Jonathan Haidt, Author

#183: How Your Stories Can Unite Divided People

Why is happiness elusive? Why can’t it be as easy as knowing what makes you happy and doing exactly that? Think about it. Later, you’ll come to realize your important role in resolving this dilemma. In the pursuit of elusive happiness, we can use stories to connect even the greatest divides.

It is a privilege to have Jonathan Haidt on this week’s Business of Story podcast. Jonathan is an American social psychologist who wrote the book The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom. In this book, he explored the relationship between modern science and ancient philosophies like Buddhism and Stoicism. Using the metaphor of the elephant and the rider, he rationalized that the subconscious mind is constantly at war with our conscious mind. That’s the reason why our actions are often the exact opposite of what we’re thinking or feeling.

What is it that divides us? Jonathan touches on the subject in his book The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided By Politics and Religion, showcasing how moral judgments arise from gut feelings, and why many of us have such different intuitions about right and wrong.

In his new book, The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas are Setting Up a Generation for Failure, Haidt, with his co-author Greg Lukianoff, the president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, reveal how we can overcome the polarization we’re now seeing in universities as the iGen. Or Gen Z, kids born in 1995 and beyond.

How can we conquer this division through storytelling and link our worlds together? In this episode, find out how

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Doug Passon, Defense Attorney turned Filmmaker

182: How Defense Attorneys Use Cinematic Storytelling to Reduce Sentences

In 1995, a convict of a federal drug case was given a reduced sentence of probation. Why? The judge saw a video of him taking care of his wife who was very sick. The video showed how his wife’s entire life depended on him. Most importantly, it showed who will be affected most by the judge’s decision — the sick and dying wife who didn’t have anything to do with the crime.

That alone influenced the judge’s decision because it appealed to his human side. That’s the power empathy has.

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Steve Woodruff, Author

#181: Why A Clear Brand Story Gets You Heard and Referred

Back in 2013, I was working with different executives for the Sustainability Leadership Program for Arizona State University. I was one of three speakers and after I was introduced, the executives’ reaction was, “Oh, the soft skills guy!”

Little did I know, there was already warfare between technical hard skills and communications soft skills. A recent report from the World Economic Forum revealed the 10 most in-demand skills in business according to LinkedIn. Hitting the top spots are creativity, persuasion, collaboration, adaptability and time management.  Apparently, as technology advances, the employers’ need for soft skills from their employees also advances.

At the core of each of these skills is the ability to tell a clear and concise story.

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Wanita Zoghby-Fourie, Founder of The Online Business Academy

#180: How to be an Authentic Brand Storyteller on Social Media

This week, we’re doing something different from the past 179 episodes. It’s my turn to be on the hot seat and my guest, Wanita Z-Fourie, will be the one asking the questions. In this show, we discuss how to use storytelling to grow your following.

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Lisa Rothstein, The New Yorker Cartoonist

#179: How to Draw out Your Genius With Visual Storytelling

Have you ever been telling a story and your words failed you? I don’t mean that you didn’t have a word for what you’re thinking or feeling. But they weren’t enough to express exactly what you wanted to say, or your audience wasn’t understanding the message.

The illustration Lisa drew for me to outline my TEDxGilbert Talk

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Pete Walsh, Family Business Performance Coach

#178: How Leadership Storytelling Will Build a Family Business

Sometimes, what should be a source of pride, financial security, and wealth for the family becomes a source of heartache, dysfunction, and conflict. The want for power and control is what separates families in business together. This is why it’s essential to have leadership coaches who can teach the essence of storytelling in building a successful family business.

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Andrea Cadelli, Author

#177: The Power of Self-Narrative to Design Your Future

This episode holds a special spot in my heart because my father, Keith Clinton Howell, passed away recently. We recorded this episode three days after he was buried and I felt he was the one who led today’s guest to the show. My guest is someone who went through severe losses –family members, a job she really loved – and came out kicking. Surprisingly, hitting rock bottom and going through the lowest point in our lives can help unravel our most powerful story. (more…)

Mike Adams, Author

#176: The Seven Stories You Need to Tell to Sell

Many sales and business professionals ask themselves questions every day.

“How do I earn the trust of my audience?”

“How can I become an effective salesperson?”

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Andrea Waltz, Author & Keynote Speaker

#175: How to Reframe Failure Into Stories of Success

One of the most fearful words that has ever existed is “failure”. It hinders even the most ardent dreamer from pursuing their dreams. This fact made me thoughtful of an important question: if we remain fearful, will our dreams ever come true?

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Arthur Samuel Joseph, Founder of Vocal Awareness Institute

#174: How to Find Your Storytelling Voice

The actual aesthetic of our voices is something many of us have worried about at some point or another. We’ve all seen or heard a recording of ourselves and thought, “Is that really what I sound like?”

The good news is that perception can be changed. Yes, we can even change how we hear our own voices through simple exercises and mindset changes. And more importantly, we can change the way others hear and understand our communications through vocal awareness.

In this week’s show, we’re diving into how to use our voice as an instrument to become a better business storyteller.

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