Business of Story

Robert McKee once told me that our conscious mind is simply the P.R. department for our subconscious mind, where all of our real decisions are being made. In the advertising world, we know we buy with our hearts and justify our purchases with our heads. We tell ourselves emotional stories as to why we need to buy something, and then we create nonfiction in our brains to counteract any buyer's remorse we might experience. But how exactly do our brains come up with these stories? And, have you ever stopped to think about what stories you tell yourself? Today, we'll be going inside the depths of our minds to understand the Applied Science of Story. Our guest for this week's show is Dr. Ron Bonnstetter, senior vice president of research and development for Target Training International and professor emeritus of University of Nebraska – Lincoln, who has dedicated 3 decades of his life to research cognitive neurology. His team uses real-time EEG (electroencephalogram) tests that scan human brains and studies brain-based findings that inform human interactions. He and his team of research scientists are all working to uncover the meaning behind our human attribute database. Recently, Ron Bonnstetter and his team snapped a bathing cap-like apparatus on my skull with 57 electrodes to measure my emotional quotient, or what is called emotional intelligence. Your EQ is the level of your ability to understand other people, what motivates them and how to work cooperatively with them. For most people, emotional intelligence (EQ) is more important than one's intelligence (IQ), because as individuals, our success depends on our ability to read other people's signals and react appropriately to them. Our optimal personal performance is often measured most accurately by how we score on our emotional quotient. I think of EQ as a measure of how well you read other people and accurately identify their story. The test they gave me at TTI measured my initial emotional response to stimuli – my gut instinct– compared to my immediate second response which is more logical. They look at how much similar these two reactions are, or what is the gap between them: We tell ourselves one story but actually believe something different. In this episode, Dr. Ron Bonnstetter will take us inside the brain, sharing what they have learned over the past six years on how we process stories to live our optimum life. He also shares the result of the EEG test he performed on me including the 3 major outcomes and how we can differentiate knowledge from understanding. Don't forget to take your own emotional quotient study online for FREE, thanks to a special link made available to our Business of Story listeners: http://bit.ly/yourtti Become a Master Storyteller Grab your free copy of The 5 Stages of Grief in Telling YOUR Business Story: http://bit.ly/StorytellingTools Like what you hear? Bring Park to your next event.

Storytelling is so highly relevant in elevating the skills and competence of professionals in their respective fields. Yet, why is no one in business has taught how to use storytelling to their advantage? With the influx of new technology, it is no surprise why a huge need for storytelling has been stirred. A lot of ideas swarming inside the great minds of innovative thinkers are going down the drain, unnoticed. The main culprit lies in the absence of a binding ingredient, essential in connecting us together through stories. On this week's show, we have someone who is pioneering the ancient skill of storytelling in upper education. Liz Warren is the Faculty Director and Co-Founder of the Storytelling Institute at South Mountain Community in Phoenix, Arizona, an institute helping students use storytelling to advance their career and life. Liz's textbook, The Oral Tradition Today: An Introduction to the Art of Storytelling is used at colleges around the nation. In this show, we will learn tips that can be immediately implemented to be a notable storyteller, plus a few assignments we can start on our own to take part in learning about storytelling as a jump start in advancing our lives. Become a Master Storyteller Grab your free copy of The 5 Stages of Grief in Telling YOUR Business Story: http://bit.ly/StorytellingTools Like what you hear? Bring Park to your next event.

There has always been a distinction between a commander and a leader. A commander gives instructions, delegates tasks, and implements orders. A leader has a more serious responsibility – that of influencing people and making the critical decision to choose what kind of influence he will be. My stint in the United States Air Force paved the opportunity to work with their leaders, trained them how to craft, find and share their own stories. Through storytelling, they are able to connect deeper with men and women in their speeches and get to recruit and retain the best fliers in the crew. One of the highlights of my stint is to be a listener to the stories of remarkably honorable men and women, generals, and leaders who are living up to their life missions to inspire, motivate and develop potential leaders who would someday lead the pack they are currently leading. I am deeply honored to welcome in today's show, someone who, I have come to admire and respect for his exemplary leadership that has honed heroes in the world of air force and beyond. General Christopher "Mookie" Walker is an Air Force Brigade General, Chief of Staff and Deputy Commander of West Virginia International Guard. Today, he will teach us, coach us, and motivates us to be our own, little heroes as he demonstrates how he is currently living to his most powerful story by helping others find their own leadership potential. Let us all be inspired by how an initially non committal and unbelieving young boys of a football team in a small state university in West Virginia rose to their calling as heroes to defend the whole neighborhood from wars on drugs. All because this friendly and humble general went out to tell them of his childhood story, related it with the group's life story and posed a challenge to initiate a smile, be a leader to one's self, and do what is right. Let us also join him in his current mission which he will be sharing with us today, to help bring pride in the sunken shoulders of men in uniform who, as he has observed, are only fulfilling their day-to-day tasks out of duty without a sense of accomplishment. By telling them of his story, he will journey with them in realizing their own stories, and bring a dawn of enlightenment that their roles are so much bigger than they believe, that they matter, and that they too are heroes as we all are. Become a Master Storyteller Grab your free copy of The 5 Stages of Grief in Telling YOUR Business Story: http://bit.ly/StorytellingTools Like what you hear? Bring Park to your next event.

As the Kavanaugh hearing underscored, the Democrats still lack a focused, cohesive narrative on which to build their platform. Dr. Randy Olson, who appeared on this show the day after Trump's election to the White House, reveals how Donald Trump and the Republicans continue to steamroll the Democrats for want of a story. From his post: "Rather than presenting a clear ABT structured narrative (Kavanaugh wants to be a Supreme Court judge AND a supreme court judge needs to have the right temperament, BUT he doesn't, THEREFORE he needs to be rejected), they took a shotgun approach and ended up with a laundry list of complaints." A revelation hit me at the beginning of the show taken from one of my favorite poems, For Want of a Nail, that, at least to me, sums the problem with the Democratic Party's approach to communications. For Want of a Story For want of a story, the vision was lost. For want of a vision, meaning was lost. For want of meaning, emotion was lost. For want of emotion, empathy was lost. For want of empathy, connection was lost. For want of connection, camaraderie was lost. For want of camaraderie, the mission was lost. For want of a mission, the election was lost. All for the want of a simple story. For want of a story doesn't just happen to Democrats. It happens to all of us. If you're uncertain where to start with your presentation, speech, whitepaper, website...any communications...use the And, But & Therefore narrative structure to find your focus. Land on your one-word theme (Like the Dems. should've focused on "temperament" in the Kavanaugh hearings), and captivate your audience. On today's show, Dr. Randy Olson shares with you the wonderful journey of telling stories not OF Science but ABOUT Science. He is a Harvard Ph. D. evolutionary biologist who gave up tenure at the University of New Hampshire to study filmmaking at the University of Southern California. He has created three documentaries and written three books to help scientist become better communicators using the power of story. Olson also consulted with the Hillary campaign and cautioned them that they'd lose to Trump if they didn't get their story straight. The rest is history, and you can hear Olson here on this special episode of the Business of Story the day after Trump's election to the White House where he reveals the secret behind Trump's narrative intuition. My goal with that particular episode was to help listeners understand the magic to combat the spell. Today, let's unravel the secrets of telling stories that do make a point, and understand the old and overused but often understated line, "less is more." Become a Master Storyteller Grab your free copy of The 5 Stages of Grief in Telling YOUR Business Story: http://bit.ly/StorytellingTools Like what you hear? Bring Park to your next event.

"One of the most important commodities in our industry is truth." In a world where almost everyone's personal struggle revolves around the approval from others, it's always been easier to say what we think people want to hear instead of what things actually are. Truth is the most powerful tool every storyteller can use when they want to win the hearts of their audience. Director Randy Murray is the man behind the scenes and success of Dr. David Brill's political ad featuring six siblings who rebelled against their brother, Paul Gosar, and encouraged the public to oust him as their Arizona Congressman. These 6 siblings used nothing but pure, honest words, and told the public a story of a family and how they struggled with the truth they all had to live with. They wanted to tell the world what is really happening in the hopes that the rebellion will end up saving not only the people of Arizona, but will also put a permanent end to their brother's evil ways. Today, Director Murray will teach us how we can turn the truth into the most compelling element to create a hit story of all time. Our guest on this week's show, Randy Murray, unravels the shocking revelation that truth, in its deepest essence, is actually the best tool any storyteller can use in this lifetime. Become a Master Storyteller Grab your free copy of The 5 Stages of Grief in Telling YOUR Business Story: http://bit.ly/StorytellingTools

Brand and business storytelling is all of the rage today. And for good reason. It works. But while most storytelling experts tell you to tell stories, these six content marketing and communications leaders will show you how. This week's show previews the latest storytelling tips and techniques you'll learn from leading brand and business storytellers who are coming together for STORYco, a FREE storytelling conference on October 25, 2018 at the historic downtown Los Angeles Theatre Center. This is your opportunity to receive the most invaluable free advice you can get on the art and science of storytelling to grow your brand, your personal influence, your people and your career. So you might ask, why would all of these speakers appear at STORYco for free and share their wisdom? Well, because we're all trying out new material, filled with the latest insights on brand, business and leadership storytelling, and we're recording our sessions for our own promotional purposes. But you receive the greatest benefit. Because not only will you be among the first people privy to these insights during the conference, but you'll also get to connect with each of the speakers at the reception. So on today's show, and at STORYco, you will hear from… The hilarious KATHY KLOTZ-GUEST of Keeping it Human and author of Stop Boring Me! How to Create Kick-Ass Content, Products and Ideas Through the Power of Improv. The business-savvy & witty CARRIE WILKERSON, author of The Barefoot Executive who challenges you to see what is possible professionally & personally through hard-hitting truth, humor and high-performance strategies. One of the Godfathers of content marketing, ROBERT ROSE, the Founder and Chief Troublemaker for The Content Advisory, the education and consulting group for the Content Marketing Institute. Robert ran Content Marketing World in Cleveland last month. MIKE GANINO, a company culture and engagement expert and author of Company Culture for Dummies. For 20 years, Mike has been on the front lines of creating radical cultures that help create bottom-line results, beloved brands, and engaging employee experiences. You'll learn from the incomparable LESLIE EHM of Combustion who joins us with her own kind of swagger. Leslie is a supreme evangelist of creativity and collaboration who will do just about anything (and has) to unleash her participants' potential. She'll do that for you at STORYco. DANIEL LEMIN, co-author of the recently released book on word of mouth marketing, Talk Triggers, and the puppet master of STORYco who corraled all of us speakers, offers current insights on how to build word of mouth marketing strategies in your business. I'll also be presenting at STORYco. I'll show you how to use the three most powerful words in business storytelling: And, But & Therefore. Because the hardest thing about storytelling is getting your story straight. Learn how to clarify your story, amplify your impact and simplify your life with these three words that are the DNA of story. Unfortunately, KAREN WICKRE, who rounds out this talented group of presenters, couldn't make it on today's show. But you'll want to catch her live in L.A. on October 25 when she shows you how to take the "work" out of networking. Which reminds me: in addition to storytelling tips and techniques that you can immediately apply in your business, STORYco is going to be a one-of-a-kind networking event in downtown L.A., but only for the select few who reserve their seat today. When they're gone, they're gone. So let's hear from the marvelous story mavens of STORYco right now on the Business of Story podcast. Become a Master Storyteller Grab your free copy of The 5 Stages of Grief in Telling YOUR Business Story: http://bit.ly/StorytellingTools Like what you hear? Bring Park to your next event.

The primaries are approaching and we're inundated with the typical screeching political attack ads. But a surprising thing happens when you replace vitriol with ingenious storytelling. People take notice. And in this rare case, laugh. Patrick Hunt, partner in Minneapolis ad agency Hunt Adkins, shares how they created the viral Bigfoot ad for Dean Phillips for Congress Campaign. They married truth with brilliant brand storytelling to call out five-time incumbent Erik Paulsen, a Congressman with a strong aversion of interacting with voters. "How can you have tens of thousands of people looking for you all the time and not one of them find you?" asks a clearly impressed Bigfoot. "I started to wonder, does Erik Paulsen really exist?" Hunt reveals how his team managed to get their client to take a chance with Bigfoot and create this viral ad on a shoestring budget in just three and a half weeks. Get a peek into the nuances of ad production, where you can learn about different production aspects that went into making this virally successful campaign. Patrick shares some interesting information about the Dean Phillips campaign. Did Dean's progressive attitude encourage Patrick to try this radically different approach? Learn about Dean's campaign strategy to create erikpaulsen.org, a creative website that highlights the competitor's differences complete with a Pac Man game – with Erik as Pac Man, of course. Tune in to discover how attributes like confidence and selflessness can help you design strategic and responsible brand storytelling.

40 years back, Forever Living was a scrappy startup operating from a garage. Today, it is a multi-billion dollar organization with a presence in 150 plus countries. Their success can be attributed, in no small way to their genius brand story telling prowess. In order to come up a magnetic brand story, you need a FIRM focus on authenticity and selflessness. In this week's show, Nick Woodward-Shaw, Vice President of Communications for Forever Living Products, Int'l, shares how you can create emotional experiences that affect lasting change for your customers. And how these special moments can help spark brand stories that spread like wildfire. Nick shares how Rex, the founder discovered the powers of Aloe Vera – which ultimately propelled Forever Living to being the powerhouse that it is today. Nick shares some heartwarming anecdotes that eventually became powerful storytelling experiences – allowing Forever Living to transform into a magnetic brand. How did Nick manage to put up a mesmerizing brand experience on the beaches of Dubai at the famous Burj Al Arab? And, what was Nick's methodology for compiling "40 Stories" – a book that capture the essence of Forever Living? "40 stories" details diverse and amazing stories about selflessness and giving. You will learn about the amazing Suzuki San and the tenacious Sunil Gupta. Nick reveals the FIVE elements of storytelling that he focused on while designing this book. Tune in to discover some great nuggets on how to design special moments that succeed in establishing a solid connection even with anonymous people. Become a Master Storyteller Grab your free copy of The 5 Stages of Grief in Telling YOUR Business Story: http://bit.ly/StorytellingTools Like what you hear? Bring Park to your next event.

Whether you are a multi-billion dollar business or a brave little startup, the struggle to connect with your audience is a difficult and often, unsuccessful one. Presenting your brand story through a narrative lens will help facilitate effective translation, allowing you to reach your target audience. In this week's show, you will discover how you can you can use your own personal narrative to create a magnetic brand story. Andrew Robinson, creator of the narrative thinking framework is a "Brand Anthropologist" who helps companies know and tell their story. Andrew reveals his powerful philosophy which has allowed him to help businesses across the world make a genuine connection with the audience they want to connect with. Andrew also shares how asking your "Who" can ultimately lead you to your "Why", "How" and "What". Real world examples he shares show how personal stories can inspire businesses to create their own authentic brand stories and maintain strong fidelity to it are sure to keep you hooked. What makes businesses like Disney and Starbucks so irresistible to their audiences? You'll learn about their empathy-filled ethos which has resulted in enduring "Brand Resonance" – and allowed these businesses to grow into the multi-billion corporations that they are today. We also discuss Nike and Phil Knight's captivating memoir, Shoe Dogs. Phil Knight's inspiring life story shows us that in order to realize our potential to the fullest, we have to deal with the part of us that is holding us back. Tune in now to discover why DRAMA, and not DATA can help you connect with your audiences to build a truly enduring brand. Become a Master Storyteller Grab your free copy of The 5 Stages of Grief in Telling YOUR Business Story: http://bit.ly/StorytellingTools Like what you hear? Bring Park to your next event.

As I've learned from my associates at Anecdote, character trumps credentials every time when you are trying to connect with people. But when looking for a job or reinventing a career, we often make the mistake of leading with our resumes rather than our personalities. After 15 years as a communications executive with a multi-national mining firm and ready to make a change, Jennifer Russo realized that her powerful resume is just the cost of entry into being considered for the high-level job she was seeking. If she's going to be successful landing the position that will help define her legacy, she needed to clarify her own brand story. In this week's show, Jennifer, brand building specialist and former General Manager of Communications and Communities globally for Rio Tinto, reveals how you can define your personal brand story. Growing up in Long Island, Jennifer was influenced by her educator father. She shares how he instilled in her a relentless passion for learning and strong justice, which led her to pursue journalism. While at Rio Tinto, Jennifer got the opportunity to work on complex projects involving a multitude of stakeholders. In 2005, when Rio Tinto was still unknown in the United States, Park helped Jennifer structure Rio Tinto's brand story to showcase their CSR efforts. You'll hear Jennifer dispel the notion that mining companies can do only harm. She will give you a peek into the many opportunities and challenges that come with a MNC-beneficiary relationship. Jennifer's views on diversity and inclusion storytelling reframe the typical approach to human resources in large companies. Diversity is not just cultural, but also that of beliefs. Learn how diversity within an organization can help achieve actionable insights that can help fast-track a company's growth. You will also receive some great tips on how to cultivate an abundant mindset for partnering with skeptical and unwilling stakeholders. It's ironic that Jennifer, who was so successful at building up the Rio Tinto brand, was at a loss on how to design her own personal brand story. But Park used the proprietary Story Cycle System™ to capture Jennifer's strengths, and used Success Stories to effectively convey them. Tune in to discover how you can achieve clarity for building a congruent brand story that effectively showcases your strengths. Become a Master Storyteller Grab your free copy of The 5 Stages of Grief in Telling YOUR Business Story: http://bit.ly/StorytellingTools Like what you hear? Bring Park to your next event.