Mark Carpenter is a serial storyteller and co-author of the best-selling book Master Storytelling. Mark shared how you can be more intentional as you tell stories in your work building brands, inspiring teams, and leading in both work and life. Master storytelling by listening to Mark this week on the On Brand podcast.

About Mark Carpenter

Mark Carpenter is a serial storyteller. Even as a child, he loved to tell stories (mainly to get attention). He leveraged that ability into a career in marketing communications and public relations, then as a college professor and corporate facilitator.

Now, he teaches people how to more intentionally tell stories that teach, lead, sell, and inspire to accomplish business and personal goals. He is the co-author of the best-selling book Master Storytelling: How to Turn Your Experiences Into Stories that Teach, Lead, and Inspire and co-creator of the Master Storytelling Workshop.

Leveraging a 20-year career in corporate communication, 10 years working as an adjunct professor of communication, and 15 years facilitating training, Mark couples a lively, engaging style with purposeful, impactful learning.

When he’s not training, speaking, coaching, or creating new content, Mark is likely hiking or snowshoeing in the mountains near his home in Utah, playing the piano, bragging about his grandchildren, or writing children's books.

Episode Highlights

“Building a brand isn’t like putting money in a slot machine,” Mark joked. Like storytelling, it requires intentionality. “You have to look for the experiences.”

How can you find stories? Mark advises us to, “Look for anything that creates an emotional reaction.” Stories are built around emotion and help produce emotion as they’re shared over and over again. As brands, we need to encourage our people to look for these moments of customer emotion around the brand.

“Sharing experiences requires vulnerability,” Mark noted. It takes a lot as a brand and as a leader to stand up and say, “This is who we are.”

Leading with story. “You’ll be seen as a stronger leader if you connect through story,” Mark shared. “You need to connect the information to your people. Make it real for them. That’s the job of a leader.”

What brand has made Mark smile recently? Mark came prepared for this question! He shared another brand that made him smile earlier in the interview, Second Chance Academy. However, his big smile came from his hometown favorite, Kizik shoes, which Mark wears everywhere.

To learn more, go to master-storytelling.com or connect with Mark on LinkedIn.

As We Wrap …

Until next week, I’ll see you on the Internet!

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