Relevant Leadership Blog

The Case For Storytelling

When I was twenty-one years old, my brother Scott and I started a business together. I quickly discovered that I didn’t have a lot of credibility when it came to influencing others. We had marginal success but not the kind we were after. So I started to study communication and influence. I read books, attended seminars, listened to audio programs, and practiced what I learned. Through my study I found some keys to how to tell my story and communicate my message that caused people to listen and to eventually follow me. We ended up building that business to over

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Stories Make Everything Better

On Monday, I sat in an Irrigation Company Board meeting in Idaho for shareholders who own water rights. We bought a cabin/ranch property last year and with it bought water rights on the canal that runs through our property. The shareholders in the room were primarily farmers and ranch owners – this is a gruff bunch. The President of the Board started the meeting with a funny little story that poked fun at farmers and made everyone laugh and my thought automatically was – Stories make everything better Storytelling a skill that can enhance virtually every situation.   Last week

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5 Powerfully Simple Presentation Tips

I get asked for presentation advice all the time, so here are five tips that will help make your presentations more engaging & effective.   Get Rid of Pleasantries – There is no need to talk about the weather, how grateful you are to be there, to apologize, or reintroduce yourself. You only have a few seconds to grab their attention so start with a question or jump into your content. Make it Conversational – Act like you are speaking to one person. Make it conversational. Ask questions. If it is a small group you might create dialogue, with a

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If You Use PowerPoint – Read This

Last week at one of the events I keynoted the speaker before me used 65 blank white slides with bullet point paragraphs in black font that he read word for word from screen! – Seriously painful. So to make sure that doesn’t happen anymore – here are 18 tips for anyone who uses PowerPoint to present: (I have to give credit to Ruby Newell-Legner for many of the tips below)   Finish your presentation before starting to work on your Power Point slides Remember – PowerPoint is NOT your Presentation. It is a visual support to your message Use a

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Become More Influential in 2012

Many of you have been following my blog and watching my video series on storytelling. I truly believe that storytelling is the most influential form of communication when it comes to speaking, selling, leading or teaching. That is why I am excited to tell you about my full video training program – Facts Tell Stories Sell. This program will dive deep into the art and science of storytelling to make you a more persuasive and proficient communicator. But as an added bonus, I am giving 12 months of coaching away for free. To Learn More and Register CLICK HERE

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Storytelling For Speaking & Selling (Video 3)

Thousands of people have watched the first two videos in my free video series on Storytelling for Speaking & Selling and video #3 is now up. You can watch it by clicking here. This series is for anyone who is involved in speaking, selling, leading or teaching. If you haven’t seen the first two videos – register at the link below. www.influencethroughstories.com

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Storytelling for Speaking & Selling (Video 2)

The feedback on the first video in my free series on Storytelling for Speaking & Selling has been tremendous. Video #2 is now available. Click Here To Watch In the second video I will teach you the step by step blueprint on how to craft an influential story. Have you ever wondered why some people’s stories are so relatable, engaging and compelling? After you watch this video – you won’t wonder anymore. To register for all of the videos – go to www.influencethroughstories.com

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StoryTelling For Speaking & Selling (Video 1)

If you are involved in speaking or selling then you know how important it is to engage your audience/prospect emotionally to get them to take action or respond to your message. In an effort to help you be more effective at this I am putting out a free video training series on how to tell stories that move people. You can access the first video by clicking on this link.

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