Storytelling

Humans are innate storytellers. We use (sequenced) stories to enjoy life, relay ideas, and network experiences. Passed over generations, the willingness to tell stories has helped our species survive. When collided, shared understandings then summon diverse environments connected to thrive.

As we narrow the narrative into an entrepreneurial lifestyle, the values of storytelling are felt as we learn, create interest, unite, and take action beyond the shared moment. Over a brew, in the office, at events, out with friends, or on-stage, leaders must be able to translate the story of a business.

The environment, industry, audience, and format effects how a story is told. The sentiment can remain consistent, but your story won’t sound the same each time. Agility, preparation, and awareness will keep a story genuine, truthful, and engaging. Preparedness also boosts our confidence to share our stories in any situation.

Internal storytelling between owners, co-workers, mentors, advisors, and customers is guided by listening, curiosity, data, understanding, transparency, and all that’s found in the Team chapter of You Don’t Need This Book.

Let’s expand the repertoire with a focus on storytelling with strangers. This is done by playing with styles and formats for the story. What’s your style? How casual can you make it? How nerdy can you go? What feelings do you evoke?

Alongside different styles, timing helps to format the story. One sentence is a sharp conversation starter. 42 seconds is ideal in a small group. 6 minutes delivers enough details to support a valuable Q&A. 10+ minutes creates space for more depth, but don’t numb the audience. 45+ minutes is leading event sessions and keynote speaking.

Along with talk, relatable assets bring a story to life. Such creation uncovers the flow for a story, so embrace branding, social media, website development, slide decks, one pagers, and endless types of physical and digital materials that connects storytelling with an audience that cares.

No matter the situation, honest understanding, energizing enthusiasm, practice, transparent vulnerability, intellectual humility, and concise simplicity will serve you well. Nothing pushy, but pops of persuasion curate attention along the way. As a remarkable story comes together, feedback will sharpen the business and continue to tweak transmissions.

Aphorism

Personal truths on health, life, wealth, and happiness evolve from entrepreneurial endeavors.

The pursuit of building a business causes people to be more contemplative about other aspects of life. Learning to articulate thoughts as a leader is transformative. Knowing ones self can be parlayed with mindful aging to create curiosity that can be mixed into heartfelt conversations.

How we explore big ideas depends on the environment, people you interact with, and knowledge you pursue. This makes me thankful for my own entrepreneurial experiences, but more important, the immeasurable blessing it can be to expand our minds by plugging into startup communities and entrepreneurial ecosystems.

A willingness to show up and the trust built through such generosity has allows leaders to become apart of so many other startup stories. As mentioned throughout YDNTB, consistent action over the long run is required, but insight learned along the way provides a path to understanding for anyone, on almost any front.

As we support entrepreneurs through the art of connection, the invitation to have more diverse discussions is unlocked more often. Whether it’s strategic, tactical or philosophical, what a gift toward open-mindedness this becomes.

Along with stimulating conversations with agreeable peers in a support network, Adam Grant reminds us that it’s important to weave in the perspectives from a challenge network as well. Challenge networks consist of disagreeable people we trust to point out blind spots. This helps to overcome weaknesses with critical feedback we may not want, but need. Peculiar interactions within a challenge network also unlock humbling opportunities to be wrong. Intellectual humility helps avoid misguided confidence and brings us closer to different forms of truth.

Extra Shot

Smart people change their mind all the time. Find joy in discovering you were wrong and now less wrong than before. This is not incompetency. It’s being honest, respectful, and willing to learn.

Rock & Radio

Max Schaeffer is an Iowa Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame Inductee jamming on a new kind of mic. EP79 features a professional conversationalist sharing insight from 40+ years in radio!

This influencer is also an award-winning theatrical director, actor, and producer. Ben and Maxwell discuss timely vs. evergreen content, regulations of radio, metrics that matter vs. opinions of estimates, and curating dollowers beyond passive followers. After the break, we explore how to lead by doing, radical ways for radio to remain relevant, and then Max… as he’s done so many times, in so many ways, closes things down in style.

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BONUS MATERIALS

Maxwell’s Iowa CoffeeCast

https://BenMcDougal.com/content-creation

http://Rock-Radio.YouDontNeedThisPodcast.com

EP48 – Consistency Counts 🎙️ Michael Libbie

EP59 – Agents of Change 🎙️ Amner Martinez

EP69 – Generative Humans 🎙️ Chris Snider

http://YouDontNeedThisPodcast.com

http://CollectorHardbackEdition.com

http://BENBOT.ai

Hobbies That Pay

Sarah Oyibo is a friendly founder and creative content creator. This influencer explores the realities of an entrepreneurial lifestyle by teaching others how to efficiently create lead magnets built on pillars of content.

In EP78, we hear how Sarah introduced herself to digital design as a student, then escaped a cubicle by leveraging paying clients to start her business. Ben and Sarah keep building with timeless insight on content creation, balancing a personal brand, and how creative initiative helps us all find work that feels like play.

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BONUS MATERIALS

https://StudioDeltaDesigns.com

https://instagram.com/soyibotime

http://Hobbies-That-Pay.YouDontNeedThisPodcast.com

You Don’t Need This Book: Entrepreneurship in the Connected Era

https://BenMcDougal.com/content-creation

http://YouDontNeedThisPodcast.com

http://BENBOT.ai

DSM USA

Tiffany Tauscheck is the President & CEO of Greater Des Moines Partnership! This special episode highlights the results of Tiffany’s recent 11-county listening tour with 23 different chambers of commerces and how different communities can collaborate even when environmental factors are different. We then shift gears to discuss leadership within transitional times, data-driven storytelling, and the future of the Des Moines metro.

After you refill your mug, Ben and Tiffany talk about evolving startup communities and entreprenierual ecosystem building. As a cool connection to EP72 of YDNTP, listen as we discuss innovative ideas for member-supported organizations, such as chambers of commerce, non-profits, and industry associations. We review the economic and talent development showcased in the DSM Partnership’s 2024 Annual Report, then go flying with ecosystem allies before an invitation to get in the arena.

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BONUS MATERIALS

Tiffany Tauscheck Bio

Living in Des Moines

Spark DSM + Scale DSM

DSM Partnership’s Entrepreneurship Resources

http://DSM-USA.YouDontNeedThisPodcast.com

EP5 – Jam with Jay 🎙️ Jay Byers

EP13 – Growing the Garden 🎙️ Diana Wright

http://CollectorHardbackEdition.com

http://RoastedReflections.com

http://BENBOT.ai