How to Create Business Stories People Actually Care About

It’s Simpler Than You Think

John Yorke is a Golden Globe Award-winning producer and business storytelling consultant in addition to being the founder of the BBC’s Writer’s Academy and the author of “Into the Woods: A Five Act Journey Into Story.”
“Into the Woods” dissects the common underlying narrative of some of the most historically successful stories across drama, philosophy, business, and politics, and takes the work of our favorite authors here at the Business of Story one step further.
From his extensive expertise in the world of television and drama, John shares the tools he has identified and developed during his thirty-year career that business leaders can implement to create a stunning, simple, and successful narrative.

In This Episode

• Mirror neurons and how they cause story to work on our brains
• How business communicators can be more effective with their stories.
• What happens when you realize that all business stories are quests
• Three big mistakes we make as business storytellers and how we can quickly overcome them

Quotes From This Episode

“Stories forge a common bond with the person you’re addressing, and you understand how the world is seen from outside yourself.” —@johnyorke123
“Strategy is everything and strategy is the equivalent of the goal. What does the character want? He wants the lost ark. What does the business want? It wants to be the biggest microchip industry in North America. How are we going to get there? Well, that is the strategy.” —@johnyorke123
“Storytelling works much more powerfully when the message is inferred.” —@johnyorke123
“Story structure is entirely based on the method by which you learn. It mimics directly the process by which you assimilate new information. You exist. You’re confronted by something strange. You assimilate lessons you want to from that, and then you change.” —@johnyorke123
“I think the extraordinary thing about storytelling is it is absolutely instinctive.” —@johnyorke123

Resources

• Johnyorkestory.com
• “Storytelling for Business,” John’s online course
• “Into the Woods,” by John Yorke
• “Wolf Hall,” by Peter Straughan
• “A Time for Choosing,” Ronald Reagan
• “The Essence of Storytelling Master Class,” with Christopher Volger
• “The Prom Spot,” by Audi
• “Houston, We Have a Narrative,” by Randy Olson
• “The Art of Dramatic Writing,” by Lajos Egri
• “Wired for Story,” by Lisa Cron
• E.M. Forster
• “The clues to a great story,” TED Talk by Andrew Stanton, screenwriter of “Toy Story,” “Finding Nemo,” and “Wall-E”
• BusinessofStory.com