Telling Your Past Can Tell Your Future

A lot of us are finding ourselves in the Innermost Cave these days, as philosopher Joseph Campbell would say. Deep in the cave. Millennium-Falcon-tractor-beam-to-Death-Star kind of times. The place of not knowing. I hear it in every meeting: “These are unprecedented times.” But while unprecedented can help us nod in agreement about the multi-pronged enormity…

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Telling Effective, Memorable Stories With The Journey Curve

Have you ever looked out at an audience, whether of 1,000 or just one key person, and feel like you’ve lost them – but don’t know why? Perhaps, you have had a powerful experience that you feel can help guide your team, or your future, but you don’t know exactly how to share it. Or…

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To Find Your Story, Go Back in Time With Beginner’s Eyes

“Should I dive?” Biggsy asked, with uncertainty. I met Biggsy a couple of decades ago, as we sat on suitcases on the top of an old school bus, winding down from the green mountains of Nepal into the dry yellow flats of India. Quickly we become friends, bonded by the wonder and confusion of a…

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In The Deep Dive, The Origin Story Comes To Life

We love to project our dreams on to successful entrepreneurs. Look how successful they are! Oh, the private jet! Oh the big stage. The IPO. Boy they’ve got it made. But while we focus on the heights in a transformative story, whether told in a TED Talk, a dinner table conversation, or the recent top…

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How to Make Your Brand And Business Stories Retellable

Park Howell is a great interviewer and I enjoyed being on this Business of Story Podcast, as we explored how to tell effective brand and leadership stories. This episode is a deep dive into brand and leadership storytelling, including lots of stories, insights and storytelling tech talk. Also, check out the rest of Park Howell’s…

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“You. Should. Write. A. Book.” Five of the Most Troubling Words in the English Language.

“You should write a book.” Five of the most troubling words in the English language. Every word is charged! You. Meaning, not the person speaking, but me, a guy who prefers to talk, and has never written more than a short story. Should. Meaning, the conditional, one of my least favorite words. Not “Thou Shalt.”…

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The Innovator’s Gift on the Other Side of the Fog

“We must walk consciously only part way toward our goal, and then leap in the dark to our success.”  – Henry David Thoreau Sometimes we have to leap. And sometimes we have to sit still. And more and more, I find, the power of life is knowing the difference. I had a powerful reminder recently…

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How Oprah Landed Her Memorable, Retellable Story – In Six Steps

Okay, you’ve likely seen the speech. And it will be retold many times and in many ways in the years to come. Here’s how Oprah landed the key six steps to retellable storytelling. It goes like this: 1. Reclaim the past. Oprah’s bold start, not with a “thank you” or an “it’s an honor to…

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Two Keys to Last Minute Speech Prep

Okay, so you’ve got a talk coming up in three days and you haven’t done a thing. You’re about to stand up in front of 300 people you’ve never met. Your job is to inspire them. No small task, and yet you keep procrastinating. After all, your world is already full…and you’ve spoken many times. Yet you…

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Make Public Speaking More Fun. Step #1: Paddle Through The Blank Page

This is the first in a series of three pieces on getting your speaking up to speed. Palm trees and hammock-lined sands had become terrifying in seconds. My wade into waist-deep water turned into a torrent that was now pulling me into the crushing waves. Just offshore from my new favorite place in Parque Tayrona,…

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