The ABT method is just about the simplest storytelling structure, but we can make it more effective. ABT, developed by Randy Olson, stands for “And, But, Therefore.” Each of those words corresponds to an act of a story. The first act is set up so you present, with the “And,” two pieces of information that […]
Storytelling
Why Stories Work-How to Use Them for Storytelling in Business EP:090
We’re told to use storytelling in business, but why do stories work at all? What’s crazy: the concept of storytelling in business is, at this point, at least 20 years old, but we don’t seem to be getting any better at it. Why not? It goes back to why the pieces of a story are […]
Why you need a process for problem-solving
I blame my boys for the last two weeks. I mean, it’s a good thing, but still. It’s totally their fault I’ve been spending the last two weeks teaching myself how to solve a Rubik’s Cube. Now, you may be saying to yourself, “Um…Tamsen, isn’t that something you should have figured out 30 years ago?” And […]
How to create a “moment of truth”
What really happens in a moment of truth? And I don’t mean the Procter & Gamble, marketing, or even Google “moments of truth,” though I’ll get to those in a minute. I mean those times when the traffic light of change in someone’s mind suddenly flips from red to green. When you decide to go […]
How to Use Storytelling to Talk About Yourself – EP:084
Someone asking you to talk about yourself can be intimidating, but storytelling can help you out. Realize that what people are really asking for when they ask you to talk about yourself are the patterns of who you are. Finding those patterns comes down to a simple phrase: what’s true for you is what you […]
When communications failures drive marketing failures
In 1987, the Walt Disney Corporation and the government of France signed a deal to build a new Disney theme park in the suburbs outside of Paris. France fought (!) to have Disney come. They wanted the theme park. They beat out Spain to get it (another first!)… and so Euro Disney was born. And […]
How to start a presentation your audience wants to keep listening to
Let’s say you sit down to read a new mystery novel. You crack open the cover, flip to the first page, and just as you’re about to read the first line, your (soon-to-be-former) friend comes over and says, “The butler did it.” GAH. Why does that drive us nuts? And more importantly, why does it […]
How to handle negative feedback
Do you remember your first negative performance review? I do. I was 10. I was hot off a victory at the King’s Grant Elementary School Holiday Door Decorating Contest. Our winning door had a fully functioning fake fireplace, replete with mantle and stockings. It was, to say the least, a thing of beauty. And it was all […]
Who’s the hero of your story? Not you.
Ignaz Semmelweis had solved a mystery. And it drove him insane. It’s 1847, and Semmelweis is a doctor at a teaching hospital in Vienna, Austria. The hospital has two maternity wards – one for training doctors, one for training midwives. To keep patient levels even, the wards admit women on alternate days. But the levels […]
How Do You Clarify and Simplify Your Big Idea? – EP075
The Power of “Only” When you’re trying to clarify and simplify your big idea, the word “only” is extremely important. You need to make sure your audience gets only what they need in order to act. To do that, focus on the action that you’re looking for. Keep in mind that understanding isn’t an action— […]