What's Your Story? Storytelling to Move Markets, Audiences, People, and Brands

Storytelling is the universal human activity. Every society, at every stage of history, has told stories and listened to them intently, passionately. Stories are how people tell each other who they are, where they came from, how theyre unique, what they believe. Stories capture their memories of the past and their hopes for the future. Stories are one more thing, too: They are your most powerful, most underutilized tool for competitive advantage. Whether you know it or not, your business is already telling stories. Whats Your Story? will help you take control of those stories and make them work for you. Legendary business thinkers Ryan Mathews and Watts Wacker reveal how to craft an unforgettable storycreate the back story that makes it believableand make sure your story cuts through todays relentless bombardment of consumer messagesand gets heard, remembered, and acted on. The ten functions of storytelling Discover what stories can do for your business The abolition of context Telling stories when the past no longer defines the future The five most important story themes Leveraging themes your audiences will understand and believe Applied storytelling 101 Storytelling for your industry, your company, your brand, and you Mastering your storytellers toolbox Making your stories more compelling, more believable, and downright unforgettable Use Storytelling to Gain Powerful Competitive Advantage in Todays Increasingly Skeptical Marketplace Leverage the incredible power of storytelling in marketing, sales, investor relations, recruitment, change management, and more Indispensable techniques for every CxO, entrepreneur, and marketing, sales, and communications executive The latest breakthrough book from best-selling futurists Ryan Mathews and Watts Wacker! Discover the most powerful words your business can say: Let me tell you a story Storytelling is hardwired deep into every human being...and it has been, since before marketing, before PR, even before humans learned to write. Everyone responds to a story told well. Now, legendary business thinkers Ryan Mathews and Watts Wacker show how to tell the stories of your business: not just well, but brilliantly. Youll learn how to craft stories that are both true and believable...identify primal themes that will resonate with your audiences...leverage storytelling techniques that go back to Shakespeare and Homer...tell stories that supercharge your company, your brand, and your career! www.ftpress.com Introduction 1 1 The Story of Stories 5 2 Truth Stories Versus True Stories 17 3 The 10 Functions of Storytelling 26 4 The Abolition of Context 38 5 Who Owns Your Brand? 45 6 Five Critical Story Themes 66 7 Five Stages of Business Evolution 83 8 Applied Storytelling 101: Industries 98 9 Applied Storytelling 101: The Corporation 112 10 Applied Storytelling 101: The Brand 132 11 Applied Storytelling 101: The Individual 154 12 The Storytellers Toolbox 168 Epilogue A New Story for a New Century 185 Endnotes 189Mathews, Ryan is the author of 'What's Your Story? Storytelling to Move Markets, Audiences, People, and Brands', published 2007 under ISBN 9780132277426 and ISBN 0132277425.