I’m always interested in the science behind storytelling. What makes it such an effective part of our social being and communications? This video by Paul Zak is a good watch. It shares his study on the topic, which revealed a change in a person’s blood chemistry before and after hearing a story. The storytelling caused …more
Do you remember the controversy when the book “Emotional Intelligence” by Daniel Goleman came out?” The idea that variables other than pure intellectual horsepower could have the same or even more impact on one’s success triggered quite a dialogue. So when Goleman recently penned a post on the relationship of storytelling to leadership, I paid …more
Research underpins many terrific novels. Novelist Tom Clancy attributes his success to “equal parts persistence and dogged research.” For “The Hunt for Red October,” he raked the likes of “The World’s Missile Systems, Guide to the Soviet Navy and Combat Fleets of the World.” It’s not on my nightstand either. But a similar mentality can …more
Customer case studies that examine the deployment of technology tend to be dull. Most follow a formula: Here’s the problem It was a horrible Fortunately, ACME Technology came to the rescue Snapshot of the product(s) from ACME It was easy to install Here’s how we did it Quantify the benefits We’re thrilled Not exactly scintillating …more
The difference between classic storytelling and applying storytelling techniques to business communications often comes down to this— Storytelling in business does not require a full narrative. Just one wrinkle can be enough to elevate a story. Take a look at the story below on a new coffee maker in Bloomberg BusinessWeek: Do you have any idea …more
I’m convinced the craft of interviewing is one of the most undervalued skills in corporate storytelling. Consider PR’s version of what came first, the chicken or the egg. Would you rather enjoy an excellent relationship with a journalist, but be stuck with lame content? Or would you rather have man-bites-dog content, but no relationship with the journalist? I’ll take the …more
Fortune recently covered Jack Dorsey’s latest venture, a service that promises to cause heartburn for the banking industry by essentially transforming the smartphone into a credit card reader. From a communications perspective, the following visual caught my attention. Click here for a larger version of this graphic. The illustration reflects a classic storytelling technique we’ve …more
Business needs more storytelling evangelists. They provide a counter balance to the “Corporate Drivel-ites.” Even before picking up the book “Tell to Win,” I’m thinking that Peter Guber serving as the face for the storytelling movement is a good thing. He’s got the street cred, having penned “The Four Truths of Storytelling” for Harvard Business …more
I didn’t get a Christmas card from Roger Goodell, the NFL commish. It turns out his Monday open letter to NFL fans on the labor strife missed me as well. Fortunately, the letter was posted on NFL.com. Like John Madden explaining a fullback plunge over guard, I’m going to break down the storytelling in Roger’s …more
