I remember being subscribed to this email newsletter from a guy named Josh, all about email marketing (kind of meta)...

Every single day, a new email from Josh would pop up in my inbox, and I'd open it right away.

These emails were different, a bit weird even, but in the best way possible. Each one would start with something that felt totally random, a story about something Josh experienced. No mention of email marketing whatsoever.

But every time I was hooked. I just had to know how the story ended.

And then, bam, right at the end, with just two or three lines he'd tie it all back to email marketing in a way that just clicked.

Those emails weren't just informative; they were actually enjoyable, to the point that I looked forward to them.

Now being able to hold someone's attention like that always seemed like a magic superpower to me... but I learned that it's not.

In this episode, Gabrielle Dolan, who's been teaching the craft of storytelling for over 20 years, reveals how you can grow your storytelling skills and use them to communicate your message in a way that stick and, most of all inspires action.

And as service design professionals, we know that getting people to take action is critical for change but also very challenging.

So whether you consider yourself a natural storyteller or not, this episode is packed with practical wisdom you won't want to miss.

Josh, by the way, stopped sending his daily emails a while ago, but as you've noticed his lessons have stuck with me.

Enjoy the episode and keep making a positive impact!

Take care,

~ Marc

--- [ 1. GUIDE ] ---

00:00 Welcome to Episode 214

03:30 Power of stories

06:00 Why stories make communication better

08:00 Dealing with skepticism

13:00 Why Organizations seek facts over stories

14:30 Story-Resistant Culture

18:00 Practical tips in becoming better storytellers

23:00 Finding your stories

24:00 Using spreadsheets

28:00 How to be comfortable using them

31:30 How to see if it's working (Tracking progress

34:00 Indicators of Success

37:00 Potential of backfiring

39:00 Gauging level of emotion

42:00 Advise from Ral

44:00 How Ral's storytelling evolved

45:30 How to use AI in storytelling

48:30 Storytelling vs acting

49:30 What's next in her storytelling journey

51:30 What kept her going

52:30 Resources

55:30 Question to ponder

--- [ 2. LINKS ] ---

https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabrielledolan/
https://gabrielledolan.com/
Magnetic Stories by Gabrielle Dolan (Book) - https://a.co/d/aA780d8

--- [ 3. CIRCLE ] ---

Join our private community for in-house service design professionals.

⁠https://servicedesignshow.com/circle

Episode 125: Ray McGuire Will Be Your Huckleberry