Blog
Storytelling
STORY: About critical thinking and questions
A grade school teacher once told my mom, "Kery just wants things to be fair."
In college, I gravitated toward classes like Intercultural Communication, Women's Studies and Rhetoric. I appreciate the differences in people. It just hurt my heart when I saw injustice in the world. And I had a desire to do something about it. What? I didn't know... but something.
So, while I was in college I looked for ways to further the cause of fairness. In one such instance I volunteered for the Anti Defama…
Audience Psychology for Business Success (Using Animated Video)
Recently in a networking conversation, after I introduced myself someone said, "Animated video? That sounds juvenile." Well, I beg to differ.
How do you win hearts and minds in a time when everyone is selling something (constantly)?
When it comes to marketing your business, you can easily be a stuffed shirt. Just do what everyone else does... advertise, promote, tell them verbally.
Or, you can be unique.
You can entertain just as much as you persuade. You can ask questions, listen and be…
10 Ways to Make Presentations Memorable: Plus 5 tips on how to prepare for your next speaking opportunity
"I'm afraid we are going to bore them to death!" That was what one business development manager told me about her CEO, who has a big speech to give soon.
When you have an opportunity to speak in front of a group, you have the opportunity to build trust, provide value and establish authority. If the CEO presents a boring, long, dry presentation how will the audience respond?
Chances are they'll walk away thinking, "YAWN! What a snooze fest!" Creating that perception misses the goal completel…
Book Review: The Storyteller's Secret by Carmine Gallo
Inventors, entrepreneurs, marketers, scientists and more have all graced the TED Talk stage. And while I did read Gallo's other book, Talk Like Ted I didn't find it quite as engaging as this one: "The Storyteller's Secret." In this book, he takes us through the journey that many now-famous leaders have walked, using the power of storytelling.
Now more than ever our attention spans are short and competition is fierce! Gallo connects storytelling as the key ingredient for connecting with audienc…
Small Businesses Who Used Storytelling to Grow Their Brand
When I say my profession involves business "storytelling" sometimes small business owners just don't get it. I see their gears turning and I can tell they are trying to understand what that means exactly. And I get it... because small business owners have a lot on their plate!
They wear all the hats -- sales, marketing, client management, customer service, accounting, etc.
So, let me just say for the record: using storytelling as a business owner means you can increase yo…
Story Products I Know, Like and Trust
In storytelling and story listening, there is a mutual benefit. You benefit from storytelling because you have the opportunity to influence. You benefit from story listening because you have the opportunity to learn... not to mention to build trust.
A conversation about storytelling often leads to the "know, like and trust" factor. Recently I thought, "why aren't I sharing about products and services that I know, like and trust?" (Especially those that relate to storytelling.)
After all, I'm …
YouTube Relaunch: Won't You Be My Subscriber? (for Storytelling Tips)
Subscribing to a YouTube channel is like joining a neighborhood. It's like saying "yes" to seeing each other regularly and having conversations (in the comments).
It reminds me so much of a community that I feel like I'm channeling Mr. Rogers when I ask, "Subscribe to my YouTube Channel for tips on storytelling."
Previously, under a different iteration of my business, I created YouTube videos. I learned a lot. I experimented enough to know there's a knack to really taking on YouTube. It ca…
The Chemical Kick that Makes Stories Stick
I'm fascinated with human behavior. When I go out into the world and have an experience, I typically end up with a story about it.
Sometimes it's a nugget of inspiration like the other night when I witnessed some amazing performances at an open mic night. Ah, such courage and dedication, I thought as I watched the varied performances. Then there's the head-scratching moments, like when I recently told someone I create animated story video and they said, "I'm not sure who really needs that." Um,…
Why Animated (Story) Video is so Effective
There's a way to stack the deck in your favor the next time you are onboarding a client. It's great to get another sale for your service business but what does your client's experience look like when they work with you?
Take John for instance... his business is successful but he often finds people have misconceptions about what he does as a CPA. "Right away, they think all I do are taxes but there's a whole lot more to it than that." It's important to John that the clients he does take on hav…
5 Tips for Business Storytellers
If you own a business, you have an obligation to tell good stories. As a business owner you, quite frequently, talk to an audience. Whether that's an audience of one or many, it's an audience.
On a daily basis you speak with customers, employees and prospects. Think of the last person you spoke to about work. What category did the conversation fall into?
- Were you in a training conversation?
- Were you in a selling conversation?
- Maybe it was a networking conversation?
Because of your posi…