108 How to Use Storytelling Effectively in Your Podcast

06/30/20 • 4 min

1 Listener

Just One Tip from Your Podcast Performance Coach

Are you shoving facts and figures down your listener’s throat? Are you blathering on about yourself and failing to make a connection?

Stories to the rescue!

In my last episode I explained why stories are such a powerful way to connect with your listener on a deeper level and worm your way into their memories. If you haven’t heard it yet, *spoiler: science.

Getting yourself and your podcast embedded in your listener’s memory will help with recall and make you seem more like an authority on the subject. These are good things.

So, how do you use storytelling effectively in your podcast? There are probably a million ways. But, I promise you a 5-minute podcast so I’ve boiled it down to 4 key styles of storytelling that I have seen work really well in podcasting.

Here they are - 4 Storytelling Styles for Podcasting:

1. Simple and Short Success Stories

These stories are used as examples to make your point.

2. Belief Busting Stories

These personal accounts or stories from history that are used to disprove a belief that your listener might be holding on to. These are especially powerful in breaking through limiting beliefs.

3. Core Story

This is the feature story - the story upon which your whole episode is based. You’re going to want to make sure there is a lot in it for the listener if you’re going to spend all of your time on one story - think take-aways and revelations!

4. Analogy

Use a story people may or may not know (either from history or your experience) that seems to be unrelated to the topic but is ripe with symbolism. These can really trigger that creativity center and make your podcast really memorable.

Whichever style you use, make sure you bring it back to the reason people tune into your show. Unless your show is literally ‘Storytime for Podcast Listeners’, you can’t just tell stories. You have to make them relevant to the WHY behind your show.

Not sure what that WHY is... I can help with that. Book a free 15-minute coaching call with me and we’ll work it out.

And then, sometime in the future you can have a success story of your own that starts with ‘Once upon a time, I called up this podcast coach...’

Click here to book a time in my calendar to start your story.

Are you shoving facts and figures down your listener’s throat? Are you blathering on about yourself and failing to make a connection?

Stories to the rescue!

Getting yourself and your podcast embedded in your listener’s memory will help with recall and make you seem more like an authority on the subject. These are good things.

Here they are - 4 Storytelling Styles for Podcasting:

1. Simple and Short Success Stories

These stories are used as examples to make your point.

2. Belief Busting Stories

These personal accounts or stories from history that are used to disprove a belief that your listener might be holding on to. These are especially powerful in breaking through limiting beliefs.

3. Core Story

4. Analogy

Not sure what that WHY is... I can help with that. Book a free 15-minute coaching call with me and we’ll work it out.

And then, sometime in the future you can have a success story of your own that starts with ‘Once upon a time, I called up this podcast coach...’

Click here to book a time in my calendar to start your story.

Previous Episode

107 Why You Need More Stories in Your Podcast

Gather round the campfire, podcasters, I have an f-bomb laced story for you.

Be honest, when you read that sentence, did you actually picture a campfire?

Of course you did, you’re human. And, that’s what we humans do. We use our memories to fill in the gaps that words leave. And, we’ve been doing it since caveman times. You know, like before we even had podcasts.

Speaking of the times before podcasts... and before Netflix and TV, there was only radio. Radio used to be the main form of communication and entertainment. Back then, actors performed radio plays which made plays or stories much more accessible to the masses. They used to refer to these radio plays as theatre for the mind. Nobody ever saw these actors, but everyone who listened could describe the characters to a T. The creative mind filled in the blanks.

And, people loved it. In fact, it was kind of like a rush.

You see, the brain actually releases dopamine when the Amygdala gets triggered - and you know what triggers the Amygdala? It’s memories, emotion, and creativity (aka stories).

Are you starting to see where I’m heading with this?

Let me spell it out for you. Stories are good. People like stories. People get a rush from stories and those stories get locked into their brains. When stories get locked in, the storyteller does too. If you are the storyteller, dear podcaster, you’ve just wedged yourself into your listeners brain and they liked it.

Ta-daaaa!

Now, if you’d like to hear this in action... and hear a story positively laced with f-bombs, then click play and delight you amygdala.

Next week, I’ll explain exactly how YOU can use stories effectively in your podcast - no matter what kind of podcast you have.

What’s that you say, you don’t have a podcast yet? Well, hit me up for a free 30-minute discovery call and I’ll tell you the story all about how you crafted a perfect podcast to promote your business. Click here.

Next Episode

109 Do You Want a Better Podcast? Don't Wing It!

We’d won gold at the Music Festival but as we listened to the review of our performance, I was mortified. The memory of that moment still mortifies me to this day. (Click play to hear what almost cost me my highschool band-geek card)

*Metta Warning: The above story is the anecdote example I promised you last episode.*

So, too lazy to listen, eh. Fine, I’ll spoil the fun and tell you that the whole point of the story is that when you DON’T PLAN trombone solos, things get messy and embarrassing and just, not good.

The same is true for podcasts. You can’t just wing it. You need to have a plan going into each episode.

And don’t give me that fooey about podcasters like Marc Maron and Joe Rogan not having a plan because:

You are not Marc Maron or Joe Rogan
They do plan
They’ve got years of experience making it sound like they don’t have a plan and getting back to it when they expertly take a detour

At the very least, you should be able to answer this one question BEFORE you hit record:

What do you want your listener to get out of this episode?

Asking this question helps each episode have a point and it ensures that your listener is going to keep listening.

And a warning... if your answer is ‘they get to hear an interesting and entertaining conversation.’ [buzzer sound] Not good enough! Dig a little deeper. Care a little more.

Remember, you are not doing this podcast for you. You are doing it for your listener. Which is why you can’t just wing it every episode.

I’m not saying you can’t be spontaneous, or that you can’t go off on an entertaining tangent - but keep your listener in mind (and what’s in it for them) and bring it back to your plan.

This is ESPECIALLY important if you’re podcasting to grow your authority, build your brand, and market your business.

Don’t feel bad if you fall into the ‘I just wing it’ club. I talk to a lot of entrepreneurs and business owners who think that they can just hit record and start talking. When I connect with them during one of my Free 15-minute coaching calls, one of the first questions I ask is, “what does your listener get out of your show (or the show you want to create)?” It stumps a lot of people. And, answering that question changes the direction of their podcast for the better.

Don’t plan to wing it, actually plan it.

Want to know what other questions I ask in my Free 15-Minute Coaching Call? Book at time right now and find out. Let’s make sure you’re on the right track or planning to start a podcast right.

Special thanks to Stephen Kepler for playing the role of ‘Disappointed Adjudicator’. Check out his YouTube Channel (he was recently featured on John Krasinki’s Some Good News) or on Twitter. And check out his podcast The Green Room Actors Podcast.