Apple Podcasts) and on YouTube:
There’s a huge difference between telling stories DURING a speech and telling a story WITH your speech.
Most storytelling advice aims at the former. It helps you tell anecdotes and share experiences effectively.
But too often it stops there. It’s used to decorate the communication or hammer home a point.
But the most compelling pieces of communication go way beyond that. They don’t merely tell stories. They turn the whole piece into a compelling story that takes the audience on a profound journey.
Interestingly, professional speakers often excel at the former but fail at the latter. They are super good at sharing experiences and telling anecdotes to hammer home a point. But way too often their speech as a whole lacks a compelling structure and a clear story arc.
Another simple truth that great authors understand:
When the story is over, it’s over.
Great authors don’t repeat the end a second, third or even a fourth time.
They don’t hammer the take home message in a plethora of variations.
They say it once, but clearly. And then they stop.
The story has come to an end.
Business communication is different. For example, most business talks end with the speaker repeating their take home message over and over. These speakers don’t trust their stories to be clear enough. They don’t trust their endings to be convincing enough. So they repeat it. And again. And again. With the effect of weakening the impact each time they do it.
If your message isn’t clear and convincing, instead of repeating it make it clear and convincing.
I’m lucky enough to count some of the most successful people among my friends and family.
One of them is running a hidden champion.
Another one is helping startups become unicorns.
Another one is spending most of her days in the garden, nurturing and enjoying the beauty of nature.
Yet another one is a teenager turning time with her friends into moments to keep.
Success is a strange concept as it can take on so many different shapes. I’ve met vastly successful people of all ages and at every income level. Each of them had their very own, rather distinct definition of success.
What they all have in common is the fact that they decided to grab the pen and become the author of their own story of success. They have taken over their inner script and they seek out the activities and environments that contribute to this story.
A master in that domain is my friend Shane Cradock from Ireland. He has taken control of his own inner script when he was in his twenties to overcome a heavy depression. Today, 20 years later, he’s helping ambitious leaders take control of their inner scripts.
Why would leaders need that? Because, well, it turns out that what looks successful from the outside doesn’t sometimes feel that way from the inside. I’m sure you’ve met quite a number of people who from the outside appear to have it all and yet from the inside feel like they are lacking enormously.
I’m pleased to announce that Shane and I are launching a new program dedicated to finding clarity about the story of your success, flipping the script towards a more meaningful story of success, and taking action towards it.
It’s called Flip the Script and on June, 22nd we’re discussing some of the concepts in a free webinar. Just click the link to learn more and register.
But before you do so, you might be interested in what Shane has to say about success. I’ve asked him three crucial questions:
Success is a funny word because it can mean very different things to people. I think success very much is determined by the person themselves or should be.
Without realising it, a certain definition of success is conditioned into us in terms of what we believe we need to achieve or have in order to be seen as successful.
For me, success is living an authentic life in line with my values and highest aspirations as a person. Success is being true to myself in all aspects of my life. Within that, for me, a key measure of success is my sense of aliveness, my sense of playfulness and lightheartedness.
I’ve worked with many people who are seen by society as incredibly successful but they are seeking my help because they feel stuck in a way. These are all people who climbed the ladder of success, got to the top and then didn’t like the view.
What’s hindering people I think is a lack of belief and possibility.
It’s too easy to fall victim to your limiting beliefs and maybe you have given up on creating ‘better’ for yourself in various areas of your work and life.
For many, there’s also the issue of how to explore what success really means and where to start. Key is understanding your inner world and how vital clarity in that space is.
Yes, there are things you can do to create better balance in your life. You could start today by looking at your phone less. Deliberately spend less time in email, have a set time to start your work day and a clear time to end it. Be more consistent with exercise – in particular weight resistance training as it has an incredible impact on your wellbeing.
These are just some very practical things that make a difference but there are more significant shifts available to everyone if they’re willing to go deeper – deeper into exploring how to get the best from yourself.
That’s why I’m excited about doing this new program, Flip The Script, with you, Michael – to be able to work with people who are open and keen to explore a different approach.
Part of my work over 20 years has been helping people to identify the limiting stories they’re telling themselves and then help them to create new ones that are more empowering and full of possibility.
I’m very much looking forward to helping you find clarity about your own story of success. Reserve your seat for the Flip the Script program. Or join us in the free webinar.
Here’s a simple truth that great authors understand:
We start reading. Then we keep reading.
In other words: The story unfolds. Step by step.
Specifically, a story is not told by dumping everything the author knows at once. We don’t learn the backstory of the hero on page 1. We learn it when we’re ready to learn it … when it’s exactly the information that keeps us reading.
Looking at storytelling through that lens means that it might be simpler than most storytelling frameworks suggest. Basically, we face two challenges:
Specifically, we don’t need to tell our audience everything at once. We only need to make them keep reading. (Or listening. Or watching.)
The good news is that this starts with the simple skill of listening. The better you listen, the better you’ll be able to understand what resonates so strongly that it will get – and keep – your audience’s attention.
Who made the call that everything needs to be somehow fitted into a storytelling framework? That every single piece of information needs to be decorated with an emotional anecdote from our childhood?
These are just two of the many consequences of the Cult of Storytelling that we witness as soon as we fire up any social media. And it’s caused by a profound misunderstanding about the power of storytelling:
It’s not the story that we tell that gets us the impact, it’s the story that’s triggered in our audience’s minds that makes the impact.
And that’s a huge difference. Most importantly, for some people, these “internal” stories are triggered by a single number that we mention or a familiar situation that we reference with a simple statement (”Remember the iPhone keynote?”). These things can trigger a whole suite of stories in our audience’s minds. On the other hand, full blown “storytelling” stories might not trigger anything at all for some people as they just don’t resonate with our childhood stories, so it has no effect whatsoever on them.
Rather than fit everything into a storytelling framework, the more useful question to ask is: How can we trigger the right stories in our audience’s minds?
