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The Science and Business
Behind Commercial Storytelling

Speaker

Listener

Neural Coupling
(Both brains synchronize electrical
and neural chemical activity)

Science Of Storytelling

Why Stories Work

Neural Coupling: when a good story is told to an interested listener:​

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  • Listener pays serious attention to the speaker

  • Listener feels empathetic and feels understood

  • Listener becomes excited over new ideas

Critical Insight:

If the listener connects with the story on a personal level she may believe that the story ideas are her own ideas and experiences.

Why B2B/tech marketing is ineffective

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Let me tell you about ME! Our founders, our funding, our histories, our algorithms, our success, our finances, and our tech in detail.

Speaker

Listener

I don't see us neurally coupling anytime soon.

Critical Insight:

Companies that focus on themselves, their technology, their history will be tuned out.  Focus should be on the prospect's problem.  The human brain associatess a company with the problem they solve, not anything else. 

Prospect's Behavior

"The best product doesn't win. The best product that solves their problem that they understand wins."


~ Donald Miller, CEO and creator of StoryBrand

First behavior (scaning):

If I'm on a website, I'll give you under 10 seconds to establish that you are focused on a problem that I have and I care about.

Second behavior: (clarity)

I'm interested but if you cannot establish in under 30 seconds that I can understand what you do, I'm out.

Buying behavior
(they're deep into the story):
They become enmeshed and read everything they can repeatedly.

The Entrepreneurs

Don Miller

Don Miller Image.webp
Don, an accomplished author, had an epiphany the he could scientifically apply story in business to jumpstart digital sales and marketing. He is the driving force behind tens of thousands of deployments in industry across the globe.
 
  • CEO StoryBrand family of companies
  • NYT Bestselling author (multiple)
  • 17 Published books
  • Publishing company CEO
  • Screenwriter
  • Seminal business books include:
 

JJ Peterson, PhD

JJ Peterson Image.webp

JJ learned of Don's efforts with StoryBrand  and focused his academic research on Don's innovations to nail down the science and much of the business behind the effort. 

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  • StoryBrand Chief of Teaching, Chief of Staff

  • Leading academic researcher on the application of story to business, focused on StoryBrand before joining the company

  • Co-author with Donald Miller on multiple books and other publications

A Pattern of Accomplishment

2013 - Miller notices increasing difficulty reaching prospects through traditional marketing

2014 - Miller researches use of story in marketing for use in his own companies

2015 - Miller reverse engineers storytelling and successfully applies it to marketing

2016 - Miller creates StoryBrand, a systematic method of applying story to business websites

2017 - Miller published Building a StoryBrand, 42 weeks on NYT Bestseller list

2019 - Peterson published PhD dissertation on narrative in business, focusing on StoryBrand

2019 - Peterson establishess that StoryBrand works even better when applied to all communications

2020 - Miller publishes Marketing Made Simple extending StoryBrand success across marketing

2021 - Miller & Peterson publish Business Made Simple, further extending StoryBrand methods 

2021 - Miller & Peterson (and others) developed the online course material that business depend on

2021 - Prendessa founded as an affiliate to apply narrative solutions to very complex industries

2022 - Miller to release How To Grow A Business moving his innovation to general management

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