Summary: We all know that some of the most successful brands and individuals, share something in common, and that is their ability to share their message and tell a story. As leaders and entrepreneurs we often wonder how we can get better at story telling. And some of us are even scared of public speaking. Many sucessful people today, who often give inspiring talks once found themselves battling the same jitters of public speaking that most of us do. But we need to realize that storytelling is in our evolutionary DNA. We are here today as a species because of story telling. Imagine our ancestors 400,000 years ago in camp fires passing down stories to the next generations of what we needed to do, from the foods to eat, how to hunt and how to survive. Inspiring storytellers have changed the course of history and made us lead better lives. Business leaders such as Warren Buffet and Richard Branson and political leaders like John F Kennedy and Nelson Mandela are great storytellers who inspired various people. This book by Carmine Gallo is dedicated to featuring 50 visionaries who have mastered the art of storytelling. We learn to tell our story persuasively and achieve our dreams. People from different walks of life – business, entertainment, and politics use stories to put their point across. Carmine says, ”Storytelling is the act of framing an idea as a narrative to inform, illuminate, and inspire.” It teaches us that a good story can explain an idea but a great story, educates, entertains, inspires, and even launches movements. The author has interestingly and effectively divided each chapter into three sections. The featured storyteller, a complete guide on how to apply the tools and also the storytellers secret. Whether it's our goal to pitch a business idea, ace a job interview, build a company, improve our teamwork, give a presentation. Storytelling can be our unique competitive advantage. Mark Burnett left the UK to come to Los Angeles with only $200 in his pockets. To make ends meet, he hung t-shirts on fences in Venice beach and sold them. But he had a skill for telling stories which he parlayed to become one of the most successful executive producers on TV with shows like Survivor, Apprentice , The Voice and Shark Tank. Allow me to leave you with this final thought To become a great story teller. We need to sharpen our presentation skills through practice and be passionate and inspired about our own ideas. Illustrate our stories by Introducing heroes in our stories who overcome hardships and learn valuable lessons. Build our stories with the rule of 3 in mind, Use pictures and make our story not only readable but compelling and memorable. Share stories to strengthen our organization and teams culture, and use metaphors and analogies to communicate our difficult concepts. Great stories, move us to change the world. It’s time that we take our place in history and become among its greatest story tellers.
