No. 1 Storyteller: How to become unforgettable & get rich (easily)

The discussion centers on the essence of storytelling, emphasizing the need to transform mundane events into engaging narratives by focusing on change over time and emotional resonance. Key points include distinguishing between mere reporting and true storytelling, the importance of preparation without memorization, and the strategic use of suspense, humor, and personal anecdotes to connect with audiences. The guests, including a fifth-grade teacher, highlight the power of personal stories to create memorable and impactful messages, both in personal and business contexts. Effective storytelling requires vulnerability, relatability, and a conscious effort to engage listeners by making them care about the narrative.

• A good story requires giving the audience a reason to listen.
• Storytelling involves sharing one's humanity and connecting on a personal level.
• Effective storytelling makes content relatable and memorable beyond profit-driven motives.

"No one wants to hear anything you ever have to say unless you give them a reason to listen."

• This emphasizes the necessity of engaging the audience from the outset.

"Whenever we can take the content from our business world and bring it into the personal world and allow people to feel it in a way that is really human and not profit-driven, suddenly we have stories that people want to hear and we become unforgettable."

• This highlights the power of making business content relatable and human.

• Personal experiences can shape one's ability to disregard others' opinions.
• Life-threatening situations can lead to significant personal growth and perspective changes.

"Most of it happened for me when I was around the age of 21. I was in an armed robbery, and I knew I was in a lot of trouble. They had already killed two people."

• This illustrates a pivotal life experience that influenced the speaker's perspective on others' opinions.

• A story is distinct from a mere chronological reporting of events.
• Stories involve change over time and realizations or transformations.

"Most people think of a story as some stuff happened over the course of time and now I'm going to tell you about that usually chronologically, and that will amount to a story. And that really is just reporting on your life."

• This clarifies the difference between storytelling and mere reporting.

"A story is about change over time. Usually, it's sort of a realization like, 'I used to think one thing, and now I think another thing.'"

• This defines the essence of a story as involving change and realizations.

• Effective storytelling involves giving the audience a reason to listen.
• The balance between preparation and spontaneity is crucial.
• Over-preparation can lead to a lack of genuine connection with the audience.

"I say we play a game with our audience. They pretend that we're making it up, and we pretend that we're making it up."

• This describes the performative aspect of storytelling where spontaneity is simulated.

"You probably should never memorize anything that you say. I've never memorized a story or speech that I'm going to deliver, but I what I say is we remember them."

• This emphasizes the importance of knowing the key points rather than memorizing the exact words.

• Anecdotes are brief, amusing, or interesting stories but lack the depth and lasting impact of a story.
• Stories aim to connect emotionally and leave a lasting impression.

"An anecdote doesn't have to have change over time. It's essentially one of those, 'Hey, this funny thing happened to me, isn't this crazy?'"

• This distinguishes anecdotes as short, often humorous, but less impactful narratives.

"A story ideally is the kind of thing that when I tell it to you, you're thinking about it for days, weeks, months, or maybe for the rest of your life."

• This highlights the lasting impact that stories aim to achieve.

• A detailed recounting of a story involving a teacher, a student, and a spoon that becomes a symbol of support and resilience.
• The story exemplifies the elements of effective storytelling: stakes, suspense, surprise, and humor.

"I'm standing behind my school where I teach. I'm a fifth-grade teacher. I'm standing in front of this enormous pile of fall leaves, and they're quivering. There's a little boy inside the leaves, and his hand emerges, and he's got a metal object in his hand."

• This sets the scene and introduces the central object (the spoon) and character (Jamie).

"For the rest of the year, every single time a kid is in trouble in any way whatsoever, that spoon finds its way on their neck."

• This demonstrates the spoon's transformation into a symbol of support among the students.

• Stories are structured around scenes, each with a specific location and purpose.
• Effective storytelling leverages the audience's imagination and avoids unnecessary descriptions.
• Key elements include stakes, suspense, surprise, and humor.

"Scenes are predicated on location. If I think about that story, if I'm going to remember it rather than memorize it, I'm going to know I'm going to be on the playground, and I'm going to chase Jamie."

• This explains the importance of structuring stories around distinct scenes.

"I'm always thinking stakes, suspense, surprise, and humor. Those are sort of the four Mount Rushmore ways to maintain interest."

• This outlines the essential elements that keep an audience engaged.

• Elephants: The central, attention-grabbing element of the story.
• Backpacks: Loading the audience with the storyteller's hopes and plans.
• Breadcrumbs: Small hints or clues that lead the audience along.
• Hourglasses: Delaying the reveal to build anticipation.
• Crystal Balls: Making predictions to engage the audience's curiosity.

"An elephant is the idea of here's a thing that you should care about in the story. I just told you that here's a thing: this is a boy with a spoon, and Matt wants it."

• This defines the concept of an "elephant" as a central, attention-grabbing element.

"A backpack works especially well when a plan is not going to go well."

• This explains how "backpacks" involve sharing the storyteller's plans and hopes with the audience.

"Breadcrumbs are just sort of clues along the way, a little hint to something."

• This describes "breadcrumbs" as small hints that keep the audience engaged.

"In hourglasses, the idea is that once you know you have the audience's attention and they're dying for the next sentence, you make them wait as long as possible."

• This explains the concept of "hourglasses" as delaying the reveal to build anticipation.

"Crystal balls are something we use in life all the time. It's essentially just a prediction."

• This defines "crystal balls" as making predictions to engage the audience's curiosity.

• Humor can enhance engagement but should be used judiciously to support the story's emotional impact.
• Excessive humor can detract from the story's depth and emotional resonance.

"The tricky thing about humor is I do stand-up comedy, and there are certain people that can just make lots of things funny and in that spoon of power story I could have had you laughing the whole way through."

• This acknowledges the role of humor but emphasizes its strategic use to support the story's overall impact.

• Humor changes brain chemistry, fostering closeness and perceived intelligence.
• It enhances cognition and makes the audience more receptive.
• Humor can ease tension in the first 30-60 seconds of a presentation.
• It can make boring data presentations more engaging.
• Humor can manipulate emotions, increasing the impact of serious information.
• Overuse of humor can be counterproductive.

"Humor changes brain chemistry in really meaningful ways, you know, causes you to feel closer to me, causes you to perceive me as intelligent even if I'm not intelligent, makes you feel better about the world, actually improves your cognition."

• Humor fosters a connection and enhances cognitive reception.

"If I make you laugh in the first 30 to 60 seconds of a story, you now feel at ease because an audience always has that concern this concern that this is going to get awkward for us because you're not going to do a good job."

• Humor relaxes the audience, making them more receptive.

"If you have to speak for 12 minutes about your data, you better be funny."

• Humor is essential in making data presentations engaging.

"Right before I'm going to tell you something terrible in a story, I like to make you laugh so that the terrible thing hurts more."

• Humor can increase the emotional impact of serious information.

• Locations are rich with descriptive potential and activate the audience's imagination.
• Describing familiar locations allows the audience to visualize the scene without excessive detail.
• Using location effectively can make storytelling more vivid and engaging.

"If I tell you I dropped a bowl of blueberries on the kitchen floor, you see that perfectly."

• Simple descriptions of familiar locations allow the audience to visualize the scene.

"I'm always leaning into location, especially if you think about films there's always a location in every scene."

• Effective use of location in storytelling engages the audience's imagination.

• Time manipulation can enhance the impact of a story.
• Jumping ahead in time can reveal the long-term significance of an event.
• Maintaining the story within the moment is generally more effective.

"We basically time traveled 15 years in that story."

• Time jumps can reveal the enduring impact of events.

"Most of the time maintaining stories within the moment is probably the better way to go."

• Keeping stories in the moment is generally more effective.

• Over-describing characters and settings can disengage the audience.
• Starting a story with unnecessary explanations can lose the audience's interest.
• Failing to engage the audience at the beginning or provide a meaningful conclusion.

"People make the mistake of overly describing either because they think an audience wants it or they've been taught to do it in school."

• Over-describing characters and settings can disengage the audience.

"The beginnings of stories are essential to grabbing people's attention and people waste the beginnings of stories explaining and teaching us things."

• Wasting the beginning of a story on explanations can lose the audience's interest.

• Effective stories have a clear beginning, middle, and end.
• The beginning should engage the audience and set up the story's premise.
• The end should provide a meaningful resolution or transformation.
• The beginning and end should be in contrast to show change over time.

"We start at the end because we want to know what we're going to say."

• Starting with the end goal ensures a clear and meaningful resolution.

"The beginning is always going to be the opposite of that and now we have change over time."

• The beginning and end should be in contrast to show transformation.

• Relatable endings make stories more memorable.
• Consistently reinforcing the core theme throughout the story enhances its impact.
• Characters should face relatable challenges to engage the audience.

"The more relatable that ending moment is, the more deep, the more resonant it is through the movie."

• Relatable endings make stories more memorable.

"John McClane, the character in that movie, throughout the entire movie, we're always thinking about his wife."

• Consistently reinforcing the core theme enhances the story's impact.

• Trailers should present the core problem or challenge faced by the character.
• They should evoke curiosity without revealing too much.
• Identifying a relatable need or desire can engage the audience.

"We want to make sure that people understand sort of what the problem the character is facing."

• Presenting the core problem engages the audience.

"We want to present sort of the stakes in the story without revealing too much of the story."

• Evoking curiosity without revealing too much is key.

• Become a strategic listener by analyzing what makes stories effective.
• Identify the elements that evoke emotional responses in the audience.
• Apply these elements to your own storytelling to enhance its impact.

"If you hear someone tell a great story and you think wow that was a great story, strategically you should be thinking what was it about that story that made it great."

• Analyzing effective stories helps identify key storytelling elements.

"If you want to be a reproducer of that greatness then we have to be strategic."

• Applying strategic analysis to your storytelling enhances its impact.

• Female heroes often require male inspiration to succeed, unlike male heroes.
• This dynamic can undermine the perceived independence and strength of female characters.
• Recognizing and addressing these dynamics can lead to more empowering stories.

"It's a story about a woman who is incapable of winning her own battles unless a man sacrifices his life and therefore inspires her to defeat the bad guy."

• Female heroes often require male inspiration to succeed, which can undermine their independence.

"Female heroes in so many movies can only win the day if a man does something first."

• Recognizing these dynamics can lead to more empowering stories.

• Discussion about the portrayal of women in films and how it impacts young girls.
• Critique of films where male characters save the day instead of female characters.
• Importance of showing women winning on their own merits.

"I think that what is being said, which is women can't win the day, I think that does sort of work its way into our unconscious."

• This quote highlights the subtle yet impactful message that women are often not depicted as capable of saving the day, influencing societal perceptions unconsciously.

"I actually think both of those films are pretty bad if you're a little girl and you're watching that movie because you don't get to see kids win in Mary Poppins, you don't get to see Mary Poppins win, you don't get to watch Wonder Woman win on her own merit."

• This quote criticizes specific films for their negative impact on young girls by not providing strong, independent female role models.

• Discusses the storytelling technique of leaving endings open to interpretation.
• Examples given include "Thelma and Louise" and "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid."
• Importance of unresolved endings in keeping the audience engaged and thinking.

"The interesting thing about that movie is it ends with the car mid-flight. We don't actually see it hit the ground which allows the audience to think maybe they survived."

• This quote illustrates how an ambiguous ending can leave a lasting impression on the audience by allowing them to imagine different outcomes.

"Our story should always sort of have a little bit of a tale on them when a story is not complete when there's still unanswered questions at the end of a story when the audience can sort of play it out a little bit on their own those stories tend to hang with an audience much more."

• This quote emphasizes the effectiveness of leaving stories open-ended to maintain audience engagement and thought.

• Discussion on the importance of truth in storytelling.
• Critique of the phrase "never let the facts stand in the way of a good story."
• Balancing the removal of irrelevant details with maintaining the integrity of the story.

"When we lie in our stories, we can no longer be trusted."

• This quote underscores the importance of honesty in storytelling for maintaining trust with the audience.

"I'll condense time so a story that takes place over the course of two days I'll push it into one day because an audience doesn't want to have to hear that I went to bed, woke up, ate a bowl of cereal, and then the story continued."

• This quote explains the practice of condensing time in storytelling to keep the narrative engaging without losing its essence.

• Explanation of the 'But' and 'Therefore' technique to create more engaging stories.
• Contrast between 'And' stories and 'But/Therefore' stories.
• Importance of connection and causality in storytelling.

"An 'And' story is essentially a story that is a series of events one after the other that are not connected in any meaningful way."

• This quote defines an 'And' story as a series of unconnected events, which often fails to engage the audience.

"But are therefore stories rely on connection scenes are connected to other scenes connected to other scenes so I'm doing this but that happened therefore this happened."

• This quote illustrates how 'But' and 'Therefore' create a more dynamic and engaging narrative by connecting events meaningfully.

• Importance of suspense and humor in maintaining audience engagement.
• Techniques for creating suspense by strategically excluding and including information.
• Using humor to make even the boring parts of a story engaging.

"Suspense is simply the strategic exclusion of information alongside the strategic inclusion of information."

• This quote breaks down the concept of suspense into its basic components, making it easier to understand and apply.

"I tell stories where sometimes I know there's a boring part I hate it but I'll get to a point in a story and I'll say for 45 seconds I have to explain this thing to them and I don't want to explain this thing to them but I have to so I'm either going to make it suspenseful or I'm going to make it funny."

• This quote discusses the necessity of using suspense or humor to keep the audience engaged during less interesting parts of a story.

• Importance of starting stories at the right point to maintain engagement.
• Techniques for structuring stories to make them more impactful.
• Use of personal anecdotes to make stories relatable and memorable.

"The most important decision to make in that story is the structure meaning what's the chronological structure of that story I used a babc model which is a model that I started in the middle actually of the story."

• This quote explains the importance of story structure and the use of non-linear storytelling to enhance engagement.

"I start in the middle because for a bunch of reasons one is if I tell you that beginning of the story it already gives away the end you know what's going to happen right."

• This quote highlights the strategic decision to start a story in the middle to avoid giving away the ending too soon.

• Importance of metaphors to convey complex business ideas simply and memorably.
• Examples of personal stories used as metaphors for business concepts.
• Resistance from business people to use personal stories and the benefits of overcoming this resistance.

"A singular solution can sometimes solve a really complex problem so let's find that in our personal life now."

• This quote explains the idea of using personal stories as metaphors to illustrate business concepts effectively.

"No one's going to remember your other business story in fact a lot of people aren't even going to remember the Facebook story but if you want to land the idea that sometimes a singular solution can solve a big problem you tell the story about kissing your wife in the morning and they'll never forget it."

• This quote emphasizes the lasting impact of personal stories over business anecdotes in conveying key messages.

• Practice of recording daily moments to find potential stories.
• Importance of recognizing small, meaningful moments over dramatic events.
• Example of turning a personal moment into a structured story.

"I said how long was the last conference and he said two days said you ran out of all the stories of your life in two days he did right that's the problem often is we just don't have enough stories to tell."

• This quote highlights the common issue of not recognizing the abundance of stories in everyday life.

"I would much rather share with you a tiny seemingly insignificant moment that's filled with meaning rather than one of my crazy stories about the times I've died and been brought back to life."

• This quote underscores the power of small, relatable moments in storytelling over dramatic, less relatable events.

• Vulnerability in storytelling creates memorable and impactful experiences.
• Personal stories resonate more deeply with audiences than impersonal ones.
• Authenticity and personal anecdotes enhance the relatability and effectiveness of communication.

"A guy who gets on stage and is vulnerable enough to say a few years ago I was having a problem with my wife and she was having a problem with me and we were not getting along and things were looking bad and then I told my buddy and I end up kissing her and somehow today we're the happiest couple in that's Unforgettable."

• Personal stories about overcoming challenges in relationships can make a speaker unforgettable.

"We don't teach lessons like always by sticking to the content right we have to expand Beyond it to get people to understand it particularly when things get complex."

• Teaching through personal stories and metaphors helps people understand complex concepts better.

"The next time one spouse kisses another spouse in the morning they're thinking about him and they're thinking about Simple Solutions to solve bottlenecks."

• Personal stories can create lasting impressions and influence future behaviors.

• Using metaphors helps bridge the gap between different industries and contexts.
• Stories that connect business lessons to personal experiences make content more relatable and memorable.

"If both of those people are in front of us and we're trying to improve their businesses how we going to do that we're going to use metaphors we're going to find ways to send lessons and messages to people and ways that resonate in their lives."

• Metaphors are essential for making lessons applicable across various industries.

"Whenever we can take the content from our business world and bring it into the personal world and allow people to feel it in a way that is really human and not profit driven then suddenly we have stories that people want to hear and we become Unforgettable."

• Humanizing business content through personal stories and metaphors makes it more engaging.

• Personal stories are more effective than telling stories about others.
• Authenticity and vulnerability in personal stories create a stronger connection with the audience.

"If I tell you a story and it's not about me the only vulnerability required is public speaking and I've overcome that."

• Personal stories require more vulnerability than reporting on others' experiences.

"The vulnerability comes from I'm having difficulties with my wife and we can't figure out how to solve it and then one day I decide to start kissing my wife in the morning and everything changes that vulnerability is so powerful."

• Personal vulnerability in storytelling is powerful and impactful.

• Confidence is crucial for effective storytelling and public speaking.
• Overcoming the fear of judgment and embracing vulnerability can lead to extraordinary responses from the audience.

"If I could teach people how to be confident like a a magic pill I would be the richest person on the planet cuz it is the most powerful thing you can have when you genuinely don't care what other people think most of the time."

• Confidence is a powerful trait that can significantly impact one's ability to connect with an audience.

"The response you get is extraordinary often times when people share something like that they're worried they're going to be judged for the stupidity the shame the Ridiculousness but we just all walk around with that."

• Sharing personal vulnerabilities often leads to positive responses and connections.

• Life experiences, particularly challenging ones, can shape confidence and perspective.
• Surviving traumatic events can lead to a sense of freedom from others' opinions.

"I was in an armed robbery I was managing a McDonald's restaurant after closing three men broke through the glass and came into the into the restaurant and I knew I was in a lot of trouble."

• Personal traumatic experiences can profoundly impact one's outlook on life and confidence.

"But often times I'm saying listen there's not a gun to my head and I'm not about to die so this is nothing and sometimes it's not true sometimes it is something."

• Traumatic experiences can recalibrate one's perception of what truly matters.

• Public speaking and storytelling require practice and the willingness to embrace imperfection.
• Authenticity and imperfection in storytelling can create a deeper connection with the audience.

"Public speaking is very difficult and storytelling is even more difficult because you have to be vulnerable it's kind of like going off a high dive."

• Storytelling and public speaking are challenging but rewarding skills.

"It's in the imperfection that the beauty lies because the imperfection tells us you had not memorized that thing you remembered it."

• Imperfections in storytelling can enhance authenticity and audience connection.

• Writing and speaking are distinct forms of communication with different techniques and impacts.
• Written content should be crafted to convey the same impact as spoken words through structure and emphasis.

"A speech does not live on the page it lives in life it lives in the air it lives in your voice I want to hear what you say because what I say and what you say are going to be very different things."

• Spoken words have a unique impact that written words need to emulate through careful crafting.

"I can craft the sentences and the paragraphs to look such a way that it can provide some of the humor and some of the suspense."

• Structuring written content to mimic spoken delivery can enhance its impact.

• Encouraging a love for writing in children is more important than focusing on technical aspects.
• Children should be allowed to explore multiple writing projects and abandon those that don't inspire them.

"If you're talking about spelling Grammer or handwriting you're making a terrible mistake you're making writing unfun."

• Emphasizing technical aspects too early can make writing unenjoyable for children.

"We often tell kids we they can't abandon their work they got to finish it let me look at it parents want to see spelling and grammar and punctuation cuz that's the things they understand how to fix."

• Allowing children to abandon uninspiring projects encourages a love for writing.

• Success is defined by continuous growth, change, and new challenges.
• Avoiding stasis and embracing new opportunities is key to feeling successful.

"For me success is always that at some very future tomorrow I'll be doing something different than I'm doing today I think stasis is death."

• Continuous evolution and new challenges define success.

"As long as my life is constantly evolving and I am being presented with new challenges and New Opportunities or I'm cracking doors open that I had never cracked open before I feel like I'm successful."

• Embracing new opportunities and avoiding stasis is crucial for success.