Podcast

Rain Bennett

#466: The Secret to Six-Second Video Storytelling

I have taken a number on the internal sales teams at The Home Depot through The Business of Story mastery course.

If you have ever taken it then you know I always start by showing them how to use the ABT (And, But, Therefore) narrative framework as the foundation to grow their storytelling skill.

In a virtual training session, one guy asked me, “What is the shortest ABT you know, Park?”

Now I realize that my answer was basically a six-second story. I told him that the shortest ABT goes like this…

“You communicate and care but bore, so tell a story.”

Ten short words that actually come in at about four seconds in the telling.

It works because it uses the three forces of story of agreement, contradiction and consequence that the primal pattern-seeking, problem-solving, decision-making buying limbic brain adores.

The ABT framework is ideal for your six-second video storytelling.

That’s why I’m excited to have Rain Bennett, author of Six Second Stories and host of the popular The Storytelling Lab podcast with us today sharing how to craft your short video stories.

It’s one thing to make your storytelling clear, concise and compelling using the ABT, but where do you find your stories? Rain Bennet is here to show you how.

Rain is the Co-Founder and CCO of CaptureFully, as well as an award-winning filmmaker, author, keynote speaker, and storytelling coach.

I was recently on Rain’s excellent show talking about how to apply the ABT in your six-second stories.

In 20 years and over 1000 interviews, he has realized one consistent truth: stories hold a profound power, but only if one knows how to tell them consistently and efficiently to transport your audience.

Takeaways:

Focus on building the skill of storytelling before seeking out tools or trends.
Leverage your unique perspective to tell stories in a way that only you can.
Understand your audience and how they need to receive your message or story.
Short-format storytelling, such as six-second stories, can be powerful and engaging.
Effective storytelling is about showing transformation and engaging the audience. Authentic storytelling can create emotional connections with customers and strengthen brand narratives.
Consistency and efficiency are key in maintaining a storytelling practice.
Passion is essential in keeping stories interesting and enduring the challenges of entrepreneurship.
The Hero’s Journey and the Artist’s Journey are frameworks for personal and professional growth.