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 love the idea of rabbis holding a workshop with Hollywood writers – picture the intersection of “Desperate Housewives” and Moses – to strengthen their storytelling in front of their congregation. The point is, business storytelling benefits from other vantage points. That’s why I welcome today’s perspective from Nancy Dodd whose credits range from screenplays …more
Dare I say storytelling has become trendy in the business world? Rake through the transcripts of quarterly earnings on Seeking Alpha and you’ll find CEOs espousing the company’s unique narrative. When a CFO starts talking about a decline in earnings per share due to a pesky protagonist, we’ll know things have gone too far. While storytelling …more
Most organizations waste the “About Us” section on their web sites. This is the property’s big moment to woo you. If there was ever a place on a web site to apply storytelling techniques, it’s here. Yet, the section typically regurgitates the company party line. I’m going to periodically take a look at an organization’s “About Us” section. Today’s “lucky” …more
Many of the articles on the passing of Steve Jobs highlighted his Stanford commencement speech and his gift for storytelling. I raked the media coverage to see if anyone actually focused on his communications expertise. A few did with the best one ironically coming from MIT’s media property, Technology Review. David Zax penned a post …more
Everyone refers to Steve Jobs as the consummate showman. Not true. He is the consummate storyteller with “showmanship” just one way to accentuate a given story. Paul Theroux, in the recent issue of Newsweek, noted: “… while the computer world gained a supergeek, the literary world might have lost a powerful storyteller.” I don’t know about “the …more
I’ve known Pete Lewis for some time, going back to his days laying the groundwork for how The New York Times covers technology. After Pete moved to Fortune to practice long-form journalism – or at least a longer form than The NYT – and later took up teaching at Stanford’s J school, I lost touch. …more
Can storytelling build equity in a company’s brand? Better yet, can storytelling differentiate a company? AHALife makes a case for both. I remember Twitter CEO Dick Costolo blogging about the purchase of a product from Moosejaw.com that came with a fresh note: “If you are actually reading this note you should be super happy. First, you …more
How can you not like a guy who puts in his official bio: As an entrepreneur, he has founded dozens of companies, most of which failed. Seth Godin brings many dimensions to the marketing discipline not the least being levity. A believer in the art of storytelling, he penned the book “All Marketers Are Liars: The Power of …more
