#944 - Will Storr - A Masterclass In Storytelling

Never underestimate the power of a good story. In Stories That Stick, brand strategist Kindra Hall explains why stories are probably the answer to most of your business problems—from building a brand, to connecting with customers, or creating long-lasting impact. Whether you're an entrepreneur, marketer, or creative professional, this book will inspire you to harness the power of storytelling to communicate more effectively and bridge the gap between you and your audience. Drawing from examples of successful brands, Hall explains how storytelling can transform your marketing strategy and your business.

In this guide, we’ll discuss why stories are so powerful, explain what makes a good story, and introduce four core story models you can start using right away. We’ll also include prompts to help you build a stockpile of compelling stories. We’ll cite examples of companies using effective storytelling in their marketing and compare Hall’s advice with that of other marketing strategists like Daniel Pink (To Sell Is Human) and Seth Godin (All Marketers Are Liars).

For millennia, humans struggled with three serious problems—famine, plagues, and war—which led to the deaths of millions of people and to the rise and fall of global empires. People coped with these problems and answered life's questions with religion. However, in the modern era, we no longer rely on prayer—we’ve mostly overcome these three problems through the development of technology and medical knowledge.

In Homo Deus, Yuval Noah Harari, a professor at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, envisions a future in which technology replaces humanist ideals and liberal government. Dissecting the concepts of religion, immortality, and technology, Harari argues that the world of the future may be run by advanced algorithms and artificial intelligence, not human beings.

The 21st century will bring changes and challenges unlike any humans have encountered before. Globalism and technological innovations are changing the structures of societies worldwide—and the changes are happening quickly. If people don’t face these challenges and help shape the future, the world could have a class of obsolete workers whose jobs have been automated and people could lose their ability to make their own decisions. In 21 Lessons for the 21st Century, Yuval Noah Harari highlights the biggest challenges in the modern world, and he offers advice on making sense of and navigating such transitional times.

In this summary, you'll learn how algorithms like Netflix movie recommendations are teaching you to distrust your own judgment, why religion can’t solve 21st-century challenges, and how automation will threaten the jobs of humans in every industry.

You might think of yourself as the hero of a story or a traveler on a journey. But what if it’s more accurate to say that you’re just a player in a game? In The Status Game, journalist Will Storr argues that we experience our social lives as a game, where the goal is to win as much status as we can to fit in with—but also stand out from—the people around us. Storr explains that by learning how these games work, you can better understand why you do what you do and avoid getting caught up in the more toxic aspects of the game.

In this guide, we’ll explore Storr’s theory about how status games shape your interactions with other people. We’ll also examine what happens when status games go wrong, and we’ll compare Storr’s ideas to those of other thinkers who’ve studied our drive for status and its sometimes surprising effects.

Why do we love stories? It’s not just because they’re entertaining; rather, they also satisfy a neurological need that humans evolved over millennia. In Wired for Story, writer and producer Lisa Cron argues that our brains evolved to absorb important survival information through stories, and so writers who want to create compelling narratives should write in a way that satisfies our brains' expectations of story.

In our guide, we’ll explore the formula that the human brain expects to encounter in a story, as well as how you as a writer can employ that formula. We’ll look closely at how to build a protagonist that engages your reader, techniques for creating conflict and advancing plot, and how to create causal links that appeal to the brain’s need for cause-and-effect structure. We’ll also add scientific context for some of Cron’s ideas, as well as additional or alternate advice from expert writers.

The 21st century will bring changes and challenges unlike any humans have encountered before. Globalism and technological innovations are changing the structures of societies worldwide—and the changes are happening quickly. If people don’t face these challenges and help shape the future, the world could have a class of obsolete workers whose jobs have been automated and people could lose their ability to make their own decisions. In 21 Lessons for the 21st Century, Yuval Noah Harari highlights the biggest challenges in the modern world, and he offers advice on making sense of and navigating such transitional times.

In this summary, you'll learn how algorithms like Netflix movie recommendations are teaching you to distrust your own judgment, why religion can’t solve 21st-century challenges, and how automation will threaten the jobs of humans in every industry.

If you have an idea to spread, Seth Godin believes you’re a marketer. All Marketers Are Liars offers a fresh take on marketing—one that focuses on connecting with your customer, rather than on catchy advertising jingles or gimmicks. Godin defines marketing as telling consumers a great story about your product, your political campaign, your job experience, or even just yourself. This book explores new marketing concepts that you can use to tell a better story in any area of your life.

In this guide, we’ll explore Godin’s ideas on marketing, authenticity, and telling a great story. We’ll also discuss how to understand your customer and common obstacles you’ll encounter in your marketing. Along the way, we’ll give context on his definitions and provide actionable tips from other marketing experts.

Never underestimate the power of a good story. In Stories That Stick, brand strategist Kindra Hall explains why stories are probably the answer to most of your business problems—from building a brand, to connecting with customers, or creating long-lasting impact. Whether you're an entrepreneur, marketer, or creative professional, this book will inspire you to harness the power of storytelling to communicate more effectively and bridge the gap between you and your audience. Drawing from examples of successful brands, Hall explains how storytelling can transform your marketing strategy and your business.

In this guide, we’ll discuss why stories are so powerful, explain what makes a good story, and introduce four core story models you can start using right away. We’ll also include prompts to help you build a stockpile of compelling stories. We’ll cite examples of companies using effective storytelling in their marketing and compare Hall’s advice with that of other marketing strategists like Daniel Pink (To Sell Is Human) and Seth Godin (All Marketers Are Liars).

Most marketing falls flat because marketers don’t understand how customers consume information. In Building a StoryBrand, marketing expert Donald Miller reveals how to turn your brand messaging into a story: a format so compelling that customers won’t be able to look away.

In this guide, you’ll learn how to attract customers by weaving them into a compelling narrative: casting them as the protagonist, presenting them with a problem, and showing how your brand can help them overcome their problems and reach a happy ending. Along the way, we’ll connect Miller’s ideas to the ideas of other marketing specialists, like Daniel Pink (To Sell Is Human) and Seth Godin (All Marketers Are Liars), and illustrate his concepts using real-world examples. We’ll also supplement Miller’s advice with additional marketing guidance that will allow your brand to reach its own happy ending of success.

You might think of yourself as the hero of a story or a traveler on a journey. But what if it’s more accurate to say that you’re just a player in a game? In The Status Game, journalist Will Storr argues that we experience our social lives as a game, where the goal is to win as much status as we can to fit in with—but also stand out from—the people around us. Storr explains that by learning how these games work, you can better understand why you do what you do and avoid getting caught up in the more toxic aspects of the game.

In this guide, we’ll explore Storr’s theory about how status games shape your interactions with other people. We’ll also examine what happens when status games go wrong, and we’ll compare Storr’s ideas to those of other thinkers who’ve studied our drive for status and its sometimes surprising effects.