# storytelling
23 moments across 9 episodes. Click any moment to jump straight to that part of the episode.
11:35Selling yourself the story — walking on fireOwen Fitzpatrick: So I would say you sold yourself the belief, you sold yourself the story that you could walk on fire, or at least it was possible for you to do so. Ultimately speaking though, a large part of why you weEP 323 · 30 Jul 2026·interview· 11:35–14:360:00Al's 19-year-old press release disaster and why nobody listenedAl Elliott: 19 years ago, almost to the day, I wrote a press release for mainstreaming news. It had stats, it had solutions, it had everything I thought mattered, and it landed with a thud. It was completely ignored LeanEP 319 · 16 Jul 2026·interview· 0:00–1:114:07The biggest mistake founders make: not thinking about the audienceAl Elliott: So you've worked with a lot of brands, a lot of founders getting their story out there. What do you see as the most common mistakes they make when they're trying to get their stories heard? Ellie Glason: I thEP 319 · 16 Jul 2026·interview· 4:07–5:165:54The Baby with Tall Hair phenomenon: why data dumps failAl Elliott: So when, like a million years ago, when I did a press release myself for the Manstreaming News, and I packed it full of, it was about repossession, and I packed it full of stats, and I packed it full of how wEP 319 · 16 Jul 2026·interview· 5:54–7:577:57The Seven Basic Plots of storytellingAl Elliott: I'm sure I've heard you talk something about Christopher Booker or something, or 7. Is that something you've talked about before? Ellie Glason: Christopher Booker wrote a book called 7 Basic Plots. He analyzeEP 319 · 16 Jul 2026·interview· 7:57–10:2510:26Process over outcome: the key to engaging storiesEllie Glason: The key with all of these stories is you don't just talk about the outcome, you talk about the process. So how you got there. And again, the media find that interesting, readers find that interesting. We'veEP 319 · 16 Jul 2026·interview· 10:26–14:2914:41Data-driven storytelling: the skeleton and the fleshEllie Glason: Absolutely. Also, what's important is data is incredibly important. So data-driven storytelling. Before I set up my consultancy for founders, I worked for 6 years as the MD of a research division for a PR aEP 319 · 16 Jul 2026·interview· 14:41–19:2123:09Using the Seven Plots with your teamLeanne Elliott: But come back Al Elliott: Yeah, come back. Definitely come back because Nudge isn't as good as this Leanne Elliott: So come backEP 319 · 16 Jul 2026·interview· 23:09–26:0126:01The Pub Test: is your story interesting?Ellie Glason: Does it have emotion? Does it have tension? Does it have nostalgia? Does it have relief? Does it have transformation? Basically, is it interesting? And I know that's maybe not the best answer. Is your storyEP 319 · 16 Jul 2026·interview· 26:01–28:2417:16Stories that stop you in your tracksMartha Lawrence: Well, there are a lot of stories in the book that I hope people will find inspiring in terms of leading their own lives and becoming leaders themselves. But let's talk about servant leadership for a momeEP 291 · 9 Apr 2026·interview· 17:16–20:513:33What screenwriting taught Lindsey about keeping attention: stakes and structureAl Elliott: Tell me, what is it about your background in Hollywood, you think, that taught you how to keep people's attention? Lindsey Caplan: Oh, a lot. I mean, I think we're taught, you know, how to engage people on a EP 273 · 5 Feb 2026·interview· 3:33–5:3739:48The movie with the greatest story, according to a screenwriterAl Elliott: I cannot let you go without asking you this question. Movie with the greatest story, in your opinion? Lindsey Caplan: The movie with the greatest story? Whoa Al Elliott: No, but come on, we, we don't get HollEP 273 · 5 Feb 2026·interview· 39:48–40:5929:43Steve's favorite story from the bookAl Elliott: Fun to some people might feel like no rules. So do you have rules? Steve Carse: Yeah, we have rules. You have to show up on time. So if we have a wedding at 7 o'clock and the slinger decides to show up at 8 oEP 181 · 20 Mar 2025·interview· 29:43–32:5822:11Where to start — finding your unique storyAl Elliott: Now, David just said that you can start with very little investment. So, how exactly do we get started, and what does a good employer brand look like? David Thompson: Where does it start is, let's understand EP 115 · 15 Jul 2024·interview· 22:11–28:2911:43The story behind the "We're Wistia" pageLeanne Elliott: Chris shared a great story that sums up this idea of fun and actually turned out to be one of the best things they ever did for growth Chris Savage: That page is actually a good, a good example of somethiEP 68 · 8 Dec 2023·interview· 11:43–15:1420:35Clip 5 — Dr. JJ Peterson: who's the hero of your story?Al Elliott: So switching gears slightly, my next clip is from Dr. JJ Peterson, who, if you've ever heard of a book called StoryBrand, well, he's the co-author, the co-host of the, of the associated podcast, and just suchEP 52 · 17 Aug 2023·other· 20:35–23:450:33Editing your ego: why leaders must make the story about the teamAl Elliott: Nice. So you might say, all right, this year we want to be a successful company that grows. That's about me. The reality is, in an uncertain economic climate, A lot of people are worried about how businesses EP 39 · 17 May 2023·other· 0:33–0:581:40Marketing storytelling as the model for leadershipAl Elliott: Now, as a marketer, regular listeners know that I'm a marketing nerd. As a marketer, we've kind of learned that this is, this is always the best policy. Because if you think about the best marketing campaignsEP 39 · 17 May 2023·other· 1:40–4:3720:05Wrapping your message in story — the 'calories' of communicationAl Elliott: Now what I really love is that JJ talks about wrapping things up into a story, because let's be honest, when we are watching a film an hour and 2 hours, 2 hours 20— isn't Titanic about 3 hours or something? LEP 39 · 17 May 2023·other· 20:05–20:1721:11Google's 'Don't be evil' — three words that tell a storyAl Elliott: Google originally started off, don't be evil. In those 3 words, it told a story about its brand, about what it's going to do for its users. And now I say this with a pinch of salt, Trump, Donald Trump, make AEP 39 · 17 May 2023·other· 21:11–22:5122:51The power of words with OrlyLeanne Elliott: Orly agrees that stories are important and breaks it down further by explaining the power of words Al Elliott: The words are critical. Again, it's because it really comes back to what I said earlier, whicEP 39 · 17 May 2023·other· 22:51–25:4728:19Stop being the hero — become the guideLeanne Elliott: This is absolute gold. So we have the formula: the hero, the problem, the guide, the plan, the call to action, avoiding failure, and securing success. I joke daily that employees are looking for a hero. AEP 39 · 17 May 2023·other· 28:19–29:2846:54The four characters in every story — victim, villain, hero, guideLeanne Elliott: JJ went on to explain that being charismatic or entertaining is part of the hero psyche, but again reminded us leaders we should not be the hero, we should be the guide. JJ also used the concept of storytEP 39 · 17 May 2023·other· 46:54–51:43
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