The Perfect Story: How to Tell Stories that Inform, Influence, and Inspire
- 7h 31m 10s
- Karen Eber
- HarperCollins Leadership
- 2023
Read by the author.
"Come for the engrossing content, and stay for the lessons that might just change how you talk, write, and lead.” —Adam Grant
Learn how to take any story and make it perfect—from storytelling expert Karen Eber, whose popular TED Talk on the subject continues to be a source of inspiration for millions.
What makes a story perfect? How do you tell the perfect story for any occasion?
We live in a story world. Stories are a memorable and engaging way to differentiate yourself, build connection and trust, create new thinking, bring meaning to data, and even influence decision-making. But how do you turn a good story into a great story that informs, influences, and inspires?
In The Perfect Story, Karen Eber—leadership consultant, professional keynote storyteller, and TED speaker—shares the science of storytelling to teach you to:
- Leverage the Five Factory Settings of the Brain to hack the art of storytelling
- Build a toolkit of endless story ideas
- Define the audience for your story
- Apply a memorable story structure
- Engage senses and emotions
- Tell stories with data
- Avoid common storytelling mistakes
- Use your body to tell dynamic stories
- Ensure your story doesn't manipulate
- Navigate and embrace the vulnerability of storytelling
Without relying on complicated models or one-size-fits-all prescriptions, this book makes storytelling accessible with practical and impactful steps for anyone to tell the perfect story for any occasion.
Through interview vignettes, The Perfect Story also shares approaches from different storytellers, including the Sundance Institute cofounder, an executive producer of The Moth, the former creative director at Pixar, the TED Radio Hour podcast host, and many more.
Whether you are leading a team, giving a presentation, hosting a podcast, selling a product or service, interviewing for a job, or giving a toast at a wedding, The Perfect Story will help you take your stories and make them perfect.
About the Author
Karen Eber is an international consultant, keynote and TED speaker. As the CEO and Chief Storyteller of Eber Leadership Group, Karen helps companies reimagine and evolve how they build leaders, teams, and culture--often with storytelling. Karen's clients include General Electric, Microsoft, Facebook, Kate Spade, MIT, and London School of Business. She is a four-time American Training and Development winner, frequent contributor to Fast Company, and lives in Atlanta.
In this Audiobook
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Introduction: Don't Eat the Crayons
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Part One: Hacking the Art of Storytelling
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Chapter One: Storytelling to the Rescue
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Chapter Two: What Happens When You Tell Stories?
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Chapter Three: Creating Desired Outcomes
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Part Two: The Context: Finding Ideas for Stories
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Chapter Four: Create an Endless Toolkit of Potential Story Ideas
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Chapter Five: Start with Your Audience, Not with the Story
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Chapter Six: Select an Idea for Your Story
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Chapter Seven: Do I Have to Tell a Personal Story?
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Part Three: The Conflict: Building the Story's Structure
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Chapter Eight: Outline Your Story Structure
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Chapter Nine: Adding Details That Matter
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Chapter Ten: Make Us Feel Something
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Chapter Eleven: Sequence Your Story
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Chapter Twelve: Make Everything Count
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Chapter Thirteen: Storytelling with Data
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Part Four: The Outcome: Telling a Great Story
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Chapter Fourteen: Telling Your Stories
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Chapter Fifteen: How Do I Know If My Story Resonates?
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Chapter Sixteen: Where Do Stories Go Wrong?
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Chapter Seventeen: When Does a Story Become Manipulative?
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Chapter Eighteen: Vulnerability and Storytelling
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Part Five: The Takeaway: Landing the Idea
