The Adjacency Strategy (Band-aids vs. Bricks)
by Matthew Dicks • Storyteller, Author & Elementary School Teacher at Speak Up
A 59-time Moth Story Slam winner and 9-time Grand Slam champion who teaches storytelling to individuals and companies like Slack, Amazon, and Salesforce. He is also the author of the best-selling book 'Storyworthy'.
🎙️ Episode Context
Matthew Dicks breaks down the science and art of storytelling, explaining why it is a critical skill for business differentiation. He shares tactical frameworks for structuring stories around moments of transformation, techniques to maintain audience engagement through stakes, and methods to connect personal anecdotes to business contexts.
Problem It Solves
Allows you to explain boring products or complex features using engaging, relatable human stories.
Framework Overview
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.
🧠 Framework Structure
Ignore Content, Match Theme: Don't te...
Personal Interest Inventory: Insert r...
Build Bricks, Don't Just Use Band-aid...
When to Use
Sales pitches, product launches, or explaining technical infrastructure to non-technical stakeholders.
Common Mistakes
Thinking corporate stories must be 'round, white, and flavorless' (impersonal) to be professional.
Real World Example
A scientist sold specialized biotech tubes not by showing data, but by telling a story about buying different apples for his picky family—metaphorically explaining the value of customization.
Most communication in business is round, white, and flavorless intentionally so because a lot of people are afraid to stand out.
— Matthew Dicks