When we communicate with business results in mind, whether we work in-house on a team or we ARE the business, it's so common that we omit specific details. We want to rush to stuff things full of our ideas and make our value clear instantly. The thing is, only when we slow our stories down, include specific details, and describe one or two tiny moments, do others start to care.

Because the goal isn't to say everything all at once. The goal is to find the touchstones of the story that bring it all to life, allowing your audience to fill in the rest in their heads. This ensures they're enrolled into the story, leaning forward, and paying close attention. This ensures they genuinely care.

This is the final episode in a short three-pack of episodes, each of which features a different storyteller from my video series built alongside Intuit Mailchimp, taking you inside my coaching process with three marketing leaders. The series, called B2B Storytelling Stars, offers 6 videos plus associated storytelling templates you can use in your work, all available for free without any registration required at https://jayacunzo.com/stars

To cap off that series, each storyteller gets their own episode of How Stories Happen to further improve 1 story I helped them start building.

Closing out the series is Natalie Taylor, head of marketing at video software company, Capsule. Natalie tells a tasty story about pizza. She crafted it for her work to speak to heads of creatives at enterprise brands (the company's core customer base).

Together, Natalie and I discuss how tiny details help audiences connect with a character and a story, and you’ll get a front row seat to her story’s transformation during this episode. I also share a technique for validating, improving, and marketing your story which I call "up the mountain, down the mountain."

WATCH THE SERIES: STORYTELLING STARS

For all 6 videos (3 group coaching calls and 3 one-on-ones), plus a free template associated with each (no forms required), visit https://jayacunzo.com/stars

RESOURCES:

Connect with Natalie on Linkedin and learn more about her company Capsule

Subscribe to my newsletter at jayacunzo.com

Join the Creator Kitchen membership

Follow me on LinkedIn, Instagram, or Bluesky

This episode was produced by Ilana Nevins

Cover art designed by Blake Ink

***

ABOUT JAY:

Consulting

Speaking

Contact

Books

I help business leaders become stronger speakers and storytellers. The goal isn’t to get in front of your audience. The goal is to ensure they care. While others agonize over reach, your ability to resonate helps you compete on the influence of your ideas, not the volume of your marketing.

With my clients, I help clarify + differentiate their message, craft their thinking and expertise into a distinct premise and IP they own, and develop signature speeches and stories to influence, inspire, and drive results.

After starting at brands like Google and HubSpot, I’ve helped organizations like Mailchimp, Salesforce, Wistia, and GoDaddy, plus dozens of individual authors, founders, execs, consultants, and creators with their storytelling and public speaking.

I live in the Boston area with my family as a proud Yankees and Knicks fan (yes, I’m in enemy territory). In the 60 seconds per week I’m not creating stuff for work or making my kids laugh, I like to shoot hoops, sip nice bourbons, cook with my wife, and daydream about telling stories like my storytelling hero, Anthony Bourdain. Say hi via jayacunzo.com

Welcome to one of the more inspiring episodes of the show! Entrepreneur and growth marketing expert Sarah Stockdale is one of the most nuanced, capable, and generous voices in the industry. When she shows up, she resonates, no matter what she's creating or where she's appearing.

Today, both of us commiserate over being dedicated parents learning to be parents, informed citizens struggling with so many things in society, and being public voices with pressure to deliver ... all at the same time.

This frames our conversation into the subtleties of storytelling. How do we show up when life is life-ing hard? How do we imbue the work with the right personal details to find the universal? And what happens when your public persona and your business results are intertwined?

This is a special episode of the show for another reason too. I’ve partnered with Intuit Mailchimp as part of a limited series called B2B Storytelling Stars. You can watch as I coach 3 marketers and experts on group calls and 1:1s, helping them craft their premises, messages, and stories. Get all 6 videos plus a storytelling template, free and ungated, at https://jayacunzo.com/stars

To cap off the series, each storyteller will appear on How Stories Happen for their very own episode, featuring the story we began developing behind the scenes together. This is Sarah's episode, and you'll hear the story we workshopped during Storytelling Stars.

WATCH MY LIMITED SERIES, STORYTELLING STARS

For all 6 videos (3 group coaching calls and 3 one-on-ones), plus a free template associated with each (no forms required), visit https://jayacunzo.com/stars

RESOURCES:

Follow with Sarah on Linkedin and subscribe to her newsletter

Learn more about Sarah's career and her speaking on her site

Subscribe to my newsletter at jayacunzo.com

Follow me on LinkedIn, Instagram, or Bluesky

This show is produced by Ilana Nevins

Cover art designed by Blake Ink

***

ABOUT ME, JAY ACUNZO:

Consulting

Speaking

Contact

Books

I help business leaders become stronger speakers and storytellers. The goal isn’t to get in front of your audience. The goal is to ensure they care. While others agonize over reach, your ability to resonate helps you compete on the influence of your ideas, not the volume of your marketing.

With my clients, I help clarify + differentiate their message, craft their thinking and expertise into a distinct premise and IP they own, and develop signature speeches and stories to influence, inspire, and drive results.

After starting at brands like Google and HubSpot, I’ve helped organizations like Mailchimp, Salesforce, Wistia, and GoDaddy, plus dozens of individual authors, founders, execs, consultants, and creators with their storytelling and public speaking.

I live in the Boston area with my family as a proud Yankees and Knicks fan (yes, I’m in enemy territory). In the 60 seconds per week I’m not creating stuff for work or making my kids laugh, I like to shoot hoops, sip nice bourbons, cook with my wife, and daydream about telling stories like my storytelling hero, Anthony Bourdain. Say hi via jayacunzo.com

This is a special episode of the show. I’ve partnered with Intuit Mailchimp as part of a limited series called B2B Storytelling Stars. You can watch as I coach 3 marketers and experts on group calls and 1:1s, helping them craft their premises, messages, and stories. Get all 6 videos plus a storytelling template, free and ungated, at https://jayacunzo.com/stars

To cap off the series, each storyteller will appear on How Stories Happen for their very own episode, featuring the story we began developing behind the scenes together. 

Kicking things off is Shez Mehra, one of the world’s foremost experts in sound and music used by brands to create memorable, cohesive experiences. He leads The 194 Group and has worked with Nike, Sephora, Google, Ford, Microsoft, and others. He’s also a partner in the software company Raina Music, which helps retail and hospitality brands with their music experiences.

Shez shares a moving story of the power of music, talks about his lifelong obsession with music and sound (and what we can learn from his years as a DJ crafting his sets), and together, we dissect the pieces of his signature story to get more specific, to pivot from a personal story to a relevant message to clients, and to stick the landing of a story well-told. 

WATCH THE SERIES: STORYTELLING STARS

For all 6 videos (3 group coaching calls and 3 one-on-ones), plus a free template associated with each (no forms required), visit https://jayacunzo.com/stars

RESOURCES:

Connect with Shez on X, Linkedin, and Instagram

Subscribe to my newsletter at jayacunzo.com

Join the Creator Kitchen membership

Follow me on LinkedIn, Instagram, or Bluesky

This episode was produced by Ilana Nevins

Cover art designed by Blake Ink

***

ABOUT JAY:

Consulting

Speaking

Contact

Books

I help business leaders become stronger speakers and storytellers. The goal isn’t to get in front of your audience. The goal is to ensure they care. While others agonize over reach, your ability to resonate helps you compete on the influence of your ideas, not the volume of your marketing.

With my clients, I help clarify + differentiate their message, craft their thinking and expertise into a distinct premise and IP they own, and develop signature speeches and stories to influence, inspire, and drive results.

After starting at brands like Google and HubSpot, I’ve helped organizations like Mailchimp, Salesforce, Wistia, and GoDaddy, plus dozens of individual authors, founders, execs, consultants, and creators with their storytelling and public speaking.

I live in the Boston area with my family as a proud Yankees and Knicks fan (yes, I’m in enemy territory). In the 60 seconds per week I’m not creating stuff for work or making my kids laugh, I like to shoot hoops, sip nice bourbons, cook with my wife, and daydream about telling stories like my storytelling hero, Anthony Bourdain. Say hi via jayacunzo.com

As another year comes to an end, we often reflect backwards, because hindsight is 20/20. But what we don’t often realize is that sometimes when you have that clarity of sight, you'll want to close your eyes, rub your temples, maybe let your head fall to the table. Because you’re amazed at how you just… couldn’t… see it. 

That was me, all year long, but I finally see clearly again, and I want you to avoid the same frustrating slog I endured between 2020-2023.

That’s why in this solo episode I’m sharing the two questions (and a quote) that made all the difference for me in 2024. I hope these will help you, too. I’ve lovingly crafted these questions for you, so that you can avoid years of the being stressed out, frenetic, reactive and busy without knowing what the heck you’re doing. As for the quote? That’s from the master.

RESOURCES:

Subscribe to my newsletter at jayacunzo.com

Join the Creator Kitchen membership

Follow me on LinkedIn, Instagram, or Bluesky

This episode was produced by Ilana Nevins

Cover art designed by Blake Ink

***

ABOUT JAY:

Consulting

Speaking

Contact

Books

I help business leaders become stronger speakers and storytellers. The goal isn’t to get in front of your audience. The goal is to ensure they care. While others agonize over reach, your ability to resonate helps you compete on the influence of your ideas, not the volume of your marketing.

With my clients, I help clarify + differentiate their message, craft their thinking and expertise into a distinct premise and IP they own, and develop signature speeches and stories to influence, inspire, and drive results.

After starting at brands like Google and HubSpot, I’ve helped organizations like Mailchimp, Salesforce, Wistia, and GoDaddy, plus dozens of individual authors, founders, execs, consultants, and creators with their storytelling and public speaking.

I live in the Boston area with my family as a proud Yankees and Knicks fan (yes, I’m in enemy territory). In the 60 seconds per week I’m not creating stuff for work or making my kids laugh, I like to shoot hoops, sip nice bourbons, cook with my wife, and daydream about telling stories like my storytelling hero, Anthony Bourdain. Say hi via jayacunzo.com

Signature stories aren’t just stories you tell a lot. They’re stories you’d sign your name to. In this episode, author and speaker Melanie Deziel shares a story that went from nerve-wracking to heart-wrenching the more she told it, as she found ways to tell it her own way (and as new details emerged from the story).

Mel is my cofounder in our Creator Kitchen membership, and this interview was part of the miniseries that helped me pilot How Stories Happen. The thing is, when you pilot something, you’re often piloting THREE somethings, so we should rethink the ways we actually test, validate, and improve those somethings. 

That’s a lot of somethings, but hey, this episode has everything. Or at least a handful of really freaking good somethings. 

We're putting on display the hidden details, tiny choices, and emotional moments, as we seek to go beyond telling stories to instead BECOME storytellers.

RESOURCES:

Learn more about Melanie at her website

Subscribe to Jay's newsletter at jayacunzo.com

Join Jay and Mel’s membership program for business storytellers and service providers, the Creator Kitchen

Follow Jay on LinkedIn, Instagram, or Threads

Produced by Ilana Nevins

Cover art designed by Blake Ink

***

ABOUT JAY:

Consulting

Speaking

Contact

Books

Jay Acunzo is an author, speaker, and differentiation-and-thought leadership consultant on a mission to help you make what matters to your career, company, and community. He's an advisor to experts, execs, and entrepreneurs who want to resonate deeper with others, not just reach them. To do so, he helps you turn your expertise into IP and your IP into differentiated messaging, exceptional speeches, and celebrated creative projects, equipping you with the communication techniques and power of today’s top thought leaders—because he believes in standing out through substance and stories, not hollow hype.

A leading voice in B2B content marketing for many years thanks to his roles at brands like Google and HubSpot, companies like Mailchimp, Salesforce, Wistia, and GoDaddy have turned to Jay to strengthen their storytelling, while dozens of individual authors, speakers, consultants, and service providers hire Jay as their dedicated thought partner and exec. producer to help develop their premise, IP, speaking, and shows.

Jay lives in the Boston area with his family as a proud Yankees and Knicks fan. In the 60 seconds per week he's not creating stuff for work or making his kids laugh, he likes to shoot hoops, sip nice bourbons, cook with his wife, and daydream about telling stories like that of his storytelling hero, Anthony Bourdain.

"You have a real gift," we say to our storytelling heroes. But do they? Storytelling is a skill. Communicating with greater impact is a craft. It’s not something anyone is gifted. It’s something we all can master.

Today, it’s just me, Jay. Hello! I’m trying a solo episode, sharing my favorite trick for stronger ideas and stories.

Be forewarned: this trick involves sharing your thinking publicly. Not “building in public,” as many like to talk about doing, but by aerating your thinking to sharpen it.

So what “thinking” are you aerating? A very specific kind. To communicate in ways that resonate does NOT require you to experience a lightning strike insight or sensational story. This isn’t about doing something grand and newsworthy either. 

No, this trick requires us to do something which our society doesn’t often teach, but it’s free and easy to start.

RESOURCES:

Subscribe to Jay's newsletter at jayacunzo.com

Join Jay's membership program for business storytellers and service providers, the Creator Kitchen

Follow Jay on LinkedIn, Instagram, or Threads

Produced by Ilana Nevins

Cover art designed by Blake Ink

***

ABOUT JAY:

Consulting

Speaking

Contact

Books

Jay Acunzo is an author, speaker, and differentiation-and-thought leadership consultant on a mission to help you make what matters to your career, company, and community. He's an advisor to experts, execs, and entrepreneurs who want to resonate deeper with others, not just reach them. To do so, he helps you turn your expertise into IP and your IP into differentiated messaging, exceptional speeches, and celebrated creative projects, equipping you with the communication techniques and power of today’s top thought leaders—because he believes in standing out through substance and stories, not hollow hype.

A leading voice in B2B content marketing for many years thanks to his roles at brands like Google and HubSpot, companies like Mailchimp, Salesforce, Wistia, and GoDaddy have turned to Jay to strengthen their storytelling, while dozens of individual authors, speakers, consultants, and service providers hire Jay as their dedicated thought partner and exec. producer to help develop their premise, IP, speaking, and shows.

Jay lives in the Boston area with his family as a proud Yankees and Knicks fan. In the 60 seconds per week he's not creating stuff for work or making his kids laugh, he likes to shoot hoops, sip nice bourbons, cook with his wife, and daydream about telling stories like that of his storytelling hero, Anthony Bourdain.

It's time for a new edition of "Is This Anything?", the miniseries where friends and clients join me to work out new drafts and ideas for upcoming pieces and projects. In this episode, I help Justin Moore design his signature talk, beat by beat.

Justin is the founder of Creator Wizard, which helps creators secure more and better brand deals to grow their businesses. Through trainings, coaching, and his signature course, Justin has made a name for himself in the creator economy.

For both his book and for the next wave of growth that he sees for his business, involving a slightly new group of buyers, Justin wants to develop a talk capable of earning him the main stage, not just breakouts, where he's up against multiple speakers at the same time slot. 

Together, we work through a structure you can use to develop your speeches. We discuss the differences between breakouts and keynotes, virtual and in-person, and why Justin needs his "higher-order idea" or the idea BEFORE the ideas he's known for already, in order to inspire action in his audience and grow his business through speaking.

It's a rare look at the speech development process with two established creative voices, with one entrepreneur playing coach and the other the vulnerable but committed student. I hope this is both enjoyable and useful to your speaking journey!

RESOURCES:

Learn more about Justin's business at creatorwizard.com

Get a copy of Justin's book Sponsor Magnet, or join the waitlist now (coming in January 2025)

Subscribe to Jay's newsletter at jayacunzo.com

Join Jay's membership program for business storytellers and service providers, the Creator Kitchen

Follow Jay on LinkedIn, Instagram, or Threads

Produced by Ilana Nevins

Cover art designed by Blake Ink

***

ABOUT JAY:

Consulting

Speaking

Contact

Books

Jay Acunzo is an author, speaker, and differentiation-and-thought leadership consultant on a mission to help you make what matters to your career, company, and community. He's an advisor to experts, execs, and entrepreneurs who want to resonate deeper with others, not just reach them. To do so, he helps you turn your expertise into IP and your IP into differentiated messaging, exceptional speeches, and celebrated creative projects, equipping you with the communication techniques and power of today’s top thought leaders—because he believes in standing out through substance and stories, not hollow hype.

A leading voice in B2B content marketing for many years thanks to his roles at brands like Google and HubSpot, companies like Mailchimp, Salesforce, Wistia, and GoDaddy have turned to Jay to strengthen their storytelling, while dozens of individual authors, speakers, consultants, and service providers hire Jay as their dedicated thought partner and exec. producer to help develop their premise, IP, speaking, and shows.

Jay lives in the Boston area with his family as a proud Yankees and Knicks fan. In the 60 seconds per week he's not creating stuff for work or making his kids laugh, he likes to shoot hoops, sip nice bourbons, cook with his wife, and daydream about telling stories like that of his storytelling hero, Anthony Bourdain.

Today, it's a total treat as the one and only Seth Godin takes us into how he thinks about storytelling and the intersection of strategy and story, and then we hear him dissect a signature story. Plus, Seth and I trade stories in the back half of the episode—business storytelling nerdery on full display.

Seth is a world-renowned storyteller and thought leader, a legendary keynote speaker who helped disrupt the format, and the bestselling author of more than 20 books, including Purple Cow, The Practice, and This Is Marketing. His brand new book, This is Strategy, is available now.

Together, Seth and I discuss his delightful story about recumbent bikes. This "super-story" has found its way into Seth’s work repeatedly for over a decade. We discuss ‌the evolution of this story, how he conceptualizes status and affiliation, and why focusing on pedagogy as a storyteller is essential. 

Also in the episode: why the idea of your posture matters for storytellers, the role of the storyteller today (and why tiny stories make a big impact), and how can you make yourself, your work, and your stories truly stand out.

RESOURCES:

Learn more about Seth at his website and read his blog

Buy a copy of Seth's new book, This Is Strategy

Subscribe to Jay's newsletter at jayacunzo.com

Join Jay's membership program for business storytellers and service providers, the Creator Kitchen

Follow Jay on LinkedIn, Instagram, or Threads

Produced by Ilana Nevins

Cover art designed by Blake Ink

***

ABOUT JAY:

Consulting

Speaking

Contact

Books

Jay Acunzo is an author, speaker, and differentiation-and-thought leadership consultant on a mission to help you make what matters to your career, company, and community. He's an advisor to experts, execs, and entrepreneurs who want to resonate deeper with others, not just reach them. To do so, he helps you turn your expertise into IP and your IP into differentiated messaging, exceptional speeches, and celebrated creative projects, equipping you with the communication techniques and power of today’s top thought leaders—because he believes in standing out through substance and stories, not hollow hype.

A leading voice in B2B content marketing for many years thanks to his roles at brands like Google and HubSpot, companies like Mailchimp, Salesforce, Wistia, and GoDaddy have turned to Jay to strengthen their storytelling, while dozens of individual authors, speakers, consultants, and service providers hire Jay as their dedicated thought partner and exec. producer to help develop their premise, IP, speaking, and shows.

Jay lives in the Boston area with his family as a proud Yankees and Knicks fan. In the 60 seconds per week he's not creating stuff for work or making his kids laugh, he likes to shoot hoops, sip nice bourbons, cook with his wife, and daydream about telling stories like that of his storytelling hero, Anthony Bourdain.

This week, we’re joined by our first-ever recurring guest. The brilliant Ann Handley (WSJ bestselling author of Everybody Writes and globally touring keynote speaker) joins us for a very special episode of “Is This Anything?”, the mini-series, where friends and collaborators join me to work out new ideas, unproven drafts, and hidden ideas to see if it is, in fact, anything.

But because it’s Ann, we’re renaming it Is This ANNything. Get it? Do you get it? (If you didn’t like that, you’re really not gonna like this episode…)

First, we discuss a story we co-wrote on Threads, sharing back and forth posts to build on each others’ previous ideas. Read that story here (you need to click into the first Thread for the threading to make sense. Oh, Threads…)

Then, we share drafts of our newsletters, each at different stages, and workshop improvements.

It’s a refreshing look at two prolific writers and speakers (and one bestselling author!) in the middle of their process.

Read Jay’s final newsletter version here. (Ann has not written the draft publicly as of this episode’s publish date.)

Listen to Ann’s first appearance on How Stories Happen as she dissects a published piece: “How do we all sign our work?” - Episode 3 with Ann Handley

RESOURCES:

⚫  Learn more about Ann at her website and subscribe to her newsletter 

⚫ Follow Ann on LinkedIn and Instagram

⚫  Buy Ann’s book, Everybody Writes

🔵 Subscribe to Jay Acunzo's newsletter at jayacunzo.com

🔵 Join Jay's membership program for business storytellers and service providers, the Creator Kitchen

🔵 Follow Jay on LinkedIn, Instagram, or Threads

🟢 Produced by Ilana Nevins

🟢 Cover art designed by Blake Ink

ABOUT JAY:

Consulting

Speaking

Contact

Books

Jay Acunzo is an author, speaker, and differentiation-and-thought leadership consultant on a mission to help you make what matters to your career, company, and community. He's an advisor to experts, execs, and entrepreneurs who want to resonate deeper with others, not just reach them. To do so, he helps you turn your expertise into IP and your IP into differentiated messaging, exceptional speeches, and celebrated creative projects, equipping you with the communication techniques and power of today’s top thought leaders—because he believes in standing out through substance and stories, not hollow hype.

A leading voice in B2B content marketing for many years thanks to his roles at brands like Google and HubSpot, companies like Mailchimp, Salesforce, Wistia, and GoDaddy have turned to Jay to strengthen their storytelling, while dozens of individual authors, speakers, consultants, and service providers hire Jay as their dedicated thought partner and exec. producer to help develop their premise, IP, speaking, and shows.

Jay lives in the Boston area with his family as a proud Yankees and Knicks fan. In the 60 seconds per week he's not creating stuff for work or making his kids laugh, he likes to shoot hoops, sip nice bourbons, cook with his wife, and daydream about telling stories like that of his storytelling hero, Anthony Bourdain.

Why is candor essential for a good story? How brutally honest should you actually be in sharing a story with the world? 

The great Chase Jarvis brings us into his story of self-discovery, with the many twists and turns his professional career has taken, as he works through how to best tell that story ahead of his next book tour. 

Starting in second grade when his entrepreneurial spirit was snuffed by his teacher, Chase works to find acceptance by pursuing the “best” path forward, before realizing that maybe it’s not the best path for him. It’s a story that’s brutally honest, surprising, and carefully crafted so that listeners get an intimate look at the real Chase Jarvis and the themes of his book.

Chase is an award-winning photographer, entrepreneur, and the author of “Never Play It Safe," and he's widely considered to be one of the leading voices advocating for the importance of creativity in work, life, and society today.

Together, Jay and Chase extract the various blocks that create the flow of Chase's story, exploring what makes certain segments most compelling and how to best drive the story forward. They discuss how great stories are built, rather than experienced, and the importance of allegory versus illustration.

Whether you’re an aspiring author, artist or entrepreneur, this episode will compel you to slow down, reflect, and connect to your own unique path forward and all the stories that have shaped you and your work. 

RESOURCES:

⚫ Learn more about Chase at his website, or listen to his podcast, The Chase Jarvis LIVE Show

⚫ Follow Chase on X and Instagram

⚫ Buy Chase’s book, Never Play It Safe

🔵 Subscribe to Jay Acunzo's newsletter at jayacunzo.com

🔵 Join Jay's membership program for business storytellers and service providers, the Creator Kitchen

🔵 Follow Jay on LinkedIn, Instagram, or Threads

🟢 Produced by Ilana Nevins

🟢 Cover art designed by Blake Ink

***

ABOUT JAY:

Consulting
Speaking
Contact
Books

Jay Acunzo is an author, speaker, and differentiation-and-thought leadership consultant on a mission to help you make what matters to your career, company, and community. He's an advisor to experts, execs, and entrepreneurs who want to resonate deeper with others, not just reach them. To do so, he helps you turn your expertise into IP and your IP into differentiated messaging, exceptional speeches, and celebrated creative projects, equipping you with the communication techniques and power of today’s top thought leaders—because he believes in standing out through substance and stories, not hollow hype.

A leading voice in B2B content marketing for many years thanks to his roles at brands like Google and HubSpot, companies like Mailchimp, Salesforce, Wistia, and GoDaddy have turned to Jay to strengthen their storytelling, while dozens of individual authors, speakers, consultants, and service providers hire Jay as their dedicated thought partner and exec. producer to help develop their premise, IP, speaking, and shows.

Jay lives in the Boston area with his family as a proud Yankees and Knicks fan. In the 60 seconds per week he's not creating stuff for work or making his kids laugh, he likes to shoot hoops, sip nice bourbons, cook with his wife, and daydream about telling stories like that of his storytelling hero, Anthony Bourdain.