Unleash the Power of Storytelling: Win Hearts, Change Minds, Get Results

Product Description

Unleash the Power of Storytelling offers a practical roadmap to crafting and delivering more powerful, persuasive stories that you can use to get more of what you want out of your career and your life.

“In this engaging, no-nonsense, and often extremely funny handbook on the craft behind great stories, Rob Biesenbach shares his own storytelling roadmap without hesitation, giving you precisely what you need to raise your business storytelling to an art form."

Shonali Burke, ABC, President & CEO, Shonali Burke Consulting

"There is no greater skill that will positively impact your career as much as becoming a masterful storyteller. Well-told stories have the power to teach, clarify, and inspire. Rob's experience and unique point of view makes him a go-to authority for ambitious leaders."

Patricia Fripp, Past President, National Speakers Association

"All the experts suggest you tell stories — but no one tells you how. That's where Unleash the Power of Storytelling comes in. Rob Biesenbach provides a five-step process for crafting your stories, and six ways to ensure they’re relevant to your audience. After you read this book, you’ll never again have to wonder ... ‘but how?’"

Gini Dietrich, Founder and Author, Spin Sucks

WHAT CAN STORYTELLING DO FOR YOU?

Study after study confirms that stories have unparalleled power to break down walls, build trust, and influence people to act. More than facts and data alone, stories are fundamental to capturing and expressing our ideas, wishes, and beliefs … and getting the results we want.

The right story can help you: nail a job, interview, earn a raise, close a sale, build trust with an employee or colleague, strengthen relationships with customers, become a more comfortable networker, win over a skeptic, rally a team, align people with a strategy, promote your brand, raise a toast, deliver a eulogy, get out of a speeding ticket, and more ...

WHY THIS BOOK?

The market is flooded with a dizzying array of books, experts, and resources on business storytelling. This book cuts through the hype to clarify and demystify the storytelling process.

Unleash the Power of Storytelling offers step-by-step instructions for finding, shaping and telling powerful stories. You’ll learn about the essential ingredients that go into any good story and how to avoid common storytelling pitfalls.

A PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR THE BUSY PROFESSIONAL

Taking a fun, no-nonsense approach, Unleash the Power of Storytelling will teach you: the hard science behind why stories work, a simple three-part structure for telling any story, the role of emotion in fueling great stories, how to cut the clutter and focus your story on the essentials, how and where to find great stories, and tips for delivering your stories in the most effective way possible.

The book also contains tons of practical examples showing you how to use stories in job interviews, presentations, customer calls, employee meetings — even how to craft the right story for a wedding toast or eulogy!

Top Reviews

Stories: How to Tell them for Maximum Impact
by Isaac Butterworth (5 out of 5 stars)
January 18, 2019

I am intrigued with the power of stories to bring new insight and even lead to transformation, and I am always on the hunt for how stories work, how they may be structured, and to what ends they may be used. That is what drew me to Rob Beisenbach's book, Unleash the Power of Storytelling, and it did not disappoint.

Ignore the fundamentals of storytelling, the author, contends, and "you could end up squandering an opportunity to change minds and even lives." What makes stories this powerful? Beisenbach gives us six keys to impactful stories: (1) stories trigger an emotional response; (2) stories involve characters we can related to; (3) stories connect us; (4) they communicate what we value; (5) they raise the stakes; and (6) they show, rather than tell, what we stand for.

So what is a story? In simplest terms, it is "a character in pursuit of a goal in the face of some challenge or obstacle." There are, of course, other elements in a story-a turning point, a climax, and more-but character, goal, and challenge are "the three legs of the stool." Without these three, you don't have a story.

For a story to work, the author says, you need the following elements: (1) a character who is a specific individual, (2) conflict (the tension between your character's goal and the challenge facing your character, (3) something important at stake (a serious problem that cries out for action), (4) events connected to one another in a cause-effect relationship (rather than just a random series of events), and (5) an emotional response from the audience (frustration, disappointment, joy, etc.).

A story has a beginning, a middle, and an end. In the beginning of the story, you set the scene and introduce the main character. Then, something happens (a challenge) that upsets the balance of things. The middle is where the character works to overcome the challenge, and the end is where things come to a resolution (the character either reaches his goal or doesn't).

The best stories are the ones that come from our own experience, but whatever their source, our stories must show that (1) we know who our audience is, (2) we know what we want them to do (buy a product, work more efficiently, join our cause), (3) we have thought through the main challenges that are likely to get in the way of our goal, (4) we have found a character who has overcome one or more of those challenges, and (5) we have brought resolution to our story.

The importance of emotion cannot be underplayed in an effective story. In fact, claims Beisenbach, "facts don't influence action the way an emotional appeal does." He goes on to say that "emotion drives decision-making." (People buy on emotion and justify their purchase with logic.) In order to reinforce the emotional impact of a story, the author suggests that the storyteller focus not just on what he or she does but on why they do it.

The goal of telling any story is an important consideration. For example, our goal may be to align our team with a certain strategy, or it may be to promote a brand. We might be seeking simply to establish common ground or even show others how humanly real we are. We may want to motivate a change in behavior, inspire a team, or establish trust and credibility with a customer. Whatever our goal, we should have it clearly in mind, and the story we're telling should be directed toward that goal.

Collecting stories is a lifelong pursuit-and a worthy one. You will have just the story you need when the time comes to tell it. Or, perhaps a story won't be exactly what's needed but a metaphor or an analogy will be. Beisenbach covers this skill as well.

This book has great value to anyone who seeks to communicate with others, motivating them and encouraging them. According to Beisenbach, there is power in storytelling. Our stories define who we are and what we stand for. They set us apart. So, think of a character with whom others can identify, lay out his or her goal and the challenges she or he faced in pursuing that goal, and bring the whole thing to resolution. And read Beisenbach's book. He will be just the coach you need to impact the world around you for good.
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Another helpful book from Rob Biesenbach....
by John K. (4 out of 5 stars)
March 10, 2018

Rob is really gifted at breaking through all the clutter of "best practice" and "can't miss tips" about public speaking and presenting to identify the critical elements to success. He presents his ideas in a way that is really effective and easy to remember, which makes them easy to apply.

I do a lot of presenting and try hard to use stories as a way of keeping people interested. I especially appreciated the sections on the various ways to tap into emotion and how to focus: "When we're unprepared, we wander. When we're tired, we lose focus" is a great reminder of the value of preparation, especially when we've told the same story a hundred times.

As with his other books, "Unleash the Power of Storytelling" includes some great insights that go far beyond presenting - "In fact, I believe opening up and revealing your humanity is a duty of leadership".
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A 6 star read into crafting stories
by Christian A. Brown (5 out of 5 stars)
September 24, 2018

I generally only purchase books that are 4.5 stars and above. I thought the book I read about storytelling prior to this was great. In comparison, what I thought was a 4+ star book is, in comparison to this book, a 2 star whereas this is clearly a 5 star book. The writing is incredibly concise, but not too concise. You will learn how to be an expert storyteller from this book. You will learn how to evoke emotions and actions in others from its pages.
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I've relied on statistics and boring bullet points to cover my lack of personal stories ...
by Peggy T (5 out of 5 stars)
February 26, 2018

This book takes the fear out of public speaking! Always a numbers person, I've relied on statistics and boring bullet points to cover my lack of personal stories worth sharing. The many excellent examples peppered with humor and insight make it easy to effectively incorporate stories without seeming contrived. Am using this at work already and recommending to my colleagues! Thanks Rob for your practical and fun approach to powerful speaking technique!!
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Buy/Read/Apply Immediately!
by Tony (5 out of 5 stars)
February 28, 2018

Storytelling has been THE buzzword in business, non-profits, really anyone, for some time. Rob Biesenbach puts it all together in "Unleash the Power of Storytelling" clearly, thoroughly and practically in ways I've never seen. (And I've read, listened & watched a lot of books and seminars on the topic.) "Unleash" is a must buy, read and apply book!
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Informative, some great suggestions.
by Cyrus Alderwood (4 out of 5 stars)
June 7, 2019

I've read a ton of books like this. Most just regurgitate the same thing and are a waste of the few bucks you spend on them. This one was worth the money spent, was informative, and really hit home the importance of "telling a story" in order to further your goals. It reinforces the old saying that people don't care so much about wheat you are doing as about why you are doing it. I'd recommend this book.
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A treasure for any communicator
by C. M. Aiken (5 out of 5 stars)
July 2, 2019

Helpful. Practical. Readable. Useful. These are just some of the words I would use to describe this book. I have highlighted it LIKE CRAZY! I have been speaking/teaching publicly for over 17 years and found the content to be valuable. I highly recommend!
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Very interesting and practical
by Paul Stewart (5 out of 5 stars)
May 15, 2019

The writing style was interesting and relaxed, the stories believable, and the tips practical. The blending of acting into storytelling, as part of business, is t something I'd thought of...very interesting book...highly recommend it
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This book is on point
by Mark Smith (5 out of 5 stars)
July 16, 2019

I like how he gets to the point and gives many practice insights. The section on brand and telling your story is important for anyone wanting to grow their career.
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Not bad... not awesome
by Ed V. (3 out of 5 stars)
June 22, 2019

Some valuable insights... in the last 1/3 of the book... most of it is stuff i heard elsewhere... not bad overall

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