Business school rewards the same set of hard skills.

Financial modeling. Operations. Excel.

In the real world, none of these are the most important skill.

And that skill is Storytelling.

Here's why...
We live in a digital age.

Technology is eating everything.

Skills are more commoditized than ever before.

And business is more competitive than ever before.

Storytelling is not & will not be commoditized.
I experienced this first-hand at @MorningBrew.

We were unproven entrepreneurs.
We weren’t making money.
We were building in a competitive space.
And we had zero brand legitimacy.

Quality storytelling is what gave us legitimacy.
When we raised $, we told the story of why we'd be our generation's WSJ.

When we hired employee #1, we told the story of why joining a no-name startup was a good idea.

When we secured our first big advertiser, we told the story of why handing us $100,000 was worth it.
Great storytelling is the crystal key to make things happen for yourself as a builder.

And to be a strong storyteller, keep FOUR things in mind:

1) Audience
2) Repetition
3) Nervous Equilibrium
4) Specificity
FIRST, audience.

Think about your audience the same way a business thinks about a potential customer.

You are solving a problem for someone.
Your goal is to take them from inaction to action.

Great storytelling helps them understand why action is in their best interest.
Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, operates based on incentives.

Catering your story to your audience is about understanding:

• who they are
• how they like to be spoken to
• what incentives drive them
SECOND, repetition.

People have fragmented attention.

Even when they’re focused, they don’t catch everything.

Give people more than one opportunity to latch onto your most important points.

My rule of thumb is at least 5.
Third, nervous equilibrium.

It is the amount of nerves that allows you to hit peak storytelling performance.

It is different for everyone.
Not nervous enough?

You risk lacking appreciation for the gravity of the moment.

You may underprepare.
You may speak colloquially with filler words.
You may not read the room for audience engagement & body language.
To nervous?

You’ll possibly forget what to say.
You may speak fast & loud.
You may rock back-and-forth or develop other physical distractions.
2 ways to achieve nervous equilibrium:

1) Preparation

Bulleted notes, simulate your exact environment, anticipate audience questions.

2) Perspective

It is an incredible privilege to have a captive audience & even if you bomb it, it's an amazing learning experience.
FOURTH and final, specificity.

Use specific examples or stories to provide surface area for the audience to grab onto.

Think about your speech as a white canvas.

Your goal is to have your audience paint exactly what's in your head.

To do this, speak with specificity.
That is high-powered storytelling for you.

1) Understand your audience
2) Repeat, repeat, repeat
3) Achieve nervousness equilibrium
4) Speak with specificity
Thanks for reading!

If you want my complete thoughts on mastering storytelling, listen to my recent @FoundersPod episode:

On Apple: apple.co/3eB5zRV

On Spotify: spoti.fi/32QkK44
And if you want more threads on accelerating your skills as a business builder, follow me on Twitter:

twitter.com/businessbarista

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More from @businessbarista

28 Apr
People suck at giving feedback.

It's not a natural human behavior and we fail to practice and perfect it.

But it's a must have if you want to be a great manager or build a great business.

My thoughts on feedback...
Ever since my first job in Finance, I've been obsessed with the value of feedback.

That’s because, I literally never received it.

Just once, at the six month mark of my job, my manager sat me down for feedback.

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Time for a quick reflection 👇
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Curation is a superpower.

It's all around us, it's old as time, and it adds value to consumers.

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It's time for a Curation masterclass 👇
Quick agenda:

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2) Misconception #1
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4) Misconception #2
5) Misconception #3
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Over the last 8 years, @nathanbarry has built ConvertKit into a $28mm ARR business.

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The company went from $2,000/month to $100,000/month in a very short period of time.

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