Podcast
#323: Why the Most Skilled Storytellers Start With the ABT
#323: Why the Most Skilled Storytellers Start With the ABT
For many businesses, the most challenging part of telling their brand story is unlocking the complexity of their messaging. And you want to be able to communicate your story clearly to your audience so that it connects, resonates, and inspires them to take action. But your stories aren’t converting because you’re overcomplicating it instead of simplifying to a structure and language your audience can actually understand.
That’s why today’s episode is all about how you can use the immense power of the And, But, Therefore (ABT) framework to build authentic and memorable connections with your audience. That way, you can win them over and start putting the power of your story at the heart of your business success.
Two people who know a ton about how to tell compelling stories that connect are Sarah Jane McKechnie and David Pullan, partners in a U.K-based business storytelling consultancy, The Story Spotters. Sarah Jane and David help their clients to build powerful connections and save great messages from horrible deaths. Between the two of them, they have more than forty years of experience applying stories to their communications work with some of the world’s top organizations in industries like pharmaceuticals, professional services, insurance and retail.
They’ve experimented with stories in a wide variety of fields including acting in the Royal Shakespeare Company to Paramount Pictures, developing an improvised storytelling course called ‘Don’t Be Hostage to the Funny’ and later training as CBT Hypnotherapists to learn about how the stories we tell ourselves help or hinder our success. They have put themselves out there to discover what it takes to engage and inspire anyone from the most cynical customer in a corridor to the toughest crowd in a conference hall.
Listen today as we explore the four ways you can spot, shape and share stories that excite audiences to action by starting with the foundational narrative framework of the ABT – the And, But, Therefore.
Discussed in this episode:
- Why shaping the story you tell yourselves can help or hinder your business success
- How to become a compelling storyteller by removing yourself from the center of attention and instead, allowing your story to be the center of attention
- Sarah Jane and David tell why they believe the ABT is the holy grail of story telling and how they’ve used this profound framework in their own business and with their clients and why it works
- The importance of simplicity in your storytelling structure & language especially at a time when many of your audience could be suffering from the ‘pandemic brain’
- What the concept of ‘if you can’t see it they can’t see it’ actually means from a storyteller viewpoint and how your behaviors influence the way people will interpret your character
- Sarah Jane and David share their inspiring stories as professional actors and how they’ve transferred their performance skills into the business world to tell compelling stories that connect and stick with your potential prospects
This show is brought to you by Voices
The future is freelance. With 42% of small businesses in the U.S outsourcing work using freelance marketplaces, there’s no better time to implement freelance talent in your business strategy. Voices is the world’s #1 creative services marketplace, connecting the biggest and most beloved brands with freelance professionals to bring their projects to life by matching them with voice over, music, audio production, and translation professionals in over 160 countries. Post your job for free at www.voices.com/hire today to enjoy the flexibility, agility, and peace of mind that working with professional freelancers brings.
Click here to grow your sales with the new The ABT’s of Selling™ online course.
Links
- https://thestoryspotters.com/
- Connect with David on LinkedIn
- Connect with Sarah Jane on LinkedIn
- Connect with The Story Spotters on LinkedIn
- Follow The Story Spotters on Twitter
- Listen to some of my favorite radio spots in Episode 25 of The Business of Story Podcast
- Grab your copy of The Narrative Gym for Business
- Click here for your The ABT’s of Selling™ online quick course
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