144: What Stories Can I Tell?

What stories can I tell?

Everyone knows that “stories are fundamental tools of persuasion.”

At least, that’s what everyone says. But what does it actually mean?

It’s clear that they’re not just talking about any story, right?

So, what stories are they talking about?

And the answer is actually very simple, even if you’re not an amazing storyteller. In fact, it requires almost no imagination to find the right story.

It’s the story of your customer, or your prospect, and how they’re suffering. Basically, it’s a tragedy.

Facts and information don’t engage

You know all the facts (probably, if I know you), and you have lots of information. But your audience doesn’t really care that much about those facts and that information until you give it a story to hang them all on.

In this episode, I talk specifically about how to do that. It’s not that hard, but it goes against both our training as product managers, and our natural inclination to avoid or fix conflict.

Links

* The LinkedIn post I mention at the beginning: How I got 10x better at public speaking.

* A few more podcast episodes about storytelling – More Proven Secrets For Brilliant Storytelling and Storytelling Questions & Answers

* Ministry For The Future, by Kim Stanley Robinson (one of Barack Obama’s recommended books)

* Sign up to get on the notification list for my PM meetup every Friday morning

* Drogheria Della Rosa, the restaurant from my story at the end of the episode.(They’re hiring!)

* Want to work with me? Let’s talk!

What stories can I tell?

Everyone knows that “stories are fundamental tools of persuasion.”

At least, that’s what everyone says. But what does it actually mean?

It’s clear that they’re not just talking about any story, right?

So, what stories are they talking about?

And the answer is actually very simple, even if you’re not an amazing storyteller. In fact, it requires almost no imagination to find the right story.

It’s the story of your customer, or your prospect, and how they’re suffering. Basically, it’s a tragedy.

Facts and information don’t engage

You know all the facts (probably, if I know you), and you have lots of information. But your audience doesn’t really care that much about those facts and that information until you give it a story to hang them all on.

In this episode, I talk specifically about how to do that. It’s not that hard, but it goes against both our training as product managers, and our natural inclination to avoid or fix conflict.

Links

* The LinkedIn post I mention at the beginning: How I got 10x better at public speaking.

* A few more podcast episodes about storytelling – More Proven Secrets For Brilliant Storytelling and Storytelling Questions & Answers

* <a href="https://amzn.