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Matthew Dicks

Episode #200

Storyteller, Author & Elementary School Teacher

Speak Up

🚀Career & Leadership⚡Execution🎯Product Strategy

📝Full Transcript

21,467 words
Matthew Dicks (00:00:00): Everyone loves the word storytelling in business. It's a huge buzzword. They love to think of themselves as storytellers, but when they come to me, they don't really want to be storytellers. Because to be a storyteller means you have to separate yourself from the herd, and in their mind, that risks them getting picked off, right? Getting picked off by some predator. But the alternative is you're in the herd, which means you're forgettable. I mean, how many times have you gone to a conference, listened to someone speak, and by the time you're pulling into the driveway, you really can't remember anything that they said? Because that's what happens if we don't speak in story. Our minds are not designed to remember a pie chart or facts or statistics or platitudes or ideas that are not attached to imagery. So the risk you take if you're not telling stories is that you will be forgotten. 100%. You will be forgotten. Lenny (00:00:54): Today my guest is Matthew Dicks. Matthew is the author of my All-Time favorite book on storytelling Storyworthy, which a previous guest of the podcast recommended to me and I couldn't put it down. So I reached out to Matthew and got him on the podcast. Matthew is a 59-time Moth Story Slam winner, and nine-time Grand Slam champ. He's also the author of nine other books, including fictions, rock operas, even a comic book. (00:01:20): In his day job, he is an elementary school teacher and on the side teaches both individuals and teams at companies like Slack, Amazon, Lego, and Salesforce. The skill of storytelling and public speaking through his company speak up. In our conversation, we get very tactical about how to tell better stories both in life and in work, how to feel more comfortable speaking on stage, how to come up with story ideas that you can deploy when the need arises. Why every good story is centered around one five-second moment of transformation and so much more. Matt is an incredible human being and I...

💡 Key Takeaways

  • 1Every great story is about a 5-second moment of transformation or realization; everything else is context.
  • 2Stop reporting on your day chronologically; instead, focus on moments where your perspective changed.
  • 3In business, use 'Adjacency' to connect personal stories to dry products by matching themes rather than content.
  • 4Use 'Homework for Life' to build a database of stories so you aren't scrambling for a narrative when stakes are high.
  • 5Nervousness in public speaking almost entirely happens before you speak, not during; preparation via listening to yourself helps more than memorization.

📚Methodologies (3)

🚀 Career & Leadership

Every story should be built around a singular 5-second moment of transformation (becoming a new person) or realization (thinking a new thing). The story exists solely to bring clarity to this moment.

Core Principles

  • 1.Identify the 5-Second Moment: Find the exact moment you changed your mind or grew.
  • 2.Start at the End: Since the transformation is the goal, work backward to determine the necessary beginning (the opposite of the end).
  • 3.Opposites Create Arcs: If the end is confidence, the beginning must be insecurity. Show the contrast clearly.

"Every story is about a singular moment... I used to think something and then some stuff happened and now I think a new thing."

#5-second#moment#career
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⚡ Execution

To prevent audiences from tuning out, speakers must insert stakes—reasons for the audience to worry or wonder. Stakes should be distributed throughout the story, not just front-loaded.

Core Principles

  • 1.The Elephant: A clear signal at the beginning that something big/important is at stake.
  • 2.The Backpack: Telling the audience your plan/hopes beforehand so they fear your plan might fail.
  • 3.The Hourglass: Slowing down time with details right before the climax to heighten tension.
  • +1 more...

"If your audience isn't wondering what you're about to say, they're no longer listening to you."

#stakes#suspense#toolkit
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🎯 Product Strategy

Instead of looking for a story about your specific product (content-to-content match), look for a story that matches the *theme, meaning, or message*. Then, 'snap' the story onto the business topic using a metaphor.

Core Principles

  • 1.Ignore Content, Match Theme: Don't tell a story about tubes to sell tubes. Tell a story about 'getting exactly what you need'.
  • 2.Personal Interest Inventory: Insert relatable details about yourself (parent, runner, etc.) to build connection.
  • 3.Build Bricks, Don't Just Use Band-aids: Don't just find a story to fix one problem; build a library of stories (Homework for Life) to deploy strategically.

"Most communication in business is round, white, and flavorless intentionally so because a lot of people are afraid to stand out."

#adjacency#(band-aids#bricks)
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