003 The Stories We Tell Ourselves With Success Coach Melanie Yost
Release Date: 06/12/2018
141 Why You Lose Your Audience Because They Can't Relate To Your Story
Strategic Storytelling
Have you ever told a story -- a brilliant story! -- and your audience just looked at you blankly? They just didn't get it. Or they couldn't relate: they couldn't put themselves into the story. Stories succeed when people put themselves in the picture. They're in the airplane seat. They're in the room you're describing. They can feel the problem: their chest gets tight, their stomach hurts...it's real. But here's the catch. It doesn't have to be a personal story. In fact, you can tell a personal story that leaves everyone cold. In this video, I talk about 4 kinds of stories: personal and...
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140 Using Stories to Choose Your Niche
Strategic Storytelling
“What niche am I supposed to target?” That’s always a popular question when I meet a group of fellow business owners. Even if they’re experienced veterans, they wonder, “Did I let some people get away? Am I being too narrow in my focus?” It’s a familiar struggle…and we keep going back to it. Even though we think we’ve got a niche we want to revisit. Men? Women? Married? Single? Age bracket? Sound familiar? In this episode of the Strategic Storytelling podcast, I have the answer: the clients backstory. What do they say when they come? What don’t they say? ...
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139 How to Use Stories to Teach Without Being Preachy
Strategic Storytelling
So you've got something to teach people. You're the only one...or one of the few. But your audience isn't stupid. They know a lot already. Who likes being treated like a child...especially a stupid child? Who likes being treated like a newbie when you're not? In this episode of Strategic Storytelling, I'll show you three ways to use stories to get past the barrier. Instead of saying "you should do this," you can tell a story There's at least 3 ways to use stories to make your point: as examples, as a step-by-step story, and as a novelistic story you made up. They're all...
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138 Get profitable testimonials with storytelling
Strategic Storytelling
“I have many happy clients. How can I get them to share testimonials?" That’s what my reader asked me when I was looking for new applications for. telling stories. It's a complaint I hear from other service business owners too. Let's face it: if you're a small, service-based business, you need credibility. Nobody wants to be your first client! In this episode of the Strategic Storytelling podcast, I share the reasons people don't leave good testimonials. It'll help you navigate the challenge more easily. Let's face it: writing a good testimonial is almost as hard...
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137 Are you telling stories to yourself?
Strategic Storytelling
There’s something appealing about telling stories. We all want to talk about what happened to us..especially the bad parts. But when you're writing for business, it's important to tell your story only when you have a purpose for that particular story. Too many people write stories for validation. They say, "My cat died. Here's how I feel." Or they say the business hit a wall. Here's what happened" There's a place to write about your business. Psychologists talk about it all the time. It's as effective (at least for some) as a therapy session. That's not what I'm...
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136 The Celebrity Archetype: Are you a fan?
Strategic Storytelling
Of the five archetypes I've identified, the Celebrity holds greatest awe and power. ***If you're new to my community, you can download a free report featuring the five archtypes Think of Taylor Swift and think of those folks in People magazine. We don't want to BE a Celebrity, but we can learn from Celebrities. It's no accident that real celebrities tend to be spokespeople for all kinds of brands. So now let's look at business. Chances are you'll meet a celebrity somewhere along your business journey. You'll be tempted to use them as examples along the way. But the truth is,...
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135 Why you can be passionate in what you do...but you're not a passionate advocate
Strategic Storytelling
As you know, I've got five story archetypes for basic branding for small, service-based businesses. You can learn more about them I talk a lot about the most common archetypes - the Role Model and Educator, and sometimes the Innovator. But I rarely talk about Celebrities or Passionate Advocates...with good reason. You feel, "I'm already passionate about my work!" But that doesn't mean you're a true Passionate Advocate. Advocates set limits on what they do. They have to be hard-nosed about it or they'll run out of time. Worse, their clients expect perfection, which they can never deliver....
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134 Pull-the-plug stories: What happens if you quit?
Strategic Storytelling
We have lots of stories of celebration, where people talk about their wins. What we need are more stories of pulling the plug. For example, in this episode I talk about someone who decided not to get a drivers license. In a typical story, she'd try and try to pass the test. She'd spend hours studying. But in this story the woman decides she won't bother. She'll move to a city where she can take a car or just ride public transit or even walk. A variation of this story is a "you can go home again" story. You can quit and then go back. The original idea for this story comes from...
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133 Use storytelling to build a client-attracting About Page: 3 Tips
Strategic Storytelling
If you’re a service based solopreneur, entrepreneur or independent professional, your brand is YOU. Your About Page will be critical to your online success. And yet, if you’re like most business owners, you’ll tell me the About Page is the most difficult page to write for your website. That’s because most people hate to talk about themselves. And business owners are people! It’s easy to feel like you’re boasting. It’s common to wonder, “Will I come across as an obnoxious jerk?” The truth is, your About Page isn’t about you. Your About Page answers the client’s...
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132 Business Storytelling: 3 Business Stories You Don't Share With Your Clients
Strategic Storytelling
When we think of business storytelling, most business owners think of stories as a way to relate to clients - and certainly I encourage that direction. You can use stories to engage clients, explain a complex offer, communicate your value, and much, much more. In this episode, we’re going to talk about another way to use storytelling. We look at 3 ways to use stories to help plan your next steps and develop your strategy. These stories help grow your business, but you rarely share them with your clients. RESOURCES: Enter the conversation in your clients'...
info_outlineMelanie Yost, LCSW, is a success coach with a background as a psychotherapist. Periodically she runs a leadership workshop where participants identify their styles by interacting with horses. I'd known Melanie online for years, but I never met her in person. Then I attended a workshop in Virginia. It was a powerful experience, even though I'm still scared of horses.
When people talked about being stuck or figuring out what to do next, Melanie likes to say, "That's your story." So I knew I'd have to interview her for this show.
We begin by talking about the stories people tell themselves and how people change their stories. I talk about how I changed my story from being unfit and interested in sports, to the point now where people think I used to be a tomboy.
9:35: Examples of how people learn to change their stories
11:50: Changing your story can be like writing a new character into a novel
12:30: Why stories we tell ourselves are so helpful in understanding our world
13:25: Melanie talks about her workshop with horses and how someone can change their story
16:10: How work with horses is like a metaphor or movie script of our actions, which makes it easier to see our actions more clearly.
20:45: Stories aren’t good or bad – it’s what’s getting in the way of what you want to do.
22:10: Using stories in coaching.
23:00: Using stories to deal with conflict situation
27:40: Why it’s important to temper your story for your audience
28:10: When someone hits your hot buttons, there’s really a story unraveling here.
29: 00 – “When you begin to look at your story, you play the same role in every story. People need to be the hero or the comedian or the funny sidekick. When you’re in a situation, ask what’s the story.”
We’re like the main character in a murder mystery.