Elon Musk is wicked smart.
“But when he explains technology to consumers he uses language even a sixth-grader can read,” observes Carmine Gallo in his book The Storyteller’s Secret.
“Welcome everyone to the announcement of Tesla Energy. What I’m going to talk about tonight is a fundamental transformation of how the world works, about how energy is delivered across Earth,” Elon Musk began his remarks about Tesla’s new Powerwall … continue reading
It’s not what we think.
“Short words are best,” said Sir Winston.
“The shorter words of a language are usually the more ancient,” Winston is quoted as saying in The Storyteller’s Secret by Carmine Gallo. “Their meaning is more ingrained in the national character and they appeal to greater force.”
The manuscripts of Winston’s speeches show crossed-out longer words replaced with short ones. “Liberated” became “freed.”
Take note of Winston’s … continue reading
Winston Churchill was 29 years old. He was a newly elected representative to the House of Commons. The year was 1911.
His talk started off fine. But then he experienced a moment we all fear in front of a large group: He forgot the rest of his speech. For three long minutes he stood frozen in front of his new colleagues, Carmine Gallo writes in his book The Storytellers Secret… continue reading
1: “One day in 1966, two men met for drinks at the hotel’s bar. One was a Texas businessman; the other a chain-smoking, whiskey-swigging lawyer, writes Carmine Gallo in The Storytellers Secret. “Herb Kelleher and Rollin King had been kicking around a business plan, which they now sketched out on the back of a cocktail napkin. First, one of the men drew a triangle in the center of … continue reading
“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” —Maya Angelou
1: Danny Meyer and his wife were having dinner at Eleven Madison Park. At the table next to theirs was a young woman and her parents. “It was very clear that the young woman had just moved to New York from somewhere in the Midwest,” … continue reading
1: When Bobby Herrera was 17, he and his brother were on the team bus headed home after their basketball game. When the bus stopped at a restaurant for dinner, all the other players departed the bus to have a meal. Everyone except Bobby and his brother. “We didn’t have the means to have dinner with the rest of the team. We stayed back on the bus.”
A few minutes … continue reading
1: Tuesday, October 9, 2012 started out like just another normal day.
A 15-year old school girl boarded a rickety covered truck and three benches in the back. The “school bus” made its way down a muddy road. Suddenly it stopped. Two masked men came aboard. One of them pulled out a Colt .45 and fired three shots at the girl, one of which hit her in her left eye, … continue reading
1: “Growing up in the hot Las Vegas desert, all I wanted was to be free,” so begins Amy Purdy‘s story.
The day after graduating high school, Amy moved to the mountains in Utah where she pursued her passion for snowboarding. “For the first time in my life I felt free, independent, and completely in control of my life…”
Until she wasn’t.
This week we are learning how to … continue reading
“100,000 years ago, we started developing our language,” David JP Phillips says from the Tedx stage. “We started using storytelling to transfer knowledge from generation to generation.
“27,000 years ago, we started transferring knowledge from generation to generation through cave paintings.
“3,500 years ago, we started transferring knowledge from generation to generation through text.
“28 years ago, PowerPoint was born.
“Which one do you think our brain is mostly adapted … continue reading
David JP Phillips gets the call.
He’s invited to come to Stockholm by a woman who represents one of the biggest training companies in Scandinavia. David is a speaker and trainer and she tells him they are interested in hiring him to train their trainers.
“We think you are a perfect pick. Would you like to come to a meeting?” she asks.
“Wow! I’m honored, I’d love to,” he recalls in … continue reading
