Getting Goosebumps: The Power of Storytelling

Nir Eyal is best known as Wall Street Journal's Bestselling Author of "Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products", published in 2013. As well as a captivating public speaker, behaviour-design consultant, investor; and helping design & marketing teams create more engaging products. Nir spent years in the video gaming and advertising industries, he describes the techniques he learned and applied for motivating and influencing users. We also discuss some popular companies who are great at creating 'habit-forming' products and how they do it; with great examples using the 'Hook Model'. Right from the start Nir provides thought-provoking pearls of wisdom I know you'll enjoy.

Robert Greenberg is a Composer, Pianist, Music Historian, Author, and Story Teller. Since 1993 he has recorded over 650 lectures on a wide variety of musical subjects, and in 2011 his book "How to Listen to Music" was published by Penguin. Robert has lectured for some of the most prestigious musical and arts organizations in the United States, and is passionate about story-telling. This was a stimulating discussion and one I'm sure you'll enjoy.

Jorgen Sundberg. Jorgen is the Employer Brand Consultant and CEO at London-based employer brand agency, Link Humans Jorgen started as a recruiter in 2003, he caught the early wave of digital marketing and tested many talent attraction tactics while managing hiring campaigns for giants like IBM, Accenture, SAP, and Deloitte. By late 2009, he thought he was convinced that when social media communicated an uncommon employer brand then talent attraction results improved. So, in late 2009, he quit his job and Link Humans. Seven years in, they've grown into a boutique agency of ex-recruiters & creatives that can help link your brand to the right humans, they say by Employer Brand Strategy, Brand Asset Creation and Recruitment Marketing Campaigns. Jorgen and I discussed the power of storytelling in employer branding and it was a thoroughly absorbing discussion. I hope you enjoy it.

Graeme Johnson is Senior Leader of Resourcing and Talent Acquisition at BT, with a track record of developing and leading high-performing teams and implementing transformational change. Prior to joining BT Graeme led a remarkable employer brand project at Virgin Media, which put brand storytelling front and centre in Virgin's talent attraction strategy, driving an innovative campaign that helped win and retain customers just as much as staff. We dive straight into a great discussion about the importance of employer brand and storytelling to attract great talent - so put your feet up and enjoy the chat!

Ed Nathanson is a legend in the world of employer brand storytelling. Ed has spent over 20 years developing and building highly effective, efficient, and successful employer brands and talent attraction strategies. Ed lives by the mantra that "Even the most revolutionary idea in the world is nothing without the right people to drive and build it". Attracting the right people is all about telling the right story, and in this thoroughly entertaining and wide-ranging discussion Ed's passion for his subject shines through.

Bryan Kramer is a renowned social business strategist, global keynote speaker, executive coach, and bestselling author. He’s one of the world’s foremost leaders in the art and science of sharing. As you'll hear, Bryan was the guy who originated the "human to human" business movement which hit the marketing world like a tsunami a few years ago. With more than 350,000 social fans and followers, Bryan is both a practitioner and authority on the subject of social technologies and social behaviours, This was a fascinating conversation, and I know you're going to get a lot of food for thought from what Bryan has to say. During the chat, Bryan mentions a website he's involved in, but he gets the URL a little wrong, so you can find the site at www.sellstuffinyoursleep.com

This week's show is a chat with Michael Yank. Michael is a story editor at the amazing DreamWorks Animation, the studio that has brought us such modern-day classics as Shrek, Kung-Fu Panda, Madagascar, and How To Train Your Dragon. We discuss his work both in animation and live action, the importance of collaboration, the Story Circle approach to narrative storytelling and tips to deal with writer's block. Michael is really entertaining; he's full of great insight and I think you'll get a lot from what he has to say. Enjoy this chat with Michael Yank

Noah Klocek is Art Director at Pixar Animation Studios, one of the most iconic and ground-breaking production companies in the world. Responsible for developing the use of computer-rendered animation into film-making, Pixar has brought us such modern classics as the Toy Story series, Wall-E, Up, Cars and The Incredibles. Prior to Pixar Noah also enjoyed roles with Dreamworks Animation and Industrial Light and Magic, and has his own content production company Imageblock Studio, which focuses on his painting and illustrations and is dedicated to storytelling in all its forms. Noah shares fascinating insights into how he visually conceives, plans, and approaches storytelling. I know you're going to enjoy his insight. http://imageblock.com/

Joe Pulizzi is a legend in content marketing and brand storytelling. He's the founder of Content Marketing Institute - the leading education and training organization for content marketing - and the author of five books, including his latest, Killing Marketing. Joe and I last spoke a year or so back and it was great to catch up with him again. Over the course of our conversation, we discussed how content and customer interaction is driving the growing dominance of Amazon amongst the big four online brands, how a company's brand storytelling needs to be aligned with its purpose, and how content marketing is something 99% of businesses are doing wrong. So sit back and enjoy the content marketing wisdom of Joe Pulizzi.

Jen Grisanti is an acclaimed Story/Career Consultant at Jen Grisanti Consultancy, Inc.Jen is also a Writing Instructor for Writers on the Verge at NBC, a former studio executive, a blogger for The Huffington Post and author of Story Line: Finding Gold In Your Life Story, TV Writing Tool Kit: How To Write a Script That Sells, and her upcoming book, Change Your Story, Change Your Life. In this podcast, she discusses the concept of "the personal void" in storytelling, how to tell a story that people will care about and the trigger incident that every story needs. Listeners can get a discount on one of her writing courses.Visit https://jgcis-master-classes.thinkific.com/ and use coupon code bryanadamspodcastjgcoupon

It was an honour to chat with one of the co-writers of Shrek, Roger S.H. Schulman. In addition to his hugely successful writing career, Roger coaches writers, including people like me who are keen to improve their business writing and tell a story in their marketing. One thing I was really keen to explore with Roger was how to create empathy in a business marketing story, given that the opportunity to do so is much more limited in a few lines of marketing copy than in a full-length movie. As entrepreneurs, we need to make sure our business communications are concise and effective, grabbing the attention and telling our business story in a way that stands out from the crowd. To me, there's a gulf between the two disciplines of business writing and long-form screen-writing. How do we create empathy in such short marketing messages and cause someone to take the action we want them to take? The foundation of a great story is often pain, suffering and deep human emotion, but how do we transition from that to a practical framework that someone can apply to business communications when we want to write great marketing messages about our brand? Roger was very illuminating on the topic, and for him, there is no gulf. "It's only a gulf in the mind", he told me. "If we aren't convinced ourselves by the words we are writing then we are never going to convince anyone else". The words that make up the business message, whether its an advert, a PowerPoint presentation or an eBook, need to be authentic and from the heart, just like the greatest novels and movie scripts. Roger's sound advice is that we need to look at our writing and make sure that it represents our true feelings in some ways. If it does, it's successful. Now that may not necessarily immediately translate into commercial success, but it's important as a communicator to write from the heart, otherwise, the message will never hit home. In truth, we can never know what the audience will make of our story, but as long as it is written honestly and with authenticity then it is successful writing. "Over time", he says, "you can feel it, knowing you are authentic. The rest is in the lap of the gods." It came across loud and clear in our conversation that honesty and simplicity is a powerful differentiator when it comes to business communication. Whilst the hero in your business story might not be obvious, there's definitely one in there. Most likely the hero is the great piece of advice at the heart of your message or the news of a great service development that you're launching. Set the story up with an outline of what you do, talk about the issue that your development solves and how you tackled it, and highlight the benefits that your solution brings. That's the classic hero story - an adventure, a crisis and a victory. It was a fascinating discussion. Find out more about Roger's work and courses at https://www.writercoach.net/

This week I am joined on another episode of Getting Goosepumps by Ann Zuccardy, and what an episode it is. Ann a former writer who suffered from a brain injury has since become, what she explains to be, an accidental neuroscientist. 4 years following her injury Ann has learned that the majority of new information she was discovering about her brain, is in fact backed up by science, hence the accidental title of a neuroscientist. How Ann’s brain injury made her smarter Since Anne’s injury in 2011 she has since been redefining what makes somebody ‘smart’. Ann enlightens us into less conventional ways of determining how smart somebody is. She explains how she was once measured on things like her school grades, her job, and the amount of money in her check-book. Today she measures her level of smartness on inventing new ways to do old tasks, her ability to be creative and learn through curiosity. The importance of being present in every moment Ann explains due to her injury, she has no other choice, nor physical capacity, but to be present in everything she engages in. Her ability to only focus on one task at a time has taught her that more people should practice this. Listening to people without thinking of an agenda of what to say next is something Ann can’t do, however this is something she would encourage more people anyway to do too. Telling stories with humour makes a more memorable experience Ann talks of her The Safe/Unsafe Ted-ex Talk and how embracing your ‘inner-dork’ is something she preaches and encourages. Stepping out of your comfort zone every day and doing so with a child’s mind like Tom Hanks in BIG is a way of exposing our brains to novelty it needs to grow. Finding levity in a serious moment and creating stories create memories, something Ann encourages and wills us to do more.

On this week’s episode of Getting Goosebumps, I have the chance to chat with master marketer, NY Times bestselling author and keynote speaker Jay Baer. Jay is president of social media and content consultancy Convince & Convert. He has founded five companies and had worked with a range of renowned brands such as Sony, Nike and The United Nations. He’s been named the third most influential social media blog in the world by Social Media Examiner. Hear what Jay has to say about embracing complaints, making the voice of the customer your consistent touch point and a surprising opinion on the role that empathy plays when it comes to brands.

So on this weeks episode I am joined by Jack Kester Milner. Jack’s career history includes an impressive simultaneous career as a director writer, comedy actor and producer in television, radio and film. Now based on all that he learned in the comedy sector, he provides organisations and individuals with the tools to influence, persuade and engage. He does this in his series of comedy workshops ‘Stand up and deliver’, which have been presented to a whole host of clients such as the National Theatre, Channel 4 and ITV.

On this weeks episode of Getting Goosebumps I will be talking to founder and principal of Amplified Talent, Lars Schmidt. Lars is an expert in intersecting culture, talent and brands and has a background in developing innovative strategies at NPR. He is also the Co-founder of HROS – a platform designed to bring an open sourced approach to HR & Recruitment.

On this weeks episode of Getting Goosebumps, I am joined by Stand-Up Comedian James Acaster. James has been a comedian for the last 8 years and has appeared on Mock the Week, Live at The Apollo & Russel Howard’s Good News! He gives insights into the world of comedy that is far removed from the world of business.

On this weeks episode of Getting Goosebumps, I talk to storytelling expert, TV writer and producer John Yorke. Founder of the BBC Writer’s Academy, John is also the author of the ultimate storytelling book: Into the Woods: How Stories Work and Why We Tell Them.

On this episode of Getting Goosebumps: The Power of Storytelling, we chat to Jonah Berger. Jonah is a professor at the University of Pennyslvania and an expert on word of mouth, viral marketing and social influence and trends. Also the author of new book Invisible influence: The Hidden Forces that Shape Behaviour, there's plenty of insight to begin putting into action.

American theorist and consultant David Aaker guides us through the power of signature storytelling, focusing on strategic brand stories.

In this week’s episode of Getting Goosebumps: The Power of Storytelling, we talk to Cal Fussman. Cal is an American Journalist, New York Times bestselling author and writer-at-large for Esquire Magazine. Cal has mastered the art of storytelling conducting memorable, probing interviews packed with stories from icons such as Muhammad Ali, Tom Hanks, Leonardo DiCaprio and Richard Branson.

In this week’s episode of Getting Goosebumps: The Power of Storytelling, we gather insight from Brett Hagler, CEO and Co-Founder of non-profit organization newstorycharity, who do remarkable work transforming slums into sustainable communities around the world. Championing donors in everything they do, Brett is an expert when it comes to moving aside, and letting the brand audience become the hero.

On this episode of Getting Goosebumps: The Power of Storytelling, we talk to neuroeconomist Paul Zak, a neuroscience expert who helps to build high performance organizations while guiding consumer decisions. Paul talks the science behind empathy, and shares why adding an emotional tag to your story ensures it always resonates.

On this episode of Getting Goosebumps: The Power of Storytelling, ‘Sales Trainer of the Year’ and best-selling author Andy Bounds talks communication and crafting stories that helps brands connect to their clients. Andy reveals why stories always need a macro point, and delves into the power of asking the right questions.

On this week’s episode of Getting Goosebumps: The Power of Storytelling, we chat to Melanie Murphy, Director of Marketing Communications and Membership at Royal Academy of Dance. Member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing and is a mentor with the Arts Marketing Association. Royal Academy of Dance is one of the world’s most influential dance education and professional membership organisations.

For this week’s episode of Getting Goosebumps: The Power of Storytelling, we’re joined by best-selling author and keynote speaker Donald Miller. Don’s primary focus is story. Don has spent years studying the elements of story to enable to him with the skill to write both books, screenplays and of course, discover how stories relate to brand-messaging. With a clear focus, Donald created live Marketing Workshop ‘Storybrand’ which helps brands to clarify their message to connect with customers and grow their marketing

For this week's episode of Getting Goosebumps, I chat to J.T O'Donnell, CEO of CAREEREALISM and CareerHMO. J.T is a recruiter, employer and branding specialist, helping workers of all ages to achieve greater professional satisfaction. When it comes to brand storytelling, J.T knows how to utilize the greatest storytelling assets. As she reveals, it's essential to trust your employees to tell your story.

For this week’s episode of Getting Goosebumps, Robert McKee was welcomed back on the show with open arms! One of the most sought after screenwriting lecturers in the world, Robert has taught over 60 Academy Award Winners and is an expert on the ins and outs of crafting a great story. We talk about his Storynomics course, content marketing and the US Presidential candidates.

Margaret Nagle started out as an actress. However, she was told she didn’t belong in acting; Margaret was a writer. Sure enough, Margaret Nagle went on to become the successful screenwriter behind Warm Springs, breaking a record with 16 Emmy Award nominations. Since the success of Warm Springs, Margaret has written ‘The Good Lie’ featuring Reese Witherspoon and has even written for Boardwalk Empire.

For this week’s episode of Getting Goosebumps, I interview executive speech coach and dynamic Hall of Fame keynote speaker Patricia Fripp. Patricia’s a professional at helping businesses to start telling their story with real conviction. As Patricia puts it: “When your message must be memorable, your presentation powerful, and your sales successful, call Patricia Fripp!”

For this week’s episode of Getting Goosebumps, I chat to Mark Shaefer, the Founder and Executive Director of Schaefer Marketing Solutions. Mark holds over thirty years of marketing experience, and is the author of five best-selling marketing books, including one of my favourites, The Content Code. Also one of the most popular keynote speakers in the world, Mark invests time in leading social media workshops and teaching graduate marketing classes. When it comes to captivating an audience, Mark has some invaluable insight to offer…

For this week’s episode of Getting Goosebumps, I interview social media titan Gary Vaynerchuk. Gary grew his family wine business from a $3 million to a $60 million business in just 5 years. He’s now the man behind leading digital agency VaynerMedia, one of the digital world’s most charismatic public speakers and successful author of books including his latest release #AskGaryVee.

For this week’s episode of Getting Goosebumps, I had the chance to chat to Brian Solis. Brian’s the principal analyst at Altimeter Group and a sought after keynote speaker. He’s an expert at leading brands and start-ups to develop their digital transformation! Also a talented writer, Brian runs a leading business and marketing blog. He’s also the author of several books, including his latest book X: The Experience When Business Meets Design.

For this week’s episode of Getting Goosebumps, I had the chance to fire away some burning questions to Brian Halligan, the CEO and co-founder of the company at the centre of the inbound marketing universe, HubSpot! Starting out as a venture capitalist who became captivated by the digital world, he’s developed invaluable knowledge on content marketing that can help boost your brand’s ability to build a community and tell a story!

For this week’s episode of Getting Goosebumps, I had the chance to chat to storytelling legend Michael Hauge. Michael’s worked in Hollywood for over 35 years, coaching top screenwriters, producers, and directors for an array of of exciting projects, including films I Am Legend and Masters Of The Universe – so, it’s safe to say he knows a thing or two about transforming stories into success! Also a best-selling author and powerful public speaker, he’s an expert on coaching wider audiences to develop their understanding of storytelling, and truly enhance their skills. Whether it’s marketers, writers or attorneys, Michael knows how to rework the core principles of story to suit the storyteller.

In this week's episode of Getting Goosebumps: The Power of Storytelling I had the absolute pleasure of talking to the Founder and CEO of Social Media Examiner and the host of the Social Media Marketing podcast, Michael Stelzner.

In this episode of Getting Goosebumps: The Power of Storytelling, I had the chance to chat to Gini Dietrich, the founder of professional development website Spin Sucks Pro and marketing communication firm Arment Dietrich. Gini is also the co-author of Marketing In The Round, and with a wealth of experience in blogging success, there’s no doubt that she knows the ins and outs of storytelling and making sure the audience are getting the content they actually want!

On this episode of Getting Goosebumps: The Power of Storytelling, I was lucky enough to chat to storytelling expert Robert Mckee. As the most sought after screenwriting lecturer around the world, and teacher of over 60 Academy Award Winners so far, I had a huge amount of questions to ask him and was able to gather some really useful advice for business and storytelling.

On this episode of Getting Goosebumps: The Power of Storytelling, I had a great time talking to Feature Film Development Manager at Pixar Animation Studios and Writer and Director of the web series San Fran Land, Ryan Lynch.

On this episode of Getting Goosebumps: The Power of Storytelling, I had the opportunity to chat to Scott Harrison, the Founder and CEO of non-profit organisation Charity:Water, which has benefited over 4.6 million people so far. Speaker at Inbound 2013 and officially the last man to make me cry, there’s no denying that Scott is more than capable of creating and telling a great story!

In this episode of Getting Goosebumps: The Power of Storytelling, I was lucky enough to meet up with scientist-turned-filmmaker, Randy Olson. With a huge amount of knowledge and a wealth of experience, he encapsulates the necessity and power of implementing stories for science. Author of books including Houston, We Have a Narrative: Why Science Needs Story, he’s an expert on using narratives effectively, with a universal structure we can all start putting into action.

In this episode of Getting Goosebumps: The Power of Storytelling, I chat to former Athletics Coach and motivational business speaker Frank Dick OBE. With 25 years public speaking experience, he’s certainly mastered captivating an audience with great storytelling. As an expert at motivating athletes, I couldn’t wait to hear his thoughts and gain some insight into the best ways to truly connect with people with words.

In this episode of Getting Goosebumps: The Power of Storytelling, we join Park Howell’s The Power Of Story podcast in a very exciting simulcast! Park is a blogger, storyteller, and award-winning entrepreneur as the CEO and founder of Park&Co, which he started back in 1995. Having always been driven to understand and harness the power of storytelling, his talks and workshops have inspired people to discover their own brand story.

In this episode of Getting Goosebumps: The Power of Storytelling, I chat to CEO of Top Rank Marketing, Lee Odden. As author of Optimize and sought after public speaker, he had an array of strong points to share and some really valuable insight.

In this episode of Getting Goosebumps: The Power of Storytelling, I had the awesome opportunity to chat to the president of Un-Marketing, professional storyteller and one of the top Twitter influencers in the world… Scott Stratten! With his own business podcast series and four best-selling business books, it’s safe to say that Scott knows his stuff when it comes to connecting with an audience.

In this episode of Getting Goosebumps: The Power of Storytelling, I had the rare chance to fire away some burning questions to the world’s foremost Facebook advertising expert… Jon Loomer. With an array of experience, a popular podcast series of his own and a vast community of dedicated fans and followers, it came as no surprise that he had an abundance of unique insight to share.

In this episode of Getting Goosebumps: The Power of Storytelling, I chat to VP of Media Analytics and author of Implementing Word of Mouth Marketing, Idil Cakim. From getting to grips with the fundamentals, to tackling ‘the million dollar question’…there’s an array of advice and answers in this episode!

In this episode of Getting Goosebumps: The Power of Storytelling, I chat to the Marketing Director of HubSpot, Kieran Flanagan. It’s safe to say that HubSpot invented inbound marketing and are one of the largest marketing companies in the world. So, from public speaking, to content and battle rapping… we have plenty do talk about!

In this episode of Getting Goosebumps: The Power of Storytelling, I chat to an awesome leader of content marketing, Joe Pulizzi. Joe has written a number of successful marketing books, including his latest book Content Inc. He has a huge amount of knowledge and experience to share!

On this episode of Getting Goosebumps: The Power of Story-telling, I chat to Founder and CEO of The Kruse Group and Leadership columnist for Forbes Magazine, Kevin Kruse. Kevin is also the Bestselling author of We: How to Increase Performance and Profits Through Full Engagement, so it’s no surprise that he had heaps of useful insight to share on engaging and connecting with an audience!

On this episode of Getting Goosebumps: The Power of Storytelling, I’m joined by producer and director Kevin Richardson, who has worked with huge organisations such as Disney and has impressive experience with interactive storytelling. From finding passion in your stories, to learning from your mistakes…he has plenty of insight to share.

On this episode of Getting Goosebumps: The Power of Storytelling, I had the privilege of chatting to the self-proclaimed ‘Wizard of Moz’…the one and only Rand Fishkin! As founder of Moz and co-founder of Inbound, it’s no surprise that I came away with an array of insight. From growing a blog, to mixing personal stories with business, we cover it all! Evolving communication He may be an expert now…but believe it or not, that wasn’t always the case! Rand takes us back to the early 2000s and explains how he made a shift with his method of communicating information to an audience. So if you’re looking to attract a broader audience, look no further for some top advice. The most challenging form of story-telling Story-telling’s never easy! But what’s the most difficult form of it? We discuss why conquering the challenge is so important and how it can help you with story-telling in the bigger picture. Authenticity online We discuss Rand’s most emotive and personal blog post yet, which attracted readers far and wide outside of the SEO and marketing world. He shares the reason behind posting it and the unexpected response in the long-term. A business community can definitely be more powerful than you may think.