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Welcome to the Storiespire podcast.

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I'm Mary R. Snyder. I am your host

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and storytelling strategist. I'm

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here with expert advice, actionable

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tips, and frameworks to create

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the stories that will inspire

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hearts and minds because

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stories change the world. Let's

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get into it. Hey, before

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we get started, I want to

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remind you of something. Have

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you said yes to my email,

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my newsletter, the Story Spire News?

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It is a weekly newsletter with

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a link to one of the episodes,

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the episode of the week, along with

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a storytelling tip, maybe

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something fun, a resource I found,

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or an inspirational story just to brighten

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up your email box. And you can

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do that simply by going to storyspire.

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com and clicking on

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Join Mary. I'd love for you to join

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me there. Let's get into

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it. Hi there. Let's

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talk about the story spire

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process. We start at the end

1:04

I want you to think of these three things

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after you've been on a stage. Maybe

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you sat across from someone at a table

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or you've shared in a small room

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or in front of thousands. What

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do you want? The people who just

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heard you to feel? What

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do you want them to know and what

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do you want them to do? Now,

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I know you're thinking, I don't even

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know what my story is yet. That's

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okay, because this is how

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you build the most effective

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and the most impactful story. For

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the right audience. And this is what I always say.

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It's telling the right story to the right people

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at the right time. Think

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about this. Would you stand

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in front of a bunch of

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brand new parents? They

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just brought those precious darling

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babies home in the last few months.

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And would you tell them about

2:05

the joys of the empty nests? Well,

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no, because it has

2:10

absolutely no bearing on these

2:12

people's lives right now. They're not interested

2:14

in that. They're not remotely

2:17

caring about an empty nest. They

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are so excited about this

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new journey they're on. Now

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you could tell that same story to

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a group of people who just sent their kids off

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to college. They

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might lean in a little and go, oh,

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okay, so I'm not always going to be sad,

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right? You see the difference

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in the way that story hits? The same

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thing is you would not stand

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in front of a group of people who just

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lost their homes in a tornado

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and tell them how much you need

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their help to

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do a project for a new

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library three towns over. That

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doesn't even make sense. But

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I've seen it happen. I

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know it sounds nuts.

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Understanding your audience, understanding

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what you want them to feel, understanding

3:10

what you want them to know and

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understanding what you want them to do.

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That informs the story

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that you will tell them. It

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informs the way you will build what

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you will share the way in which you will formulate

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the message you have for them. So

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let's talk about the very first thing. What

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do you want someone to feel

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after you step off the stage? Now,

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the last thing I want someone to feel is manipulated.

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I also don't want them to feel mad that they showed

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up to hear me talk. I

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want people to feel

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inspired and know

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they can do what

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they are setting out to do. And for me, when

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you finish this podcast today, I

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want you to feel like.

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You know what? I can do this. I

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can be a great storyteller. That's

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what I want you to feel. What

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do you want your person to feel with your story?

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Maybe you're a speaker and you want them to feel

4:10

empowered. You know what? If

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she can do it, I can do it. If

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she overcame all of that, I

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can overcome this little thing. If

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she made it through that diagnosis,

4:22

I can make it through this struggle at work. Maybe

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you want them to know

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that they are

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valued. Maybe you're speaking

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to a group of employees. Maybe you're

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speaking to your team and you want them to

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feel valued and important.

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So you're going to develop the story to

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make sure that's what they walk away with. What

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do you want them to know? I

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want you to know as a storyteller

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that you can build the skills

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to tell powerful stories. And

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I want you to know one of the ways

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you can learn is by listening to this

5:02

podcast. That's what I want

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you to know. Now,

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if I'm a speaker, I might

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want you to know that

5:11

the journey that I went on with

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this diagnosis I got wasn't

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easy. But I persevered.

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If I'm telling a story and

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I'm encouraging you to join my

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work at a non profit, I

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want you to know that every

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dollar you give, that

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85 percent of that goes directly

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to the recipient. So

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this is where when you are telling

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a story, you want to get into a little bit of

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the facts. Now, you know, I always talk about

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stories. They need to be a story

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and we don't want a bunch of facts and figures,

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facts and figures. Data

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and information. That is

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a supporting role to

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your story. Think of it as

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the second banana,

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not the first. They are the person

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that is the second actor. They're

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not the lead in the show, but they're back

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there. They're singing harmony. They're

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doing that second part. So

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they do have a role because they want

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to give you a little head knowledge and

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for a speaker, it may be scripture that,

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Proverbs 3, 5, and 6, trust

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in the Lord with all your heart and

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lean not on your own understanding. And

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that is, I know that to be true.

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Because I want that out,

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it's knowing, it's the

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knowledge part of your message, so we've

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got the feeling part, we've talked about how we want

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people to feel, we want them to feel valued,

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and you do that by telling them how important

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you, they are to you, and

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you do that by showing them

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that they are important, you tell a story about

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them, you talk about how

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Joe shows up every morning

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before anyone gets there and makes everyone

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coffee, And no one ever knows

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it's Joe, but you do because

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you're the leader and you're here

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when Joe shows up we've

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talked about how you want them to feel

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what you want them to know. Now,

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here's. The big part,

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what do you want your

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one person to do

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with this knowledge? What

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is the action you want them to take You

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can actually give them the steps

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and we're going to talk about that in an upcoming episode.

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How we land

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the plane. But, let's

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talk about it right here today in the

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doing part. The doing

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is the action step. This typically comes

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at the very end of your story.

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You've opened, you've told this

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great story, you've walked them through some informational

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pieces so they understand how

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you work. Now,

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let's get into the

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doing part. Now, this is where I

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love if I am working with a nonprofit.

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This is the call to action. This is the appeal.

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This is the part where

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manipulation can come in, but we won't let

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it. I might say something

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like, for 45

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a month, you can change the life of a child just

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like Susanna. See

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for 45 a month you

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bring her medical attention. Wow.

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That's something we just take for granted. If you're sick, you

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go to the doctor. Not where she lives.

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Number two she gets an education. An

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education is something we take for granted

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here in the states. It's something you

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have to pay for where Susanna lives.

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And I go through every single thing that

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45 will do. And then

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I say, there are thousands

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of children, but today I'm

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looking for 100 people To

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say yes to a child just

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like Susanna and

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all you have to do, and this is

8:52

where I give them the steps. It could be

8:54

raise your hand and I'll hand you a packet. It

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could be fill out this card. It could

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be on your table. There is a

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donation, a pledge card.

9:04

I could say something like for 400.

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You can build a house just like the one we

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built for Susanna's family.

9:13

400. And you can do that

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today. You can fill out that pledge card.

9:17

You can hit that QR code. You

9:20

can do either one of those. Or

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it could be something like for 400,

9:28

you can build a house just like the one we

9:30

built for Susanna's family. 400.

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That's all it takes. I

9:36

don't know about you, but

9:39

we built our house for our

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an outside house for our dogs.

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And it was more than that. Whatever

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the steps are, you are giving them. This is

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where you give it to them. This is the doing

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part. Now, if

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you are bringing in an inspirational

9:55

message or a workshop message, and you

9:57

want them to maybe join

10:00

your email list, or maybe

10:02

even buy a course or join

10:04

a group, then you give them the steps.

10:07

I like to give them something in return

10:10

for their email. I

10:12

would love to give you my five

10:14

steps to being a better

10:16

storyteller. All

10:18

you have to do is click that QR code. I

10:21

want to help you today. Now,

10:24

if you want to, Have

10:26

them do something. I love a challenge.

10:28

I love to challenge my audience and I

10:30

love to give them something for the challenge.

10:33

So I want to give you five

10:35

steps to being a better storyteller and

10:38

then I need a commitment from you before you get

10:40

this. I want you to

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promise me That you will spend

10:44

one hour next week working

10:46

on your story. Can I get that promise?

10:49

All right. All you have to do is scan

10:52

this QR code right here. It

10:55

will put you on my email list. I don't

10:57

send much out, just an email once a week

11:00

with a link to a podcast episode

11:03

and a fun story that I

11:05

like to share. We all need to brighten

11:07

up our email boxes a little bit. I

11:10

told them what I wanted them to do, and then

11:12

I gave them something for doing

11:14

it. Now, if you're an inspirational

11:16

speaker, it could be, I want to

11:18

challenge you to spend the next five days

11:21

reciting these prayers that

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I will be happy to give you in

11:26

a download or they're back at my book table.

11:29

The doing is the call to action

11:32

and every story has

11:34

a call to action. It has

11:36

an ending. It has something you want

11:38

me to do. Because

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if you don't tell me what to do next.

11:43

I won't do anything now.

11:45

That's a sad truth, but

11:48

I want you to think about that. Think

11:50

about somebody you heard speak recently.

11:53

We're right in the midst of a political time

11:56

and there are campaigning going

11:59

on left and right. And what is the last

12:01

thing that a candidate says? I

12:03

want you to go to the polls and vote for me.

12:06

That's the doing. The

12:08

feeling is they are going to

12:10

touch your feels with however

12:12

they stand. The knowing is

12:14

they're going to give you some statistics on

12:16

maybe how they voted or how their

12:19

party stands. And the doing

12:21

is they tell you what to do. Go

12:24

to the polls. So what

12:27

is your feeling,

12:30

knowing, and doing?

12:33

Because those three things are

12:35

the keys to creating great stories.

12:39

Now, for a long time, I created

12:41

stories and told stories with really, without

12:43

really thinking about those things. And

12:46

the stories fell apart.

12:49

I would create a podcast and I didn't know what

12:51

I wanted you to feel or know

12:53

or do with the story

12:55

I was sharing. I just was creating

12:58

it. And I would stop

13:01

and think about it and think that doesn't

13:03

bring any value. When

13:05

I shifted and began to look at

13:07

everything under the story

13:10

spire framework, then

13:13

it changed Before I create

13:15

any story, I think about you.

13:18

What do I want you to feel? What

13:20

do I want you to know? And what do

13:22

I want you to do? And

13:25

today, I want you to feel that you

13:27

can be a great storyteller.

13:30

I want you to know, That you

13:32

need to practice. You need to

13:34

get more assets, more resources.

13:36

You need to continue to listen to this podcast.

13:39

Maybe we even need to work together. And

13:42

what I want you to do is I

13:44

want you to sign up for my

13:46

email list. I want you to subscribe

13:49

to this podcast and I want you to continue

13:52

to show up here because you know

13:54

what I know your story will

13:56

change the world. I hope you have a great

13:58

week. I'll see you around. And

14:01

don't forget, I would love a

14:03

five star rating. If you're going to give me anything

14:05

other than a five star, can we get on

14:07

the phone and chat? I would love to get it up to a five

14:09

star. I'll see you around. Have a great

14:11

rest of your day. Bye now.