You may have noticed the message at the bottom of my previous article, inviting you to submit any story questions you’d like me to answer. These can include specific problems you’re encountering in finding or developing your own stories – actually my favorite kind of question, because these prove to be more useful to you personally, and tend to be far more helpful than those where I’m responding to a hypothetical issue you think you might encounter somewhere down the road. I really appreciate those of you who have already responded to my request. Here, in fact, is a question that applies wheth ..read more

The emotion you must elicit with your stories will come primarily from the conflict your heroes face – the hurdles and obstacles they must overcome as they pursue their desires, along with their wounds from the past and fears of the future.  But another form of conflict that is tied to all of these is the amount of risk your heroes must take on their journey. What do they stand to lose if they fail? What have they put on the line in order to succeed? In other words, what’s at stake for your hero? As with conflict, the more that’s at stake for your hero, the greater the emotional involveme ..read more

Captivating, entertaining dialogue is essential to great storytelling. As I discussed in my previous newsletter entitled “Talk,” what your characters say can add detail, depth, realism, humor, understanding and emotion to your stories.  If it’s done well.    If your dialogue is too long, repetitive, unnecessary and boring, or if it’s absent altogether, your stories will never have the impact you desire.  You must also avoid obvious dialogue where your characters simply announce facts that you want to convey to your readers and audiences (“I was once a successful judge ..read more

In coaching film and fiction writers as well as speakers, marketers and entrepreneurs, I stand by the principle that stories are universal, and that the same qualities that make movies and novels emotionally captivating and persuasive apply to business stories as well. It has also proven true that the biggest weaknesses I encounter with fictional stories and movie adaptations – too complicated, no clear hero or visible goal, not enough conflict or vivid detail – occur with equal frequency in speeches, webinars and non-fiction books. But one storytelling issue all business leaders face is the e ..read more

Your success as a storyteller depends on your ability to create IMAGES.  Whenever audiences or buyers hear or read a story, they immediately picture what is happening. So it is your responsibility to make your characters, your settings and the action of your stories come to life clearly and vividly. The most common weakness of character descriptions I encounter is that they generalize. The details are broad, vague or not visual at all. They neither create a specific image, nor do they reveal anything important or emotionally involving about the character. When you define your characters o ..read more

Yesterday I finished reading Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus.  I held off at the end because I hated the thought of completing it. It’s that good. Probably my favorite novel since Where the Crawdads Sing. It’s wonderfully written– engrossing, vivid, funny, intelligent, romantic and philosophical. It made me laugh, made me angry, and more than once made me cry. In other words, like all great stories, it made me feel. I also listened to an interview with Bonnie Garmus and learned this was her first published novel, which is now a huge bestseller, and is going to be a series for Apple ..read more

During my summer sabbatical, I would frequently take my dog Lucy for walks to a beautiful cemetery in Salem, Oregon, just three blocks from the street where I grew up. But one day we discovered something I’d never seen before, a memorial to veterans of the Civil War – a circle of about 40 graves marked by tombstones with inscriptions revealing the names, birth and death dates, and the regiments they belonged to (7th Indiana Infantry, Montana Artillery, etc.). The dates extended well beyond 1865, and I began imagining that after the war, these men and women must have moved to Oregon to start n ..read more

We are now down to the final video in my 17-part Hollywood Tricks of the Trade series, one of the bonus modules included in my Hollywood StorySelling master course. This last trick of the trade starts at the very beginning with TITLES. While there isn’t necessarily a “formula” for coming up with good titles, I wanted to give you some insights into how Hollywood comes up with strong, marketable, memorable titles in order to help you brainstorm titles for your presentations, speeches, and stories. It’s been very gratifying to share this series with all of you, and I hope you’ve found the videos ..read more

DECEPTION is the 16th in my Hollywood Tricks of the Trade series, one of the most popular bonus modules included in my Hollywood StorySelling course. When a character in a movie or TV episode tells a lie or keeps a secret in order to avoid conflict or get what they’re after, the stakes are higher – and our emotional involvement even greater – as we anticipate what will happen when the truth comes out. In this video I reveal how even in a story used for marketing, using this device to create dramatic tension will captivate your prospects and make your presentation more persuasive. In next week ..read more

Most Hollywood movies have happy endings, just as almost all business stories are about heroes who achieve their goals. You want your prospects to know that by following your process, or using your product, they will succeed the way your satisfied client did. But like some of the greatest Hollywood movies, you may also want one or two of your stories to have a sad, defeated or even tragic ending. In ALTERNATE ENDINGS, the 15th of my 17 Hollywood Tricks of the Trade videos, I reveal how a “failure” story can be a powerfully persuasive way to move your audience to action. Next week’s video: Dece ..read more