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InsightHunt

Hunt the Insights

M

Matthew Dicks

Storyteller, Author & Elementary School Teacher

Speak Up

🚀 Career & Leadership (1)⚡ Execution (1)🎯 Product Strategy (1)

Key Takeaways

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