Why Story Power
A few days ago, when I offered website mini-makeovers to the first five people who requested them, I got an email from a subscriber who wanted my help… …but needed, first, to point out for her site’s “shortcomings.” She wrote: “My caveat…we are a small organization and pay an independent web designer to do our…
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Shark-attack stories are in the news. East coast. West coast. Sharks are attacking from sea to shining sea. Two attacks off the same Long Island beach yesterday. And earlier this summer, a swimmer in California nearly died. He described what happened on the morning news: “I was bitten ferociously by a shark right across my…
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Fifteen years ago today (June 29, 2007), Apple released the first iPhone. The rest is… …you know. Here’s the thing about Apple: The company makes great technology, but what really sets it apart is the storytelling. So many great, story-powered ads. My favorite? One called “Bounce” — a 2019 ad for AirPods (ear phones). I…
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A few weeks back, I stumbled across an article by a so-called “storytelling expert” who droned on and on about something called Freytag’s Storytelling Pyramid. Freytag was a 19th-century German playwright. And, unless you’re a glutton for punishment, I have good news for you: You don’t have to know anything about Freytag or his pyramid…
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Back in the early 1970s, I was still a wee lad playing kick ball on the blacktop at Conway School… …when I heard the rumor. Cathy Summers eats her own boogers. (GASP!) I don’t remember who started the rumor, and I have no idea if it was true. But I know the booger-rumor stuck. And…
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I touched a nerve yesterday. In my Monday Mash-Up yesterday, I shared an article that called “B.S.” on Simon Sinek’s “start with why.” I received lots of replies from subscribers who agreed. No one defended Sinek. Sinek’s big idea from his 2010 TED talk, “People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it.” That…
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Driving yesterday from St. Louis to Kansas City, Melissa and I listened to one of my favorite podcasts called “Good Songs.” The singer/songwriter Peter Himmelman and his son Isaac pick a song they love and discuss it briefly. As we drove through Kingdom City, MO, we listened to the episode about Taylor Swift’s song “Tis…
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Sana met “Prince of Joy” in an online chat room after she grew tired of her husband, Adnan. She called herself “Sweetie” in the chat room, and she poured her heart out to Prince of Joy. Prince poured back. They had so much in common. Both from Bosnia. Both in loveless marriages. Both looking for…
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I got lots of great feedback from subscribers after sending an email yesterday about my humiliating Cinco de Mayo mishap. My favorite response came from the great Michael DeLon — America’s Foremost Authority on Credibility Marketing — who said: “Well done! I could just picture being at the table, drinking margaritas with you… and telling you, ‘You have salsa on…
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When Dr. Ruth Allan asked me during a podcast interview to, “tell us about an embarrassing thing that happened to you,” I didn’t hesitate. I’ve deposited piles of embarrassments in my memory bank. But Ruth was interviewing me during the first week in May, so I had to trot out the story of… My humiliating Cinco…
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