
The Power Of Storytelling
- By Kyle Bringhurst
- on February 10, 2019
Author Profile
Ty Bennett started his first company with his brother at the age of 21. During the first little while the business struggled to gain any traction and they weren’t making any money. Eventually, Ty realized that many of the people were turned off by his age. They liked his idea, but they were worried that someone that young wouldn’t be able to deliver what he promised them. He realized that he needed to build credibility, so he learned to start each presentation by addressing the elephant in the room and reminding them how old Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and others were when they got started.
As soon as Ty realized that people were responding to his stories and started buying, he went all in on learning how to tell stories. He eventually grew his company to $20 million in revenue while he was still in his 20s by focusing on stories. He has been listed in Utah Business’ Top 40 Under 40 and is now is a world-renowned speaker and author of four books. Those books are used in graduate-level leadership courses around the country, including MIT.
Highlights
Ty Bennett does an excellent job in breaking down each aspect of a story and explaining them to the reader. Not only does he go into what a story needs to have, he also goes into how a story needs to be delivered and the skills and tools a storyteller must develop to have the influence he/she is looking for.
This book is very actionable, and he has many video links in the book where we can see different examples of stories and break down the section that he is talking about in the book. Bennett divides this content into 3 sections: the mindset, the skillset, and the toolset. In each section he breaks it down bit by bit and shows us how we can apply what we learn.
Personal Impact
After reading Start With Why I learned how much impact our emotions and passions can have on other people. When we are passionate other people are drawn to us. I have realized that whenever I connect most with a person it is through stories. That is when I am willing to change everything that I am doing and follow them. Passions and emotions are what we need to share in order to connect and influence people, and stories are how we share those passions and emotions.
This book has left a major mark on me. It has changed the way I try and write, and I have tried to do a lot better at sharing what I learn through stories. My first blog post was when I finally tried to apply what I had learned and use stories to illustrate my points. I am just starting out on my storytelling journey, but now that I have been introduced to this world I am going to learn and practice as much as I can with it. As a business owner/salesman/recruiter I realize how much of an influence I can have on people, and I want to prepare myself to be the best.
Actionable Goal
I am trying to currently create and organize my main story I want to share about my life, and I am going to use the tools I learned in this book to make it come to life. I know I can make a major impact in the world by sharing my story and what I am learning, but in order to do that I need to great influence, and influence comes from preparation and passion.
Verdict
The Power of Storytelling is an excellent reference guide if you are new to storytelling. It is one that I always have on hand when I am writing and want to know what I should do next. While the book is a bit shorter than I would have hoped for it does make this a very easy read. If you are interested in storytelling at all I would recommend this book to you. I haven’t read any other storytelling books quite yet, but this is a very good introduction. I give it a 7.5/10.
Top 8 Quotes
“You don’t retell a story – you relive a story.”
“If it is not necessary to say, it becomes necessary not to say.”
“Great stories that create great influence are, in the end, about answers; answers that satisfy and inspire a call to action.”
“What is once uncomfortable becomes comfortable, even second nature, if you just keep doing it.”
“If your story is relatable to the audience, then the solution will be credible, and the hero will gain credibility.”
“If we want our communication to be heard and understood, we need to be succinct.”
“Those who learn to tell stories well have a unique ability to teach, to persuade, to motivate, and to move people.”
“Your story of your own struggles and your own victories – however modest they may seem to you – has tremendous power to inspire and motivate others and lift them to greater heights.”
Read this book? Have any questions or thoughts? Leave a comment below!
Kyle Bringhurst is a student, entrepreneur, and avid reader who aspires to help as many people as he can. You can read more about him on the About page.
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