A Practical Guide to the Story Cycle and Transformational Business Languages

Live Your Story

Sam Knowles knows all about the story cycle. Heck, he’s lived it!
As the Managing Director of corporate and brand storytelling consultancy Insight Agents in London, Sam helps clients “find and express compelling and differentiated stories.”
But it wasn’t always that way. Sam’s career took him through a whirlwind version of the Hero’s Journey to get to the point where he could finally create his own company.
In this episode of the Business of Story, Sam and Park walk step-by-step through the landscape of Sam’s life and career, applying the story cycle and revealing how easy it can be to craft a dynamic story through life and work experiences you already have. Sam details points of conflict and their necessity, points of personal struggle, and points of revelation.
By using the content of his own life, Sam illustrates the courage and vulnerability necessary to craft compelling stories.

In This Episode

• How story transforms from monomyth to fractal
• Key ways to move your audience to action
• How to personally break down the story cycle and apply it to your own life
• The stories buried in employee engagement surveys
• A transformative way of talking about products and services
• Identifying your purpose
• How to win a free story consultation with Park Howell

Quotes From This Episode

“What’s really exciting is that business is catching up with what mere mortal human beings outside of boardrooms have known for many years.” —@samknowles
“I’m a rationalist and I’m a simplifier. Communications is about changing the way people think about things. Psychology understands that.” —@samknowles
“David Ogilvy said that the most powerful advertising in the world is that word of mouth that comes from a friend.” —@parkhowell
“The argument could be made that brands are story makers, and their customers are storytellers.”—@parkhowell
“Actually have a purpose. Get rid of jargon, enable and empower companies to communicate authentically and consistently and coherently so that they can be better, more successful businesses using the power of language.  Allow and enable companies to tell stories in a way that is going to be net positive for their businesses. That is just thrilling.” —@samknowles

Resources

• Sam’s LinkedIn
• Sam’s Twitter
• Insight Agents
• Dave Ogilvy: The 8 Ogilvy Habits
• Freakonomics with Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
• “Start With Why,” TED Talk with Simon Sinek
• “What makes a hero?,” TED-Ed Talk with Matthew Winkler
• “Propaganda,” by Edward Bernays
• “Drive,” by Daniel H. Pink
• “Predatory Thinking,” by Dave Trott
• “One Plus One Equals Three,” by Dave Trott
• “Vocational Guidance Counselor,” Monty Python
• “How to Use Story and Humor to Rise Above Business Jargon,” Business of Story Podcast with Kathy Klotz-Guest
• Bill Bernbach
• dunnhumby.com
• BusinessofStory.com