I remember being at a seminar one time visiting with someone I hardly ever see. At one point, her husband went into this long story retelling the beginning of the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey.

He went on and on…and on…and on…honestly, I could have watched the whole segment twice by the time he finished. I had to supress the urge to wander off.

Now, this person is a good storyteller. I guess he simply couldn’t help himself that time! Several peole were looking around or wandering off.

Go ahead and laugh. You’ve been there, done that and bought the T-shirt, as the saying goes. And at a family gathering, it’s no big deal if Uncle Fred spins a long pointless tale.

BUt you’re in business, so storytelling matters.

If you blurt out facts or tell stories with more twists than a licorice factory, your sales will suffer.

“Storytelling is either human repellant or human glue, depending how effective your storytelling skills are.” – Ronda Del Boccio inspirational quotes on storytelling

How do you know if you’re an effective storyteller?

There are several indicators:

 Whether people hang on your every word or roll their eyes when you start talking is one.

Sales conversions is another. If you find that people don’t turn from prospects into customers even though you have terrific products or services and are great at twhat you do, poor storytelling techniques could be at the root!,

Another way poor storytelling shows up is hiding behind credentials. Nobody will be wowwed by your 15 certifications in alternative healing. THey’ll be wowwed by how you solve their problems!

Still one more way bad storytelling shows up in poor conversions is hiding behind a persona. Sometimes people want to pay me to write their story, but it’s a fake story. They want to hide behind something false. People will always pick up on that.

If you’dl like to get an assessment of your storytelling skills and also get some story recipes you can use in your own business, take the Storytelling Quiz now and find out whether your storytelling skills are working for you or against y ou!

You’ll also get 3 Storytelling Templates(TM), which are recipes for how to tell a story. Imagine being able to know for a fact that you would put together the right kind of story that will bring your “story receiver” as I call it to the place where you want them to go.

Plus you get a bonus valued at $97 per month, which is the Monthly Momentum Mastermind. This gives you an opportunity to ask questions of a living, breathing human being, (namely me) so that you can get unstuck, get your questions answered, and keep moving forward in y our business.

Master the art of storytelling and you are a customer magnet!

Take the quiz now for an introductory tuition of only $7. You also get he Storytelling  Templates training, as well as the monthly live call.

And as always – follow y our bliss!

Ronda

PS If you’ve been wondering why results – like SALES – aren’t as high as you feel they should be, take a look at how people respond when you start telling stories.

Take the quiz now and learn a wonderfully connecting way to reach your sales goals and the hearts of your customers at the same time!

EFFORTLESSLY—”

Bypass the resistance, skepticism and doubt that typically cause people not to buy from you – even when they know you have their perfect solution!

Gain deep trust, respect and rapport with your ideal prospects and watch in awe as they become your ideal customers!!

Create word-of-mouth (AKA viral) buzz about you and your solutions!

Sort out prospects before they buy to turn the divas and whiners and others not suited to your away before they become problem customers!

Convey your most important message so that your business is in perfect harmony with your values, goals and dreams!

Is learning storytelling techniques important in business?:

People sometimes think storytelling is merely a pleasant bedtime activity for children or something to do on camping trips.

Now, I love a spooky ghost story as much as the next person, but that’s “whipped cream” –  lovely for dessert, but insubstantial.

Saying that storytelling is just for bedtime and camping is like saying the sun is just a nice yellow ball of light in the sky!

Here’s what makes storytelling essential to your success (not a warm-fuzzy-bedtime family-thing):

On the Discovery Channel show The Pitchmen, veteran salesman Billy Mays said that this skill –  which you are about to master –  is at least HALF the reason why people buy from you.

What does this mean? It means that having a great product or service only takes you HALF way to a sale!

And there’s more. Number 1 bestselling author Seth Godin has a lot to say about storytelling, including this:

”Great marketing is storytelling.”

Seth Godin Quotes on Storytelling

I anticipate you have this question.

“Great, but how do I tell a the kind of story that grows my business?”

Yes, if I simply said, “therefore go ye and tell stories!” you would probably wander aimlessly, blunder around, and not know what, how, or when.

What makes the Great Storytelling Formula great?

The Great Storytelling Formula is global. No matter what country you or your ideal customers call home, they will naturally, effortlessly respond to this formula.

The Great Storytelling Formula naturally makes sense to people of all races, cultures, and spiritual paths (or lack thereof) equally well.

The Great Storytelling Formula has proven the test of time. Hundreds of thousands of years of human

Get started right away!

Click the Insider Member Card Below or go to www.ProfitableStorytelling.com/join and gain instant access to the first short video teaching the simple 3-step Great Storytelling Formula

Become a Profitable Storytelling Insider NOW!

www.ProfitableStorytelling.com/join

The best way to introduce people to a new technology or a new way of doing something is to provide a “wow demo.”

This is what you see in infomercials such as the guy suspended high above the ground with his helmet Crazy-Glued to a girder or tarnex melting away rust with one quick dip.

Wow demos can be worked into powerful and profitable storytelling ideas

Vlingo, which is a phone application that lets you speak commands to your phone and make things happen, uses a wow demo along with storytelling techniques

What you see in the video demo is not some boring bla-bla-bla about the features of Vlingo. Oh no!

It is a story demonstrating over a dozen ways that using Vlingo makes life cooler, safer and easier.

Watch the video now.

Here is Vlingo’s fabulous application of storytelling ideas.

A woman in a cab tells Vlingo to call her husband, who answers hands-free while driving. He then makes a call, updates his Facebook status and gets directions to a grocer, all with his voice.

other elements of the scenario include buying tickets, finding out what song is playing, buying an album and even translating between English and Spanish –  all with the power of Vlingo.

Isn’t that a lot more interesting and compelling than a product overview?

And yet, so many product creators and business owners get caught up in the features of their product –  the “what it does and/or how it does it –  and lose sight of the benefits.

Keep Your Eye on the Prize!

The benefits are why someone buys.

“What’s in it for me?” is the big question. And when you craft stories around the benefits of the product, you will absolutely sell more.

it’s all about creating the story of the customer using your product to get great results.

Features VS Benefits

The issue of features VS benefits trips people up more than any other basic business concept.

Features really are all about what the product is or how it works.

Talking about your product like this is feature-focused. This is what you want to AVOID.

“It’ has 4 CDs, 8 DVDs, 300 pages of stellar documentation…”

The processor is a triple duplex super-8 hi-fi master-loader…” (Yeah, I made that one up!)

WHO CARES??? Features don’t cause people to buy.

Benefits are all about how the customer’s life is better because of their interaction with the product.

Going back to the Vlingo video, this is a perfect example. if you’re the ideal customer of Vlingo, you will get more and more excited as you watch the video,

…because you’ll start imagining yourself using Vlingo to make your phone do things for you in YOUR life.

Good Storytelling is focused on the BENEFITS.

Storytelling is all about the benefits –  the way the customer uses the product so much they can’t imagine living without it.

If you’ve ever wondered whether it is worth your while learning storytelling for business techniques, this demo alone should convince you.

Facts and features only tell. They do not captivate people’s imagination or capture their attention.

Storytelling, by contrast, brings the story receiver into the scenario.

Watching the Vlingo video opens up a whole new world of possibilities for the prospective customer, all because of the power of storytelling.

Using Storytelling Techniques to Create YOUR wow demo

Here are the storytelling techniques used to create this video: Any business owner can take the same ideas and adapt them for your audience.

Think of the power of pulling the story receiver –  the reader, watcher or listener –  deep into your world by bringing them into the story!

here is the Storytelling template:

1. List everything the customer can do because of owning your product (or purchasing your service). Remember, these are the BENEFITS to the customer and not the features of your product or service.

2. Create scenarios (stories) that bring the benefits to life. make them real-life examples, even if you use a cartoon as Vlingo did in this example.

3. use these stories on your website and post them in all the places your ideal customers “hang out.” The video I reference in this article is on the Vlingo website and on YouTube. Vlingo also has a Facebook page and a Twitter profile..

Register right now to get FREE storytelling ideas, storytelling techniques and overall help with how to tell a story with the Profitable Storytelling mini-course,at www.ProfitableStorytelling.com/gift.

Meet an entrepreneur whom I’ll call Michelle. She is bright and insightful, and she works hard to ensure her clients get good results. She lives in Canada where she helps off-line business get online.

Michelle has a problem. She loves what she does, yet she finds that she’s great one-on-one but not so good in writing. “I don’t know what to do,” she told me.

Looking at her website and her printed materials, it took me only a minute to discern the nature of the problem. “I see what’s happening,” I told her.

“I’m not a good writer,” she said, in a woman’s typical way of bashing herself.

“No, it’s not that you aren’t a good writer. You just need a little business writing help. It will be much easier than you think!” I assured her.

“Easy?”

“Yes. The issue is you’re not using storytelling in your posts, salesletters, articles and other places. “

Michelle’s voice drooped. “Oh. I don’t know how to do that.”

Like so many people, Michelle doesn’t think she’s a good storyteller. Yet as a successful business owner, she has a wealth of storytelling ideas at her fingertips.

“Michelle, will you do a little experiment?”

“Sure.”

“Take out a piece of paper or open a new document. Now write down the names of your successful clients. The ones who have gotten a result because of working with you.”

After a couple minutes of listening to her write down names, I said she could stop. “Tell me about the first name on your list. What happened with that person?”

She proceeded to excitedly rattle off all the things the person had done with their business since going online using her services.

Telling Client Success Stories

With just a nudge, Michelle had discovered how to tap into some of the best business writing help advice ever –  tell stories.

How to use storytelling for business writing help

Here’s how to use the power of storytelling to amp up your writing. The success story storytelling method is useful for writing such as:

• articles
• sales letters
• brochures
• static web pages
• social media posts
• “about me” page
• and much more.

Here’s what you do for an article or blog post:

1. Start writing about a problem a typical customer has.

2. Tell a story about a client who had that problem.

3. Tell the story of how they solved it.

4. Share their success story.

More powerful than YOU telling your clients success stories is letting the clients tell their own.

Want more storytelling for business writing help?

The best writing advice is to first be a better storyteller and take the power of storytelling into your writing.

The Story Power DVD teaches you how to tap into the one story formula that every person on the planet naturally understands. That formula is what mythologist Joseph Campbell called the Hero’s Journey.(This is covered elsewhere on ProfitableStorytelling.com).

The Story Power DVD is NOT about writing articles or writing specifically. However, it teaches you how to tell your own story and the stories that touch the lives you touch with your business.

It is a 90–minute in-depth experiential teaching from a live workshop that takes you deep into your own story. You get the DVD plus the same handout that live event participants received. Plus you get the audio and a few other goodies to serve you while you await the arrival of the DVD.

Find Story Power at www.ProfitableStorytelling.com/dvd.

My friend Renee and I roomed together at a marketing conference this past weekend. She’s a technology-lover who thought it was just people like me and others who share the same mentor who stay up til all hours working on our websites and other technology.

I asked her, “What’s the most important thing you’ve learned at the event?”

“I found my bee people,” she told me.

I had to ask her what that meant, and she told me about a movie in which a chubby girl dancing in a bumblebee outfit is trying to find people who appreciate her. After being ridiculed, mocked and ignored, at long last, she finds a group of people dancing in bumblebee outfits similar to hers. She finds her bee people.

I had never heard of the movie, and then Declan Dunn shared a video on his wall that tells the same story.

Spark Your Storytelling Ideas with Digital Storytelling

Blind Melon is playing electrified instruments in the middle of a field (clearly by the magic of modern technology,  since there is no such thing as electric grass in the world at the moment!)

Watch the video with music by Blind Melon.

It is an example of digital storytelling. The story is being danced to a related but not matching piece of music. Digital storytelling brings multimedia elements together to communicate a story.

Taking a source of emotional pain that gets transformed is a great way to get storytelling ideas, Look into your own life for plenty of material.

As a child, I was a lot like the girl. Nobody was like me and many ridiculed me because I dance to my own beat.

I never let that stop me, although naturally it hurt as a kid to have people ridicule me. Now people pay me to do what kids used to make fun of me for doing.

Never let anyone stop you from being authentically YOU!

Bring out your true self by taking The 21–Day “I AM a Gift to the World!” Challenge and find your bee people!

It’s at www.ProfitableStorytelling.com/iamagift.

I’m going to recommend that you print off a copy of this post, because it goes into depth and answers a lot of questions regarding storytelling techniques and blogging success. There is a “PDF” button at the bottom of this post that makes it easy to turn the post into a PDF and then print it off.

The button looks like this (minus the highlighter):

Now –  down to the topic at hand.

Recently, my good friend Andrea Woolf, author of Ignite Your Life, asked me about the use of storytelling in blog posts. Her questions were…

• How much depth do you go into with the story.
• How much of the post is storytelling compared with the teaching and call to action parts.
• What if the story makes the blog post long?
• How long is too long for a blog post?

Here is a fabulous  example of storytelling in blog posts.

My good friend, author and mentor Dr. Rick Schaefer, is truly a master storyteller! He brilliantly moves you to a deeper understanding of law of attraction techniques or whatever he is teaching through his deft application of storytelling techniques.

Please read his latest blog post that is nestled here below. You’ll notice personal narrative examples that demonstrate his point.

Then below his article, stick with me to discover what storytelling techniques he used and how to use them yourself.

I’ve highlighted a few things to guide your understanding, so the underlines and so forth are my own additions. I have also shortened his paragraphs to make the post more easily accessible for the reader.

Your Daily Focus: Effortlessness · Thinking is more effective the less we do of it.

I was speaking with my middle child Betsy who is finishing up at the University of Minnesota, and it was clear to me that she really could use a replacement car. She and her boyfriend Alex share a twenty year-old bucket of bolts that they can no longer trust to make the trip back to Milwaukee.

She rides the bus and she bikes like crazy, but occasionally they really depend on a car, especially in winter. She didn’t ask or state any lack surrounding transportation.

But I left the conversation with a strong desire to gift her my car whenever I replace it. Over the next couple days I was really basking in the feeling of giving her the car. I imagined how I would do it, creating a delightful surprise for both of them.

I was thinking that by next summer, about fourteen months from now, I would be able to do it, and that really felt wonderful.

Three days later, on Mother’s Day, I received an email that a gentleman placed a bid on a two-year-old eBay posting of mine for some artwork I had wanted to sell. Within two hours he was at my home and we were loading his car with the art as a gift for his wife on Mother’s Day.

Immediately after, I went to dinner right next door to the local BMW dealer, and so I walked the lot for fun. I love those cars and was really thinking I might like a used one, but the model I had in mind wasn’t anywhere on the lot.

When I returned home ,I did a 30 mile search online for the particular model and vintage I was interested in, and came up with… wait for it… exactly one! And it was priced almost exactly equal to the check I had received only hours earlier for the artwork.

The next day I went to drive it, and after only two blocks I knew it was perfect. Perfect color, perfect engine, perfect exhaust, perfect features, perfect condition, and perfect price.

Needless to say, I now own it, and most importantly, I have a beautiful gift in the driveway awaiting its new owners and its new life in Minneapolis/St. Paul. I know this is a lot of detail, but I wanted to demonstrate how easy and joyful life can be when you “let go.”

Talk about effortlessness and ease.

The whole process seemingly took just a matter of hours for the money to magically appear and the perfect single car to appear.

I believe all of it happened so perfectly because there was so much energy of ease and abundance around my thoughts. Thoughts of charity rather than lack, and thoughts of gifting rather that needing.

This life is such an amazing ride when you just sit back and enjoy it. What I mean by that is simply NOT thinking so hard about everything, and just recognizing all the signs when they appear.

Magic is happening all around us, we need only recognize it.

I am happiest when I don’t overthink the world around me, when I simply follow all the whims, promptings, and intuition that flow through my heart.

You too know the feeling… trust it!

Thank you for your brilliant inspiration, Dr. Rick!

Why is this a brilliant use of storytelling techniques?

Dr. Rick Schaefer has a series called “Your Daily Focus,” which neatly gives him a “track to run on” as he is considering what to blog about each day.

He blogs consistently.

He always tells stories in his blog posts.

Storytelling tip: Storytelling is not just “I went to the store and met a guy who tapped me on the shoulder and asked about my dog.” That’s a sentence, and sometimes students of mine think that they’re telling a story simply by setting themselves up to deliver their teaching.

A story has 3 critical elements:

1. Content (what happened)
2. context (why it matters to the reader)
3. Emotion (the most powerful impact known to humanity)

A good starting point is some sort of conflict or problem, because if everything’s “peachy” then there’s no need to read articles on how to get help with stuff, right?

The post begins with a “problem.” (I don’t care for that word, personally, but it is the mindset in which people tend to come to the internet for answers.)

Problems tap into emotion. Fear and desire are two very powerful ones. This post has to do with desire and also with deep parental feelings that anyone with children can understand—and FEEL.

Setting up the scene and situation constitutes the content of the story.

The problem or pain is Rick’s daughter needing a new car and his desire to gift her his old car.

But at the beginning of the story, he is not able to simply hand her the keys, and he anticipates replacing his car in a year or so.

Remember the second aspect of storytelling…context?

Why would you care about rick’s daughter or his car? Because he gave you the context of bringing about effortless manifestation. He’s sharing the story to show you how YOU can get those same results.

Then he teaches a powerful mindset lesson. His attitude of positive expectancy and ease sets off a chain of seemingly synchronistic or coincidental events that effortlessly bring about the desired outcome..

The content, context and emotion all come into play when Dr. Rick shares how selling the art, seeing the car, searching online and getting the car (content) effortlessly (context) gave him the wonderful feeling of gifting the old car to his daughter and driving the perfect BMW of his dreams (emotion)

Do you notice how he shows you how every piece fits together so you can understand how to apply the teaching to your life?

That’s how you want to use storytelling in blog posts.

Now, back to the questions that started this post and one or two others…

How much depth do I need to go into in the stories I use in blog posts?

This may bug you, but…enough. Enough depth to involve the reader.

How long should the stories be?

You may not like this answer… Long enough. Meaning, long enough to convey the teaching while pulling in the emotions of the reader.

What if the storytelling makes the post long?

My question back to you is…So what? Don’t get into the trap of thinking people will ONLY read a short post. If you’re serving them well, they’ll stick with it.

How much of the post is story VS teaching?

Ideally, if you pull the story through the teaching, the way Rick did in his post, is the way you want to use storytelling in blog posts.

How often should you use storytelling in blog posts?

Ideally, in every post.

Where in the post should I use stories?

Generally speaking, in the beginning of the post is a great place to use the story that demonstrates the point.

Notice how in this post, I began with a conversation, which was the lead-in to a story. Saying “Andrea asked me this question” is just a story starter. It’s not a story.

How long is ‘too long’ for a blog post?

Sometimes posts will have a short post that may have a short story. Other times, posts may be 3–5 pages or even 10 or 12 pages. The more important question is not “how long should the post be?” but “How well do I SERVE my reader with this post?”

Get More Help with Storytelling

Need more help with storytelling? The Story Power DVD is a complete training that includes an action guide and resources so that you can tell attention-getting stories in your blog posts, from the stage, in your bio and anywhere else you want and need to tell stories.

It is a recording from a live event, and you get the same tools the live participants used to follow along.

You’ll find it at www.ProfitableStorytelling.com/dvd.

For anyone grieving the death of a loved one, the holidays can be tough. Military families remembering their fallen warrior have an especially difficult time. Though military wives and husbands know the dangers their spouses put themselves into, that doesn’t make the loss any easier.

Grieving does not end after the funeral, and you go through various stages of grief.

The Today Show ran a wonderful story about a girl from Texas named Kaylee Roberts who wrote a letter that changed her life.

Kaylee’s dad Kasey died in Afghanistan in spring of 2008, and Christmas has never been the same since, because her family still grieves the loss.

So Kaylee wrote a letter to “Decorated Family”, a program that provides decorations for military families to ease their grieving and help them get into the holiday spirit.

The letter Kaylee wrote was so touching that it attracted the attention of her local WalMart AND the Today Show.

Watch the video of the segment and stick with me, because I have a gift I would like to offer Kaylee and her family that will help her develop her already significant writing skills.

First, see the transformative power of writing…

First, let me ask you to consider…

What Are the Elements of a Good Story?

I’m not going to answer yet, because I want to SHOW you not tell you. Here are a few samples along with a little instruction on how to tell a story.

Margaret Cho said their story through dance is all about being beautiful and coming out as who you really are. While I whole-heartedly support this message and the unity of all people regardless of any so-called differences, I didn’t see the story in the dance. There’s plenty of fun and being and joy –  which I LOVE –  but, setting all discussions of technique aside, on a story level this doesn’t work.

That said, on a level of being great with who you are –  LOVE IT! I enjoyed her dance even though it wasn’t the best example of either storytelling or dance technique.

Moral of the story: Storytelling is part technique, part finesse, and a lot of HEART and SOUL. Kudos Maria Cho and Louis Van Amstel for that!

Here is an example of storytelling through dance that didn’t quite work. What happened here happens to people who tell stories all the time.

I’m not talking dance technique here as much as storytelling. You don’t quite “get” what they’re expressing unless you see the explanation that happens while Bristol Palin‘s partner Mark Ballas is teaching her.

Just so, way too many people tell a story and get more concerned with things like whether it happened Thursday or Saturday, and they completely lose sight of the actual story and what’s important.

I remember sitting at a conference one time and someone was trying to make a point using the metaphor of the beginning of the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. It took him longer to explain the  monkey scene than it would have to watch it, and the whole point –  whatever it may have been –  got utterly lost beyond the ability of ANY GPS to bring it back on course.

How to Tell a Story Beautifully

Yes, there is a little bit of technique even for a business owner when it comes to storytelling, but I’m not talking about making storytelling a formal presentation art. I’ve done that sort, and it’s fun, but in the everyday world, telling a story is about connecting with your audience.

By contrast to the last demonstrations, here is an effective example of storytelling that has good technique, an easy-to-follow story, and some good fun as well. This is Jennifer Grey (Baby from Dirty Dancing) with her partner Derek Hough.

This story connects with the audience, and it works.

Finally, here is a beautiful example of storytelling through dance from Story Week on Dancing with the Stars from Audrina Patridge and her partner Tony Dovolani.

What I love about this dance is that it has all the elements of a great story. DO this and your stories will work as well:

• Easy to understand the story
• Well told (in movement)
• Connects emotionally with the audience.

You can take  this information and run with it –  or you can start telling great, connecting, moving stories right now with a little help from me.

So if you’d like some help telling stories, you can get me in your livingroom or office teaching you for 90 minutes for the price of dinner for 2 at a low-cost restaurant.

Not me in person, but me teaching a live seminar in the Story Power DVD.

This is a complete workshop that walks you through the ONE story that unites all of humanity plus help creating the story of YOU. So  now, you have no excuses…you can amp up your own story power right now and start connecting with your perfect prospect.

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• Dancing With the Stars Recap: Audrina Patridge Waltzes to the Top! (thehollywoodgossip.com)
• Unexpected ‘Star’ Shines On ‘Dancing’; Cho Makes Statement (omg.yahoo.com)
• ‘Dancing With the Stars’ dance-by-dance recap (ontheredcarpet.com)
• ‘Dancing’ pairs tackle ‘story night’ in wk 3 (abclocal.go.com)

OOOOOOUUUUUUCH …

Dang that hurt!

I was just out in the driveway helping get
my wife and girls loaded in the car so they
can head off to dance, and *BAAAMMMM!* a
stupid bee just stung the living daylights
outta my neck.

Came from outta NOWHERE!

And, it HURTS.

Bad.

OK, so I WILL survive.

But, it also got me thinking …

Thinking about the FACT that NEGATIVE
PEOPLE are sorta like bees.

They come up from out of nowhere and POP
YOU before you know what hit you.

They try to steal your dreams.

Try to destroy your faith — and your
believe in yourself.

Try to cloud your vision of what the future
can be like.

I wanna encourage you TODAY to get ALL the
negative people out of your life.

(get a fr.ee copy of my “Negative People
Suck” ebook in my signature below)

Don’t take their phone calls.

Don’t read their emails.

Don’t listen to them at work.

Block them out … get rid of them.

Focus on your hopes … your dreams …
your potential.

Focus on CREATING the life you know you
were meant to LIVE.

Put your plan in place for creating the
lifestyle you want and deserve.

(snip_
Don’t let the bees (er… negative people)
steal your JOY!

Get ‘em outta your life.

Cheers,

JP

PS: Wanna know how to get rid of all the
negative people in your life?

Read this ebook, “Negative People SUCK!”
…. my gift:

http://www.negativepeoplesuck.com/get-ebook.html

One of the best ways ever for removing negativity out of your life is developing a kudzu-proof or negativity-proof mind. My friend Dr. Rick Schaefer’s book Extreme Thought makeover: 37 Days to maximum Life takes you through a 5-10 minute SIMPLE and fun exercise each and every day for only 37 days, and believe me, you truly can, as I did, give your mind an overhaul in that short time.

No matter how positive you THINK you are, the negativity creeps in and stings you while you’re out there living your life. Extreme Thought makeover is the way to sting-proof and kudzu-proof and snarl-proof your mind.

While I just received the copy of the hard-cover book that I purchased today, I was one of the initial “testers” of his online program of the same name. Rick is one of the most spiritual, heart-centered men I have ever met.  It is a true honor and joy to know him. He even selected an article about my experience with the Rampage  of Appreciation he talks about in his book.

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• Jump on Table, Do the Happy Dance! (weddingbee.com)

Instant VIP Author e-Coaching

Originally uploaded by The Story Lady

If you’re a business owner, entrepreneur, speaker, coach, consultant or visionary messenger, writing a book is the best way to set yourself apart and give you a tool of leverage. Not to mention more customers, media attention and Instant VIP status!

I literally wrote the book on becoming The Instant VIP author of your own business-boosting book, and I know that people have different needs.

My experience is that people swear up and down that they can buy an ebook or take a self-study program and accomplish their goal. Recently, Taylor, who bought an ebook, had this experience. Even though the ebook had good step-by-step instructions, checklists and other tools for success, she found that she simply couldn’t keep to her goals. Like so many people, she let life get in the way…again.

Reality is that she, like many people, isn’t as motivated without a more “formal” class or timeline. For whatever reason, most people simply will not set study appointments, due-dates and deadlines with themselves if there isn’t an outside force (like the semester calendar in college) to keep them on the straight and narrow.

Taylor knows she needs coaching but isn’t currently in a position to afford one-on-one private author coaching. Yet she truly needs some guidance and accountability.

I have good news for people like Taylor…and people like you. Because I’m always looking for ways to make things easier and better for YOU, you now have 3 choices for how to write a book with me. Each option is more interactive than ever.

Thanks to an exciting and fun private online classroom technology, you’ll never get just a download or a bunch of links. You have a true online writing course that inspires you to write your book! Activities and questions urge you to truly get that book written so you can see your name on the cover of a book!

Here’s what it’s like for you to work inside your private online coaching arena:

Some people want the do-it-yourself at home alone method. A truly self-motivated person who will create and stick to a deadline can write a business boosting book with the interactive self-study program. This self-study program itself is an upgrade from what I used to have available, thanks to the private training ground where you not only see your course materials (text, pictures, audios, & videos), but you also answer questions I put there for you Because taking action is how you succeed, and the questions beg a response. See the Instant VIP Auhor Interactive Self Study Program.

If you’re like Taylor and want something in between do it alone and private coaching, e-coaching is your affordable answer… Now you can experience author e-Coaching. This means you get the complete self-study program which guides you step by step through writing your book…

PLUS with e-coaching, each week for 12 weeks I coach you as you write your book using questions I’ve provided for you in the private and secure classroom. I’ll know exactly where you are in your process so I can help you get “unstuck” motivated and productive at a budget-friendly tuition. You’ll find out about it once you’re set up in the self study program.

So if you’ve wondered how to write a book that explodes your business, now you’ll have a new choice that is better than self-paced study and more affordable than private coaching.

And if you are a coach, trainer or consultant looking for a fabulous online training environment, the program I’m using is called JigsawBox, and you can try it for 2 weeks free. I really love JigsawBox.

A few days ago, I watched a movie that truly disappointed me. Oh, it had a fantastic cast, an interesting premise, and the promise of being fun and entertaining. But it fell flat. Why?

Because after less than 2 minutes, I already spun out the entire plot for the movie. Oh sure, I missed some of the slapstick elements, but I knew exactly what to expect throughout the movie.

What an unsatisfying experience. And I suspect you’ve had that happen to you.

It’s much more engaging and entertaining when the story surprises you, isn’t it?

It’s fun to think a movie or a song or a story is going in a particular direction and to find out it’s more like that Monty Python sketch, “And now for something completely different.”

Anytime you’re telling a story, you want to add an element of surprise. A twist or turn that the reader may not anticipate. That’s how you capture someone’s attention and captivate them.

Recently, I watched a YouTube video of a young woman named Erin Murray, who wrote this piece of music. She is dressed formally, as one might expect for a stage performance. The music begins, sad and sweet, and she starts to sing what sounds as if it iss going to be about lost love. She starts with these words: “So you say you’re leaving…leaving me alone.”

Then things take a surprising twist. Within a few seconds, you will discover that this is not at all your typical ballad about lost love. It is in a way a forever love song.

What happens next is a little like paying a visit to the Twilight Zone… She starts singing about taxidermy. One of the lines is, “I’ll put you in the parlor and you’ll always be mine. I’ll put a Santa hat on you come Christmas time. Baby, I love you.”

And Ms. Murray takes it even further as the song progresses. You’ll hear the audience reacting during the song and you’ll hear their uproarious applause at the end.

Watch her video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4m9w-OZYQTQ.

You think you’re about to hear a sad song and instead will most likely find yourself laughing and thinking, “I can’t believe she just SANG that!”

What this singer-songwriter accomplishes has a terrific storytelling lesson for you. because you want to keep your audience involved. “Audience” has a broad interpretation in business (and indeed in life as well).

Your audience might be a person reading an article, an individual in a coaching session, someone reading your book, a small group at a meeting, or a live audience of dozens, hundreds or thousands. Realize that even a group is composed of individuals hearing or reading your story inside the privacy of their own experience.

Stories belong everywhere -

* on your blog

* in emails

* in articles

* in your info products (like ebooks & special reports)

* in your copywriting

* in your books

* in your coaching/mentoring

* on stage

* in meetings

* … I’m sure by now you get the picture.

Think of ways to surprise people. Startle them (not necessarily in such a shocking way as this example). Cause them to set their cell phones down and pay attention to you because you’ve done something unexpected. This will make you a better storyteller.

My experience is that people don’t think of themselves as good storytellers. The idea alone tends to trip people up simply because you aren’t sure what kind of story to share.

So I’ll make it easy for you.

FIguring out What Story to Tell

This may surprise you, but It’s easy to decide what kind of story to tell when you begin with the outcome in mind. The first question you want to ask yourself has to do with the goal.

1. What is your ultimate goal with the story?

2. Who is the intended audience?

3. How will you cause an emotional response in the reader/listener of your story?

4. What unexpected twist can you add or highlight in the story?

5. What action do you want them to take afterward?

Save these questions for yourself in a special file and answer them anytime you are writing a story or figuring out which one to tell in a live situation. This will help you be intentional about what you share, and therefore you will attain better results than if you simply “wing it” or tell a trite tale with a blatant message.

Ronda Del BOccio is an award-winning author, international columnist, transformational storyteller and mentor. She teaches authors, coches and entrepreneurs worldwide how to connect with anyone through the power of storytelling.

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• Super Heroes Know Storytelling (profitablestorytelling.com)
• How to Write Articles People Want to Read (profitablestorytelling.com)

I used to have trouble getting myself to write articles. It’s a “slow boat to China” traffic tactic and it SEEMs to be very much an old world – web 1.0 – approach. Yet writing articles and submitting them to article directories and article submission sites like SubmitYourArticle gives you tremendous leverage.

Here’s an example.

I am a faculty expert for a few places, adn I always need fresh “meat” for them. So, I write articles, use the spinner called Article leverage which makes it so easy to have various versions that are unique enough to make the serch engines happy without me having to write 15 articles.

Then the system goes to work for me dripping out the articles over time (either a day, a week, 2 weeks, a month – or even all at once). This is a nice natural way to get content out without flooding the search engines all at once.

So I’ve been testing out the service and will give a review at another time. Suffice to say I’m very happy with it.

Then I can take a version of the articles and give them to the places where I am faculty, place a different version on my blog, and place a still different version of the same basic article into a Squidoo lens or Hubpage.

So maybe you’re wondering why YOU would do this if you’re not an expert “required” to submit fresh content each month.

Beware of False Evidence Appearing Real

The other day, I went into the chicken coop to gather eggs. I still have some fake eggs in there from when the hens were babies learning where they should deposit their precious gold-filled jewels. Even though the hens know exactly where to lay eggs, some of them evidently like to feel as if they’re really accomplishing something, because they have moved a number of the fakes into the nests.

The plastic eggs are quite realistic. They’re a little rough, so they don’t seem like plastic. They’re light brown, just like most of the eggs from my brown-laying ladies, and they’re about the size you’d expect any egg to be. But they’re hollow and insubstantial in heft.

So when I approached the nest in the hay bail, the hen whom I call Brrr because of the growly noise she makes told me she had her fortune beneath her and she did not want to give it up. She’s actually a sweet hen but makes a lot of noise when you go for her stash. Laughing, I lifted Brrr off her hoard and discovered she did indeed have a whole pile of eggs.

If you look at them, they all appear to be real. And when a hen has been sitting over them, they’re all toasty warm. So they all feel the same at first touch.

So in order to take only the nourishing eggs home, I have to handle each egg a little to sort the real from the fake. As I went through this sorting exercise, I thought how much it reminded me of doing business online.

See, there are a lot of gurus who appear to have nourishing information. They package it in a way that makes it appear valuable. It’s the right kind of stuff, and it seems appealing. It looks like exactly what you need

As a matter of fact,some people hoard all this information as if it is all a treasure beyond measure, just as Brrr does. It is only when you take the time to study the items that you realize some are heavy, nourishing and true, while others are hollow and misleading.

I know I’ve run into a number of fake eggs in my entrepreneurial journey. I even used to work with one of them. Perhaps you’ve encountered some misleading information along the way as well.

So whenever you encounter someone who appears to have valuable resources that will nourish and strengthen you, be sure to interact with that egg to discern whether or not it’s true!

***

What you’ve just experienced is an example of storytelling for business in which I used an everyday occurrence…well, for ME it’s an everyday occurrence…and used it to show you an important teaching  in an unusual and memorable way.

Perhaps you’ll remember the story of the plastic eggs next time you encounter what appears at first glance to be nutritious, healthy resources. And I’m sure that like me, you’ll pick up a fake once or twice and only realize when it’s in your hand how useless it truly is.

Where does storytelling come in to your business? Everywhere! You will tell stories in blog posts, articles, teleseminars, webinars, live events, inside your book, inside your product, in coaching calls, in consultations, in emails…everywhere!

Storytelling for business belongs in all your communications, including articles.

One of the world’s most well-known article marketers, whose own articles can be found on top websites like About.com, Home Business Magazine, Site Pro News, MarketingProfs,MediaPost and thousand more invited me to be a guest expert in his new article writing live-by-phone workshop event starting this week.

I am really excited, because article marketing expert Eric Gruber has grown his whole business around articles, and his approach to article marketing is heart-centered and relationship building. I’ve personally met him at some live events and am truly impressed. He makes writing good articles easy.

I’m so impressed with his system that I am promoting it from inside the pages of The Instant VIP book, which teaches experts how to write a book that prospers your business.

I am excited to join his 7-night event where I will show you step-by-step how to…

Design your story — and use it within your articles

Now, readers will begin to connect with you – as they will
realize that you understand their innermost feelings. They’ll feel deep down that you know what their needs are. People buy from people they trust.

—> Get the details now.

Now, discover how to write articles the right way so you can…

· Articulate the seemingly un-nameable, intuitive work
you do in their business. When you can articulate what
you do, you move into the top five percent of your
field, because most people haven’t figured out how to
talk about what they do and how they do it in a way
that is understandable and compelling.

· Create an engaging, powerful article quickly and
consistently, without losing your true voice.

· Feel connected to your heart and your best clients, so
you know what you write isn’t boring, or mushy.

· Have people notice you purely on the strength of your
content, volunteering to promote your business without
you even asking.

· Control the mind of your prospects and influence them
to buy into your ideas. Using my article writing
system, you can have the power to motivate, influence
and persuade your prospects to agree to practically
any idea you propose.

· Push the right buttons – or more precisely – the right
psychological triggers that gets readers to take
instant action as soon as they done reading your
article.

· Build relationships with your readers as they read
everything you write.

· Command greater fees, charge higher prices, and lower
price resistance among potential clients and customers
just by writing thought leadership articles.

· Gain the respect, attention and support of your peers
and prospects and become known as the celebrity expert
in your market

Yes, this is all possible – if you follow Eric’s article writing
system that he lays right out in front of you, step-by-step
during his new 7-night article writing workshop.

And, if by some chance you can’t join us on the
live calls, you will get the complete set of audio
recordings free!

Yes I’m an affiliate as well as faculty, and I KNOW Eric will provide enormous value to you throughout the workshop. Otherwise, I would not be involved. I care so much about you and your success. I will steer you right.

And, how does saving $100 on the new article writing
program sound to you?

Hurry over to Get the details now.

Don’t wait. This course will change the way you write
articles — and do business online. I promise that Eric and I
will be revealing information during these 7 days, that
no one else is teaching.We’re covering new territory that
no one else dares to touch.

So what are you waiting for?

Hurry on over to Get the details now.

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Here is the show description:

Discover the missing power you can not find in your life. It may be balance in life, finding new sources of income, dreaming as a kid once again, learn to read to grow !! !! .

Join us live via phone or computer.

Here’s the show player.

You can also go to the page on BTR and Listen to the show, either live or later.

There are a lot of story commercials these days, but many of them leave you remembering the story to some degree yet having no clue what is being advertised. Not so with Coka Cola.

This snowball commercial that is currently running during the Vancouver Winter Olympics makes me laugh. I hope you enjoy it as well. Watch the story unfold and notice you have no doubt that it’s advertising Coke.

When you craft a story, a blog post, an article, your book or any other message, you definitely want to tie in a story, because that will make your message memorable. Too many people do a video or write something that is all marketing and no story.

People don’t buy based solely on the features and benefits of the product. Veteran infomercial pitchman Billy Mays, who died last year in after a tough plane landing, said on his show The Pitchmen that half of the reason people buy is because of a great product, and half of why they buy is the story.

You don’t have to have the brand recognition of Coca Cola to weave incorporate storytelling for business.

Turning Everyday Events into Storytelling for Business

Sometimes, the story you tell can be essentially unrelated to your product. A snowball fight has nothing to do with drinking Coke, yet it makes for a fun message. If you’re using a story like that, be sure to “connect the dots” for the receiver so that you make a clear connection between your story and your product/message.

Here’s an example:

I’ll let you listen to the story of what my hens can teach you about looking for results.

Summary of story in video: The story I tell here is about my hens using a particular corner of the nest area rather than the 12 next boxes to lay their eggs. The connection I make is to ask you to consider how often you INSIST that you have to do or have something a certain way or it isn’t right, when all the time you’re passing up ample opportunities to do what you want.

You can take an ordinary experience at home, in a restaurant, on a trip, at a movie or wherever to make a point that transmits your business message.

Case Study Storytelling for Business

You can also use a case study story. This can be a typical question people ask, but you take a recent interaction, coaching session, consultation, phone call or whatever to share your message.

Example: I’m on the faculty of a new site called Success Bug.(that’s not the story; it’s part of the setup to the story). Success Bug founder Barry Plaskow came to me in a quandary. He said he knows he needs to write a book, “But I’m not sure how to figure out exactly what to write my book about.” Sure, he knew it would relate to his business, but that is so vague.

“Barry, I get that question a lot, and it’s really easy to figure out not only what to write about, but also how to write a book that will generate leads and business for you.”

Naturally, Barry felt quite relieved. I asked him 3 questions and helped him draw out the most common concerns for which people come to him. From there, it was really easy for him to recognize that people come to him wondering how to make their business stand out above their competition.

That is the STORY part, and from here I would share the teaching with more specifics if that were my focus here. You can watch for a post set to come out soon which will give you the same help I gave Barry.

And from that, you can see how telling a story of an interaction (sometimes with a real name and sometimes a real situation but with a pseudonym, can share valuable understanding around the concerns and challenges your ideal customers have.

Beware of Storytelling that Isn’t Storytelling

I participated in a giveaway once that is an example of storytelling that isn’t storytelling. First of all, a “giveaway” is an event in which someone sets up a site for people to add gifts and then everyone promotes to everyone they know in order to give out the gifts for a short span of time, such as 2 weeks. This giveaway supposedly involved a ransom to free the event creator, but the only “story” was a lame 30 second video with no story line at all. It was more a concept than a story.

Another example.of storytelling that isn’t storytelling is one of my colleagues who would write something like the following in blog posts and think he had told a story: “I read an article about ____ the other day and it made me think of ___.” That’s just a transition. It’s not a story.

Help with Storytelling for Business

I have a 5–part free multimedia mini-course which you can get with the form below,

and if you truly want to become a masterful storyteller, watch for the interactive storytelling for business class I will hold very soon.

Storytelling for business is a powerful human connection tool you can start using right away. My chickens teach marketing lessons all the time, for those who have eyes to see them, and since I do, I can share their “wisdom” with you. When I am at a restaurant or out running errands, there are stories everywhere.

Here is an example.  In the video below, I’m sharing a story about my chickens. They have some things to share…

We have 12 nest boxes for the hens to use for egg-laying. Several of them liked the corner rather than the boxes, and they would line up in order to have a go at the corner – even though there were 10 or 11 empty nests waiting to receive their precious eggs.

So even though they had abundance all around them, the hens insisted they HAD to wait for the corner. They wouldn’t partake of the abundant nests around them.

Are YOU making a similar mistake? Are you so convinced that you have to do it this way or you have to wait for good things to happen that you fail to notice ample opportunities around you?

That is how you can take an everyday event … well for me that’s everyday. Your examples will probably be less rural … and turn it into a teaching story you can use for storytelling for business.

Resoruces

The Storytelling Templates(TM) Page shows you several “recipes” or templates for h ow to tell a powerful story. Some will be about storytelling for business and others will be about connecting through storytelling.

The Story Power DVD teaches you how to connect with anyone through the power of storytelling. This is from a live seminar, and it is a 90-minute jam-packed seminar. You’ll receive the handout participants had and a couple other bonus gifts.