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Apple Podcasts - Spotify - List of All Players New to the show? On How Stories Happen, business communicators take us inside the crafting of their ideas into powerful stories they use to grow their audience and their cause. It's a show about what it really takes to become a
Apple Podcasts - Spotify - List of All Players New to the show? On How Stories Happen, business communicators take us inside the crafting of their ideas into powerful stories they use to grow their audience and their cause. It's a show about what it really takes to become a
A few weeks ago, I was talking with two friends at an event. I'm very lucky these two friends possess three traits in particular: Trait #1: They were bored and/or confused enough to befriend me over the years. (This trait is the most important by far.) Trait #2: They are unbelievably hardworki
Apple Podcasts - Spotify - List of All Players New to the show? On How Stories Happen, business communicators take us inside the crafting of their ideas into powerful stories they use to grow their audience and their cause. It's a show about what it really takes to become a
Last week, my friend Joe Pulizzi was kind enough to cite my premise development methods and frameworks in his wonderful newsletter. Here's the full article on LinkedIn. Joe forwarded me the email version and asked, "Am I doing this right?" He wanted my input on the premises for his thr
Apple Podcasts - Spotify - List of All Players New to the show? On How Stories Happen, business communicators take us inside the crafting of their ideas into powerful stories they use to grow their audience and their cause. It's a show about what it really takes to become a
Imagine three different timelines where you introduce yourself to the very same prospect for the first time, three separate times: In timeline 1, they first learn about you by visiting your website . (Also in that timeline, can I be taller? Like 6-foot-2? Thanks. I needed that.) In timeline 2
I swear it was just a normal pen, but in that moment, I prayed it was magic, with a sorcery capable of calming my boss. I'd marched into his office to say something kind of insane if your goal is to keep your job. Naturally, I needed a place to direct all my nerves. Click-click-click-click! My
⏪ Last time, in part 1, I wrote about how to connect with your audience without shouting into the storm by turning your expertise into an influential idea. Read more about premise development and the XY premise pitch. ⏩ Today, in part 2, how to message your premise in a way that gets buy-in fr
Apple Podcasts - Spotify - List of All Players New to the show? On How Stories Happen, business communicators take us inside the crafting of their ideas into powerful stories they use to grow their audience and their cause. It's a show about what it really takes to become a
I'm obsessed with a single question lately: What if you could whisper? Marketing has gotten shouty. Creators seem to love sensationalizing their expertise and advice with gimmicks and clickbait. People keep creating mediocrity at massive scale thanks to AI. What does it take for someone w
Apple Podcasts - Spotify - List of All Players New to the show? On How Stories Happen, business communicators take us inside the crafting of their ideas into powerful stories they use to grow their audience and their cause. It's a show about what it really takes to become a
Apple Podcasts - Spotify - List of All Players New to the show? On How Stories Happen, business communicators take us inside the crafting of their ideas into powerful stories they use to grow their audience and their cause. It's a show about what it really takes to become a
Recently, as I’ve worked with my clients on their messaging and speaking, the subject of communication “power” has come up quite a bit. What limits us so often in the business world is an insistence on communicating in more literal ways. If you’re an expert in accounting, you only talk about accou
Apple Podcasts - Spotify - List of All Players New to the show? On How Stories Happen, business communicators take us inside the crafting of their ideas into powerful stories they use to grow their audience and their cause. It's a show about what it really takes to become a
In the summer of 2023, I returned from an amazing weekend with some friends I’ve known since I was a child. We all have little kids of our own now, and this was a chance to bring our families together and finally, after many years apart, see each other again. At the time, my daughter was the oldes
We communicate to convey meaning. Wait. No. I said that wrong. We communicate to create meaning. As a communicator, I can't say I "convey" meaning, because quite literally, I convey words. My words then act as little carpenters who arrive at your door. They step out of their trucks,
A couple years ago, I created a system to develop and strengthen stories to resonate. I called it Six-Way Stories, because I realized as a speaker and author, developing a signature story actually meant telling the same story six different ways over time. By making that process more visible and repe
Apple Podcasts - Spotify - List of All Players New to the show? On How Stories Happen, business communicators take us inside the crafting of their ideas into powerful stories they use to grow their audience and their cause. It's a show about what it really takes to become a
The strongest thinkers have gone underground. Okay, I'm being dramatic. What I mean by that is, the distribution techniques rewarded today mostly reward people with basic ideas, 101-level tips, and the level of expertise you might expect for people who share that kind of material. I just watched a
“It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.” Ever hear that phrase? I love it so much. It’s full of hope. It lets us know we should remain resilient despite any initial moments of friction or failure, because despite a poor start, you can still finish strong. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off,
There are many strange, wonderful things that make me proud about my body of creative work: As a kid, I starred in a cooking show pilot. I even posed for promotional photos next to salt and pepper shakers the size of a small child. I won a national award for sports journalism in college. That
Apple Podcasts - Spotify - List of All Players New to the show? On How Stories Happen, business communicators take us inside the crafting of their ideas into powerful stories they use to grow their audience and their cause. It's a show about what it really takes to become a
We begin with yet-more wisdom from Uncle Tony: "Thinking that your story is so interesting that other people will want to listen to it or read it or pay to hear it — what kind of person thinks that? A monster of self-regard. It's not normal thinking." To be clear, he's not criticizing pe
I have some gentle yet firm words about AI and the people I most want to uplift (actual experts). I’m in a mastermind of accomplished marketing entrepreneurs. A few of these impressive humans (and I am also there, for some reason) recently voiced their concern that they're not sure how they're diff
Apple Podcasts - Spotify - List of All Players New to the show? On How Stories Happen, business communicators take us inside the crafting of their ideas into powerful stories they use to grow their audience and their cause. It's a show about what it really takes to become a
Being a professional at something others treat as a passion means you can ruin your own passion. In 2008, I was a PR intern at ESPN, and I had the chance to interview my baseball writing hero, Buster Olney, as part of a marketing campaign. Buster was gracious and warm and patient and everything you
Marketing isn't simple. But understanding it can be. I need that reminder now and again. Maybe you do too. I started my career working for brands like Google as a digital media strategist and two startups, including HubSpot, as their head of content. My last in-house job was a VP role (content and
Apple Podcasts - Spotify - List of All Players New to the show? On How Stories Happen, business communicators take us inside the crafting of their ideas into powerful stories they use to grow their audience and their cause. It's a show about what it really takes to become a
The difference between experts with scattered ideas and voices with passionate fans isn't talent—it's clarity. More specifically, it's the system of clarity they use. They don't act like experts. They act like explorers. I'm thinking of those authors, speakers, and business leaders who build enti
⏪ Last time, I wrote about how to assess your communication style to find your natural tendencies, then craft stronger messages and content by leaning into strengths and addressing areas to improve. That's here. ⏩ Today, I want to talk about a concept I'm calling "laddering down," mea
I worked with the great Justin Moore, founder of Creator Wizard and sponsorship coach for creators, to help him develop the structure of his brand new keynote associated with his new book, Sponsor Magnet. In this video, you’ll see us move from zero-to-one, or maybe even -two, as we identify the spe
I don't have any tattoos and I'll never actually get one, but I still have a favorite tattoo. "I am certain of nothing." Anthony Bourdain had that written in Greek on his arm. It's a reminder that you bring with you expectations, but you still need to be open to learning and to changing y
We need to learn from five specific monkeys. (Here you are, going about your day, probably thinking you want to learn from all the monkeys. Silly human.) Five monkeys are sitting in a cage at the zoo: Fluffy, Duffy, Scruffy, Muffy, and Sam. One day, the zookeeper places a ladder in the middle of
Last week, I wrote about a visual tool we can use to differentiate our work more strategically and with less stress. To illustrate, I plotted where two friends of mine were stuck and what they could do to break free. If you're looking for a more passionate response from your work without resorting t
I have these two friends, let's call them Mitch and Marie to hide their identities. They're both struggling to stand out right now. Mitch is the consummate expert in his space. He's a veteran marketer, having worked in-house for many years as a practitioner, then team leader. In that capacity, he
One of the nerdiest thing I've done was look into the sciences to understand the concept of resonance I talk about constantly. That's where I dug up this little nugget: It's an energy transfer. De. Lish. Us. Delicious! That just tickles the brain in the best way, doesn't it? That's exactly