This is a show for business storytellers who want to get things done. In each short but compelling 10-minute episode, Jeremy will teach you the art and science of "Mission Critical Storytelling" and take you behind-the-scenes of a speech or presentation that made a real difference.
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How do you connect with an audience who has no idea who you are? And more importantly, how can you inspire an audience to do something which they didn't expect to do - especially if that concerns giving you a lot of money?
This episode is a fast but thoughtful deep-dive into the art and science of persuasive storytelling according to civil rights lawyer Bryan Stevenson. His TED Talk received the longest standing ovation in TED history, but not only that - he received $1.3M in donations to his organization from the audience without even askibng for it! How did Bryan's 21 minute talk do that? Especially when, on paper, it looks like this talk shoud not have worked.
In this episode, Jeremy takes a few minutes longer than usual to unpack this talk, and using AI, Jeremy goes behind the scenes to look at what you can learn from Bryan in order to become a better mission critical storyteller yourself.
When I worked at Adobe several years ago I conducted some research which tried to understand what made a great piece of content. Basically – what was the value of a story? It was based on research I did with Facebook a few years earlier when I was working on measuring the value of an audience.
The conclusion that me and my team came to, after simplifying the findings of our research, was that great stories do 6 things really well.
They INFORM, INSPIRE, EDUCATE, ENTERTAIN, CHALLENGE and SOLVE PROBLEMS.
I started to spend a lot of time with neuroscientists and psychologists, and soon started to realise why these 6 elements were present in great stories.
It was a simple left brain – right brain story.
Our emotions are triggered by our right brain (within our lymbic system) – and we then justify those emotions with rational and logical thought based upon our left brain (our neo-cortex).
Right Brain = INSPIRE, ENTERTAIN, CHALLENGE
Left Brain = INFORM, EDUCATE, SOLVE PROBLEMS
I was working on this research 13 years ago but it came to life again for me this week after I watched the Jamie Foxx & Michael B. Jordan film “JUST MERCY” based on the book by civil rights lawyer Bryan Stevenson.
If you don’t know who Bryan Stevenson is – you should – and you soon will!
Bryan is one of the most compelling voices in the global pursuit of justice. As a civil rights lawyer, Bryan has dedicated his life to confronting some of the deepest injustices in society. He is the founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, an organization that defends the wrongfully convicted, advocates for the poor, and represents inmates on death row. His work is not just about individual cases but about exposing the systems of inequality that have shaped the modern legal landscape.
Through his advocacy, he has fundamentally reshaped conversations about race, incarceration, and human dignity. His TED Talk has been viewed over 10M times, and his memoir, Just Mercy, (also, film) is a powerful testament to the possibility of hope even in the darkest corners of society.
Bryan’s impact is rooted in his extraordinary ability to communicate truth, inspire empathy, and persuade others to see the humanity in every individual.
So let’s have a look at how he uses the power of words and ideas to create change — and how storytelling, truth, and hope can move people, challenge systems, and influence history. For Bryan, this is about more than the law. It’s about the art and science of persuasion and the role communication plays in building a more just world.
OK...
So I said great stories do 6 things.
After watching the movie Just Mercy I watched Bryan’s TED talk again.
It’s a famous TED talk even among the inner circles of TED because it’s famous for having the longest standing ovation of any TED talk.
And not just that – when Bryan spoke at TED in Long Beach California in 2012, his organisation was in urgent need of $1M to continue fighting a key case in the US Supreme Court. Bryan didn’t mention this once in his talk, but his stories had such an impact on the audience that he left California with $1.3M of contributions from members of the audience.
That’s mission critical storytelling for you.
So - just for fun (!) I fed the transcript of Bryan’s talk into the AI Storytelling Assistants I used at work to analyse talks – to see if I could understand WHY this talk had such a profound impact on the audience - and I made some pretty astonishing discoveries.
Bryan’s talk contained – you guessed it – 6 parts.
His 21 minute, 3,981 word talk meant that he spoke at 190 WPM – which pretty much means it should NOT have worked.
But it had a VERY low readability score of 8.94 (meaning he used short sentences and lots of two-syllable words) which made it easy for the audience to follow, despite the fast pace at which he spoke.
He used the word “BUT” 18X. To add drama or contrast - about once every 70 seconds which is within 5 seconds of the average attention span of an elite-business audience.
After Bryan’s short introduction he shares a funny story about his grandmother. He spends almost one-quarter of his time (21%) on this story, but it’s important because it helps to build a strong emotional connection with an audience who didn’t know who he was before.
This story ENTERTAINS.
[GRANDMOTHER]
Next he INFORMS his audience with information about his identity and his relationship with alcohol
[IDENTITY]
For the next few minutes, he talks his mission and how the Equal Justice Initiative which he founded seeks to try and SOLVE some of the PROBLEMS within the criminal justice system
[DESERVE TO DIE?]
By talking about the students who he teaches about race he spends a few minutes EDUCATING the audience with some powerful statistics about the death penalty.
[DEATH PENALTY STATS]
He then CHALLENGES the audience for the next 2 minutes about why our identity is at risk – after previously setting up why identity is so important
[IDENTITY]
And in closing, he spends the final thirds of his time (35% of it – 1,421 words) sharing a powerful story about Rosa Parks which doesn’t just INSPIRE the audience – it inspires them to act.
As evidenced by the $1.3M in donations he received shortly after his talk.
[ROSA]
Great stories don’t just make an audience FEEL something – they inspire an audience to DO something.
Powerful stuff.
Go and watch the full talk for yourself right now.
It’s the best 20-minutes you’ll probably spend doing anything today.
--
The Truth in Ten is a cross between a podcast series and a storytelling masterclass. Each short episode shines a light on a different inspirational leader; someone who shared a short story which changed the world in some way. This is a show for anyone who wants to make a difference by sharing their story.
--
S01 E03: 4 WORDS & 5 LINES
Saison 1 · Épisode 3
mercredi 12 février 2025 • Durée 10:53
How Do You Write Speeches Which Change Lives?
In this episode we put the spotlight on one of the world's greatest speechwriters - Theodore "Ted" Sorensen - so that we can understand how he wrote such iconic speeches for President John F. Kennedy. What was his process? And what can we learn from it to become better communicators ourselves?
There was a simple framework which Ted used, which I'd love to share with you in this 10-minute masterclass. It's a framework I use to train AI models today, and it's a methodology that's as relevant for speakers and storytellers today, as it was back in the 1960's.
In the last episode we looked at someone who read for a president. Today, we’re going to look at someone who wrote for a president – so we’re going to step back into a pivotal moment in history, to learn from (one of) the greatest speechwriters of all time: Theodore “Ted” Sorensen — the man who proved that a well-told story really can change the world.
S01 E01: TRUTH IN TEN
Saison 1 · Épisode 1
mardi 11 février 2025 • Durée 12:37
How Do You Turn a Moment into a Movement?
In this pilot episode of The Truth in Ten Podcast, host Jeremy Connell-Waite takes you behind the scenes of a ten-minute presentation which won not one, but two Academy Awards! It's a presentation which Jeremy has given many times himself, and he shares some insights about where the presentation came from, and what you can learn from it.
"Sorry I gave such a long presentation. I didn't have enough time to create a shorter one!"
I just asked an AI to INTERVIEW ME and here's what happened!!! 🤯 Everything in this clip is real and the only thing I have edited is the sound quality. (I can't export audio yet from the LLM so I needed to use a lav mic).
I gave the AI model my social media posts, my Linkedin profile and my podcast as a basis for her to ask me questions - so that we could have a conversation about the art & science of business storytelling.
This is only a short playful exercise using the paid version of ChatGPT-4o - but it really shows how much fun anyone can have with AI as your creative collaborator.
Too many folks are still using AI to just do basic tasks, such as writing emails or creating exec summaries of large documents - but the real power is in using it as a critical thinking assistant, or as a curator of content, to help you think about something differently.
That was the challenge facing Steve Jobs 20 years ago when he was asked by the president of Stanford University, John Hennessy, to give the 2005 commencement address. The only problem was that Steve Jobs, arguably the greatest communicator the business world has ever seen, had never given a talk like this before.
Where did he start?
What did he do?
Who did he turn to for advice?
How did he break it down?
This episode goes behind the scenes of how Steve created what many believe to be the best commencement speech ever given. I recommend you listen to the talk properly to get the full emotional impact of the content and the stories, but over the next 12-minutes, we'll break down some of the key elements of the talk and explore what you can learn from it to become a better communicator yourself.
In the 1960's TV had a problem. Kids were watching hundreds of hours of ads and cartoons but they weren't learning anything. That was until Joan Ganz Cooney came along. She revolutionised TV and invented a whole new genre when she launched Sesame Street in 1969 against all the odds. She quickly became one of the most influential people in TV.
The story of how Sesame St. came to life is a real hero's journey about fighting systems, challenging the status quo and taking the advice of kids over consultants.
In this 10-minute episode, I take a quick look behind the scenes of how Joan created Sesame Street, and I share the actual report that secured the original $8M funding.
A little inspiration perhaps for something you're trying to change at the moment... 🌈 🍪
This is a story about how one woman revolutionised children’s education—and took on the entire system to do it…
S01 E09: HEATING & LIGHTING
Saison 1 · Épisode 9
mercredi 5 mars 2025 • Durée 09:51
How Do Opinion Writers Win Hearts & Minds?
That’s the challenge that faces New York times opinion writer Thomas L. Friedman each day. Tom is a master at the art of provocative persuasion, and I had the pleasure of meeting him a few years back in Minnesota. He's the author of "Thank You For Being Late", the recipient of 3 Pulitzer Prizes and, most interestingly, the most engaged journalist (in terms or trafic and comments) that the New York Times has ever had. In this episode, I take a quick but compelling look behind the scenes at how he writes, so that we can become better at sharing our own opinions in the workplace.
How Do You Win Hearts & Minds To Your Way Of Thinking?
That’s the challenge that faces New York times opinion writer Thomas L. Friedman.
How Do You Win Hearts & Minds To Your Way Of Thinking?
That’s the challenge that faces New York times opinion writer Thomas L. Friedman.
Tom Friedman is a master at the art of provocative persuasion and I had the pleasure of meeting him a few years back in Minnesota.
If there’s one journalist who has mastered the art of making you think, argue, and—most importantly—act, it’s New York Times opinion writer Thomas Friedman. Love him or loathe him, you can’t ignore him. With a style that’s as sharp as it is relentless, Tom has spent decades shaping the way we understand globalization, the Middle East, and the environment, winning three Pulitzer Prizes along the way. He doesn’t just report on the world—he forces you to wrestle with its contradictions, its complexities, and its consequences.
S01 E08: THE "50-25-25" RULE
Saison 1 · Épisode 8
mercredi 5 mars 2025 • Durée 11:12
How Do The Best Speechwriters Get Things Done?
There's an important client presentation coming up and you find out at the last moment that you need to give the opening presentation, but you've got NOTHING prepared! What do you do? Is there anything worse? Well fear not, in this episode I'm going to look at a rule used by Barack Obama's former speechwriter, for helping you deal with that exact situation. It's called "The 50-25-25 Rule" and it's brilliant.
Terry Szuplat was one of President Obama's longest serving speechwriters, serving as special assistant to the president from 2009-2017, and as a member of the National Security Council stagg from 2013-2017. In 2024 Terry published "Say It Well" a step-by-step field guide for helping anyone to tell better stories. Today Terry runs his own speechwriting firm, Global Voices Communications, and he teaches speechwriting at his alma mater, American University's School of Public Affairs.
This episode features one of the most practical pieces of advice I've ever heard from a speechwriter, and probably the best piece of advice I ever heard from President Obama. Enjoy.
I want to introduce you to the process he used which will help YOU to be a better storyteller an a more effective communicator. He’s responsible for some of the most iconic lines, of any speech, of any generation.
[JFK “ASK NOT”]
When you think of President John F. Kennedy’s speeches in the 1960’s like that Inauguration speech, or his Peace speech at American University (best) or his vision of a moonshot that reshaped history—the mind behind those words was Ted Sorensen.
But Sorensen wasn’t just a wordsmith. He was JFK’s trusted advisor, a master strategist who understood that great communication is about more than beautiful rhetoric. It’s about driving action, creating urgency, and shaping the world. Sorensen was instrumental in ending the Cuban missile crisis in October 1962 – 13 days that took the world as close to a global nuclear war as it’s ever been.
Kennedy & Sorensen didn’t just want to deliver speeches—they wanted to craft a vision for a better future.
Here's what Sorensen had to say about writing the kind of speeches which could do that:
[SORENSEN CLIP – WRITING EFFECTIVELY]
Monotone! “Comfortable in anonymity” - COUNSELOR – His memoir. Excellent. I have a lovely leather signed first edition! Unfortunately I never got to meet him.
Sorensen’s legacy is everywhere today. From boardrooms to campaign stages, hi principles—brevity, clarity, and purpose—are timeless. He showed us how to communicate with conviction, inspire people to act, and create narratives that matter. For business professionals, executives, and storytellers, his lessons are more relevant than ever. In a world drowning in information, Sorensen’s genius reminds us: it’s not about saying more—it’s about saying what matters most.
So, how did he do it? And how can we, as modern communicators, adopt his techniques to cut through the noise, build trust, and drive meaningful action?
--
Let me transport you back to a short speech he gave 16 years ago.
It’s a freezing cold February morning in 2009.
-3°C.
And one hundred speechwriters are gathered together at the Ragan Speechwriters Conference in Washington, D.C. to hear Sorensen talk about the art and science of rhetoric. Ted was 80 and he needed help getting up to the platform to speak because his health was rapidly deteriorating. He could hardly see, but his mind was still as sharp as a tack. Speaking with eloquence and empathy, Ted stepped onto the platform to inspire this ballroom full of wordsmiths. His session was titled, “How to Write a Good Speech”.
After sharing a few stories and anecdotes for about 15 minutes, Ted delivered his not-so-secret “magical method” process for crafting Kennedy’s communications. And as with all great processes it was short and sweet.
And in 4-minutes he shared some of the most powerful communications advice you’re ever likely to hear. Like all great advice – it’s beautifully elegant and so simple that you can write it on the back of a napkin.
It all comes down to just 4 words and 5 lines.
Here’s what Ted said at that conference (I’m reading from the transcript because the audio quality was pretty bad and might hurt your ears!):
--
“It’s not that tough to write a good speech, it’s just a matter of a few lines. Number one, the OUTLINE. I begin everything with an outline.
Number two, the HEADLINE. What’s going to be the headline in this speech? What’s new, and what’s the news in it? What do you want the public to take from this speech?
Then number three, the FRONTLINE. What’s the most important point in this picture, in clear language and will emerge as the front line early in the speech.
And then a few SIDE LINES. Side lines are quotations, or poems (I like to throw poems in occasionally), or humour.
And then finally, the BOTTOM LINE. You ought to have a subtle ending that makes the audience leave the hall saying, “Now that was a memorable speech”. So those are just a few lines.
And then I would add to that, in a way that helps people to remember, are the four features that characterise a good speech; number one, CLARITY (that’s the purpose of the outline).
Number two, CHARITY, praise your audience, make them feel like you’re asking them to do something important because they are doing something important.
Number three, BREVITY because Kennedy believed that anything worth saying could be finished in twenty to twenty-five minutes - unless it’s a State of the Union address which by its nature goes on and on.
And number four, LEVITY. Not a speech consisting just of jokes, but Kennedy had this wonderful eye for wit, but not only would he begin his speech with a humorous comment, but he would work them into the text as well.
So it’s easy to remember those four characterisations: Clarity, Charity, Brevity, Levity.
And that’s all there is to it!”
--
Brilliant.
There’s probably more wisdom in those 303 words than in many of the storytelling and speechwriting books that I’ve read over the years. Ted sadly passed away a year later from complications after having a stroke, but the gift of advice that Ted left with us that day has become part of his legacy.
I use these 4 words and 5 lines today as the foundation of AI storytelling assistants that I’m building & training to help business leaders all over the world to tell better stories. I’ve even built a whole website dedicated to this methodology at www.betterstories.org where there are hundreds of links, books, courses and tutorials where you can dig into this in a lot more detail.
--
So the next time you’re struggling to write an important speech, especially if people’s lives (and livelihoods) depend on it – then just think 4 words and 5 lines.
OUTLINE: Will the shape of your story resonate with your audience? Is it “transformational”? Does it contain “intention & obstacle”?
HEADLINE: Can you describe your story in ONE sentence? (10-15 words or less?)
FRONTLINE: Will your story capture your audience’s attention in the first 2 minutes (or 200 words)?
SIDELINE: What sidelines can you add to your story to personalise it? (How can you make it so unique & differentiated that you’re the only person who can tell it?
BOTTOMLINE: What do you want your audience to do as a result of hearing your story? Is there a clear call-to-action? Business stories don’t just make an audience FEEL something, they inspire an audience to DO something.
CLARITY: Have we done a good enough job at simplifying any complexity in our story
CHARITY: Will the audience feel a shared purpose in the mission you’re asking them to join you on?
BREVITY: Is it short enough? Why speak for 30 minutes if you can get the job done in ten?
LEVITY: Have you added light relief where necessary? Especially if you’re talking about a heavy topic which can be intense. (AI ethics? Social impact?) A little humour or a few quotes could make all the difference.
Ted said,
“A speech is made great, not from the words used, but from the ideas conveyed. If the ideas, principles and values and substance of the speech are great, then it’s going to be a great speech, even if the words are pedestrian.”
So there you have it.
The Truth in Ten.
Thanks for listening everyone.
--
The Truth in Ten is a cross between a podcast series and a storytelling masterclass. Each short episode shines a light on a different inspirational leader; someone who shared a short story which changed the world in some way. This is a show for anyone who wants to make a difference by sharing their story.
--
--
The Truth in Ten is a cross between a podcast series and a storytelling masterclass. Each short episode shines a light on a different inspirational leader; someone who shared a short story which changed the world in some way. This is a show for anyone who wants to make a difference by sharing their story.
--
S01 E01: FULL TRANSCRIPT
How Do You Turn A Moment Into A Movement?
On 27th May, 2004 the movie “The Day After Tomorrow” premiered in New York.
You remember the film?
[CLIP]
Great movie.
It’s a science fiction disaster movie with Jake Gyllenhall and Dennis Quaid, based on a book called “The Coming Global Superstorm”.
The book warned that global warming might produce sudden and catastrophic climate change events.
It was one of the top grossing films of the year.
Anyway – after the premier there was a “Global Warming Townhall” to discuss climate change. And as part of that townhall meeting, there was a panel. The former US Vice-President Al Gore was one of the panellists. And as part of that panel, he had 10 minutes to make his case, so he presented a 10-minute version of a slide show that he’d been working on about the climate crisis.
[INCONVENIENT TRUTH CLIP]
One of the people in the audience that day was a movie producer called Laurie David. She said afterwards that she was “floored” by his presentation.
Interesting sidenote: Laurie David was married to Larry David at the time (the creator of Seinfeld & Curb Your Enthusiasm) – and they both know a thing or two about storytelling and how to capture an audience’s attention. (Laurie & Larry David. Bit of a mouthful at dinner parties!)
As soon as the evening was over, Laurie asked Al Gore if he would present his slideshow to her influential friends in New York and LA. She thought it was the most powerful and clear explanation of global warming she’d ever seen, and she decided right there and then that she would make it her mission to get everyone she knew to see it too.
Now Laurie is a movie producer, so Laurie did what Laurie does best…
She assembled a small team and asked them to explore the possibility of turning Al’s ten minute slide show into a movie. As far as they knew, nothing like this had ever been done before – but Al Gore wasn’t convinced.
Since losing the race to become US president 4 years earlier, he’d decided to focus all his attenion on the climate crisis, and he’d now given this presentation thousands of times.
He had slaved over this deck for years and spent hundreds of hours presenting it. This slideshow was his baby, and he didn’t want to put that baby, as fragile as it was, into the hands of any Hollywood movie makers. Hollywood executives might corrupt the story. They might take their “creative licence” too far and undermine the integrity of the message.
It was a real concern.
But Laurie assured Al that the message was more important than the money - and that what was at stake was the planet, saying "None of us are going to make a dime at the box office anyway!”
He reluctantly allowed her to explore the possibility so they met up with director Davis Guggenheim (ER, 24, NYPD Blue, Deadwood, He Named Me Malala and Netflix’s Inside Bill’s Brain). He’s a big deal. He’s even made a film for IBM! But Guggenheim wasn’t convinced it would work either.
Until, that is, he saw the 10 minute presentation for himself and he was “blown away." (His words). He left that meeting thinking that global warming was the most important issue in the world – and he admitted that he had no idea how to make a film out of it, but he wanted to try.
Not easy!
Guggenheim’s films usually take a couple of years.
But An Inconvenient Truth needed to be filmed and produced in a matter of months - and on a really tight budget of just $1.5M.
Remember - that this all started with just ONE 10-minute slideshow.
Have that in the back of your mind the next time you’re putting a presentation together.
That’s the power of a great story.
Great stories create urgency and can inspire audience’s to act. And act quickly.
When asked about the project, Guggenheim said "We all felt like we were on a mission from God just to make it as fast as we could. We just felt like it was urgent. The clock was ticking, and people had to see it.”
So what happened next?
How do you turn a slideshow into a movie?
How do you turn all those numbers into a narrative?
Enter Nancy Duarte.
She’s one of my hero’s and one of the people I most look up to in the world of business storytelling.
If you don’t know her, watch her TED Talk.
Duarte.
D.U.A.R.T.E.
Her Californian presentation company, Duarte Design, was approached to condense and update Al Gore’s slide deck, mostly by adding some video and animation. It was already a pretty good slide show, but it needed more drama to make it engaging on the silver screen.
Another interesting side note in this story - Al Gore was on the board of Apple! He knew Steve Jobs pretty well, so he had a pretty good presentation coach! That’s why Al Gore’s slides have always had a similar style to the one’s Steve used in his keynotes.
But still, Nancy made them better. And once Al Gore saw how devoted this small but motivated team were to his cause, and how impressive the new slides were, he agreed to go ahead and make the movie.
An Inconvenient Truth opened in 2006 in New York, just a few blocks away from where Al Gore gave his 10-minute slideshow just two years earlier.
The trailer claimed it was “the most terrifying film you will ever see”.
At the Sundance Film Festival, the movie received THREE standing ovations. Six weeks later, it won two Oscars.
Unheard of.
In his acceptance speech, Gore gave a brief speech. Just 48 words. That’s BREVITY for you:
“My fellow Americans, people all over the world, we need to solve the climate crisis. It's not a political issue; it's a moral issue. We have everything we need to get started, with the possible exception of the will to act. That's a renewable resource. Let's renew it.”
So…
A 10-minute presentation.
An Academy Award winning documentary.
And a 48-word speech.
Right after the film launched, Al Gore founded The Climate Reality Project of the back of the film’s surprise success. He trained 1,000 activists that year, teaching each of them how to give his 10-minute presentation about the climate crisis to their friends and colleagues.
He called it “The Truth in Ten.”
In 2019 I became one of those leaders when I became part of the Climate Reality Leadership Corps. I’ve now given Al Gore’s The Truth in Ten presentation dozens of times to thousands of people over the last few years, and as you’ve probably figured out by now, I love the title of this presentation so much that I named this podcast after it.
Because I’d like this show to shine a light on some short stories from a few inspirational people who made a real difference – and hopefully their words and their process might inspire you to become a better storyteller yourself.
Here’s the thing about the process behind Al Gore’s slideshow…
Truth in Ten is an unusual thing to present. It breaks all the rules of presenting.
There’s a lot of charts (with sexy animations of course – thanks Nancy!).
There’s a lot of stories.
You need to explain the science clearly but you have to make it interesting and easy to understand.
There’s a clear Aristo-telian 3-act structure: “Must we change? Can we change? Will we change?”
There’s 55 slides and you need to speed up and slow down the transitions to create drama and anticipation, but that still works out at an average of one slide every 11 seconds. That’s fast! (And not easy to do).
There’s a cadence and a rhythm to the way it’s presented.
Intense slides with lots of words sit alongside dramatic photos of wildfires and floods. A few of the photos are so dramatic I’ve broken down myself a few times when presenting them.
It’s emotional. (Both for the person presenting it and the audience listening to it).
And finally, you need to speak at around 180 words a minute – which is usually never a good idea for any audience.
This presentation shouldn’t work.
But it does.
Because this is not your average presentation.
This is a 10-minute presentation which took FOUR years to create. It’s given birth to a double Oscar-winning documentary - which to this day, is still one of the highest grossing documentaries of all-time.
It’s a presentation which changed the world.
Political agenda aside, and whatever your view of Al Gore, he took a master-deck of 615 slides and turned it into 10 minutes of truth which got the world talking. That’s a feat in itself.
Anyone can speak for a long time with a lot of slides. You might bore the audience but it’s not that hard.
But not enough of us know how to impact an audience in under 10 minutes. For anyone who wants to be an effective storyteller (given how short attention spans are these days) – this is something we should you should study: inspirational people who used storytelling to turn moments into movements.
So...
What’s the real message behind this episode?
The purpose of every story is to make an audience FEEL something. That’s what transformational storytelling is all about. Whether it’s a movie, a book, a song, a play, a poem or a keynote.
And if there’s one thing that Al Gore has taught me to do – and the tens of thousands of climate leaders he’s personally trained as part of his Climate Reality Project – it’s that the purpose of a story –
A “Mission Critical Story” (like The Truth in Ten) – is not just to get an audience to FEEL something, it’s to get an audience to DO something.
[APPLAUSE]
--
For a deeper dive inot the art and science of generative AI, my colleague Amand Ruiz has created a short course to help you know all the core concepts of Generative AI, in just 5 minutes a day.
Topics he covers:
𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟭: 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝗜 Overview of generative AI and its importance in business.
𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟮: 𝗧𝘆𝗽𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝗜 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹𝘀 Exploring different generative AI models like GANs, VAEs, and transformers.
𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟯: 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗟 𝘃𝘀 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝗜 Comparing traditional machine learning with generative AI methods.
𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟰: 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗚𝗣𝗨𝘀 Understanding the role of GPUs in AI and machine learning tasks.
𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟱: 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹 Insights into the resources and processes for training large foundation models.
𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟲: 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹𝘀 Discussing techniques for customizing foundation models for specific uses.
𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟳: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗣𝗼𝗽𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗟𝗟𝗠𝘀 𝗔𝘃𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 - Overview of the most widely-used large language models and their features.
𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟴: 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝗜 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗨𝘀𝗲 𝗖𝗮𝘀𝗲𝘀 Exploring practical applications of generative AI across business sectors.
𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟵: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝗜 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗸 Understanding the components and architecture of the generative AI tech stack.
𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟭𝟬: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹𝘀 Discussing the rise and importance of small language models in AI.
𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟭𝟭: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗜 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀 Exploring the role, responsibilities, and required skills of AI engineers.
𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟭𝟮: 𝗘𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝗜 Discussing the ethical challenges in AI development and deployment.
𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟭𝟯: 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗔𝗜 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗥𝗼𝗮𝗱𝗺𝗮𝗽 How to develop a strategic AI integration roadmap for businesses.
𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟭𝟰: 𝗙𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝗜 Exploring future developments and trends in AI.
𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟭𝟱: 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗔𝗜 𝗝𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆 Providing resources and advice for continued AI learning and exploration.
This is the story of Steve Jobs commencement speech at Stanford University, 20 years ago this year, on 12th June 2005. It’s had over 60M views and is widely regarded as the greatest commencement speech ever given.
But Steve, the most famous CEO of all time, an incredibly confident, charismatic (and controversial leader) – “reality distortion field anyone?) - he was actually really nervous and didn’t know where to start – that’s a side of him we don’t see much about.
So where did he start? And how can this speech inspire us to become better storytellers?
I’m glad you asked.
Steve was going to speak about habits, globalisation and how you are what you eat (fruitarian). Steve was used to giving technology speeches – not personal ones.
So Steve did what anyone with great potential does – he reached out to the best storyteller he knew.
Aaron Sorkin.
The West Wing. A Few Good Men. Newsroom. Studio60. Moneyball.
The first piece of advice Aaron gave him was that his talk should contain INTENTION & OBSTACLE.
[AARON]
The other piece of advice that Sorkin gave Steve was to tell three stories. Sorkin LOVES Aristotle and the 3-act structure which he presented in 335BC and has been the format of most theatrical productions ever since.
Think of Sorkin’s movie JOBS – 3 acts – 3 stories – each going behind the scenes of 3 big events in Steve’s life.
· Act I) Mac launch (1994)
· Act II) Next launch (1988)
· Act III) iMac launch (1998)
So what did Steve do?
[STEVE 3 STORIES]
You can almost tell the whole talk was inspired by Sorkin because even though Steve speaks on average at 160wpm – he speeds up and slows down, gets loud and goes quiet – and leaves dramatic pauses at key points in the story – exactly like any scene that Aaron Sorkin writes – and puts you on the edge of your seat.
[1st STORY]
Now here’s how Steve breaks his 14 minute talk into three bite-sized chunks making it easy for the audience]
30 second OPEN – The Intro
1st Story - 5 mins
2nd Story – 4 mins
3rd Story – 4 mins
30 Second CLOSE
[CONNECT DOTS]
I analysed this talk using the AI storytelling assistants I built to help others tell better stories at IBM and I asked it why this speech connected the dots so well by engaging the audience.
It’s because 60% of the talk is emotional & 40% is rational.
Heart & head.
Soul & data
“Storytelling is just data with a soul” Brene Brown
The language contains 3X more emotional language than data-driven language. A key less for technology speakers right there.
(45% Pathos 15% Logos)
[2nd STORY]
Speaking about love and loss isn’t easy. So Steve actually emailed a lot of these parts of the story to himself in-between January & June. He was working on this speech for 6 months. You can actually read those emails if you open “Make Something Wonderful” in iBooks (FREE on every Apple device) and read from p.186.
[LOVE LOSS]
“and then I got fired”.
Master storytelling. There’s your INTENTION & OBSTACLE triggering that dopamine in your brain to wonder what happened next. Steve used the word “but” 14X – on average once a minute – to emphasize those obstacles.
“I didn’t see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me.”
So you have INTENTION – you’ve got OBSTACLES – and now the payoff…
[LOVE WHAT YOU DO]
Steve’s work has always inspired me to do great work. I’ve got a framed email from him in my office when I set up my first business in 1998. I’ll never forget the morning I learned that he’d died – 5th October 2011 - I was in a hotel in Leeds waiting to give a keynote and I had to delay my talk by 30 minutes.
I get emotional thinking about it now.
[3rd STORY]
Talking about death is always going to be intense – so if you remember our episode on Ted Sorensen – JFK’s speechwriter – you’ll see that’s why Steve used some LEVITY here to break the tension – while he was creating INtention…
[YOUR TIME IS LIMITED]
I’ve given over 500 keynotes & presentations since Steve’s death in 2011 and I’ve ended almost every one of them with my favourite Steve Jobs quote,
“Technology is nothing. What's important is that you have a faith in people, that they're basically good and smart, and if you give them tools, they'll do wonderful things with them.”
So here’s to you my friends. Go read “Make Something Wonderful. Be inspired. Tell great stories.
Stay hungry.
And Stay foolish.
[CLOSE]
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The Truth in Ten is a cross between a podcast series and a storytelling masterclass. Each short episode shines a light on a different inspirational leader; someone who shared a short story which changed the world in some way. This is a show for anyone who wants to make a difference by sharing their story.
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In the late 1960’s television was not seen as a force for good. Business leaders saw it as a tool for commerce, educators dismissed it as a mindless distraction, and the elite gatekeepers of knowledge believed it was incapable of delivering a real education.
But there was a lady called Joan Ganz Cooney who saw something different—a possibility so radical it bordered on the impossible:
What if television could teach?
What if it could lift children out of poverty?
What if TV could level the playing field for kids who didn’t have the privilege of expensive preschools and well-funded local schools?
This was a problem no one was trying to solve.
Joan was a journalist and documentary filmmaker who was focused on the civil rights movement and she had no formal background in education – BUT she would go on to create Sesame Street—the most influential children’s TV program in history.
[1966 Q]
The education gap between rich and poor kids in America in the 60’s was staggering. By the time they started school, underprivileged kids were already behind. Joan saw this firsthand while working on public affairs documentaries, covering issues like poverty and civil rights.
What struck Joan was the role TV played in shaping children’s minds. Kids from wealthier families had books, tutors, and structured learning, while poorer children spent an average of 130 hours a year in front of the TV— but watching ads and cartoons did nothing to prepare them for school.
[BEER CLIP]
Joan knew TV was shaping children’s brains. The question was—could it be used for good?
At the time, the idea of “educational television” was almost laughable. No one believed children would willingly learn from TV.
Joan saw it differently:
What if you combined the power of entertainment with cutting-edge child psychology?
What if you created a show that was as addictive as Saturday morning cartoons but filled with lessons that actually prepared kids for school?
At a dinner party, Joan was discussing these questions with a guy called Lloyd Morrisett. Lloyd turned out to be an educational psychologist from the Carnegie Foundation.
Lloyd made his name pioneering educational assessment scoring, but his passion was around human creativity. He was just as frustrated as Joan that academics were not interested in TV.
He listened to Joan’s pitch over dinner and didn’t just see it as an interesting idea – he thought it was a vision for how you might educate under-privileged kids.
In the report, Lloyd & Joan laid out the science and strategy for what would become Sesame Street.
It proposed a show that wasn’t just for fun, but carefully engineered to teach children the alphabet, numbers, social skills, and even emotional intelligence. It would be fast-paced, filled with humour, and designed using research-backed techniques. And, crucially, it would feature a diverse cast that reflected the real world—something unheard of in children’s programming at the time.
The report was so well researched it secured $8M of government funding.
So Joan & Lloyd gathered a small team of 10 cognitive psychologists, educators, and television producers to bring “The Children’s Television Workshop” concept to life — this was an unprecedented collaboration at the time.
The skeptics were everywhere. The TV execs weren’t convinced education and entertainment could mix. Educators doubted that children would actually learn from television. Alongside the team were also a few “advisors”.
And those advisors said the show should be a reality-style show, set on an inner city street (because kids look down from the apartments onto the street and it looks exciting). Their data suggested the set should be populated by humans. And only humans.
So a pilot was created and every segment of Sesame Street was rigorously tested in local daycare centres before airing. If kids didn’t respond, it didn’t make the cut. That’s when they noticed that children were not learning and retaining as much knowledge as they expected.
The 3 & 4 year olds in the daycare centres highlighted something that data didn’t.
It wasn’t FUN enough. And there was no FANTASY in the show.
So for fun – why not try to get Jim Henson? His muppets were originally on a late night SNL-style show for college kids. Not pre-school kids. Joan didn’t believe they’d be able to get Jim to join them.
[EDU ENT]
And why was there no fantasy in the shows that they tested?
[NO FANTASY]
I love this clip of Jim Henson speaking at an awards show a few years later. It’s hard to believe that nobody wanted him or his muppets at first.
[JIM HENSON]
---
It’s hard to believe now that there was such a backlash against Sesame Street. Some TV stations refused to broadcast it, arguing that the show’s diverse cast was too controversial – but Joan just doubled down on diversity, ensuring that Sesame Street didn’t just teach letters and numbers, but also taught children about fairness, inclusion, and social justice. Joan fought for INCLUSIVITY as a business advantage.
Sesame Street premiered on November 10, 1969. It was an immediate success, drawing millions of young viewers and receiving widespread acclaim.
The New York Times said Joan would become one of the most powerful women in television.
Within its first year, it had changed the way people thought about children’s TV. Sesame Street didn’t just succeed—it forced the industry to change.
Since then…
In study after study, researchers have found that children who watched Sesame Street performed better in school, had larger vocabularies, and were more socially and emotionally prepared for learning. Over 50 years later, it is still one of the most influential children’s programs in history.
When I joined IBM one of the first projects I was working on was a collaboration between IBM & Sesame Street – using Watson AI to personalise education programs for individual kids.
This story is not just about television or education. It’s about changing the system.
Every industry has its status quo, its set of “rules” that dictate what is and isn’t possible. By innovators like Joan don’t play by the rules—they challenge them.
She saw something others didn’t: that the industry’s conventional wisdom was wrong, and that the real opportunity was in breaking the mold.
Joan didn’t just want to make a hit show. She wanted to change the entire industry. The best business leaders don’t just chase quick wins—they build something that lasts.
And Sesame Street has proved that media could be a force for good.
[PROFIT + PURPOSE]
Joan has given us a roadmap for how to challenge an industry, win against the odds, and make an impact that lasts a lifetime.
Start with the real problem.
Combined vision with data.
Fight for what matters.
She thought she was creating a quintessentially American TV show – but it turned out to be the most international show ever created.
That’s what happens when you mix facts with fantasy.
So the question for us is - What’s the status quo that you’re willing to challenge?
And how can you include a bit of fantasy in order to challenge it?
Good question isn’t it?
[CLOSE CRAZY]
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The Truth in Ten is a cross between a podcast series and a storytelling masterclass. Each short episode shines a light on a different inspirational leader; someone who shared a short story which changed the world in some way. This is a show for anyone who wants to make a difference by sharing their story.
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But Friedman isn’t just a commentator; he’s a case study in what it means to communicate with conviction. His writing isn’t just opinion—it’s an invitation (or sometimes a shove) into a bigger conversation. And it’s that ability to provoke, persuade, and polarize that makes him the most engaged journalist in New York Times history.
I loved his book “Thank You For Being Late” because he explained so articulated why business leaders were feeling so over-whelmed – something I see every day – and he described how it’s because we are living at the intersection of 3 crises and they’re happening all at once.
Moore’s Law, Markets & Mother Nature.
We’re in the middle of a crisis of technology, globalisation and the environment.
But you call it Moore’s Law, Markets & Mother Nature because you’re Tom Friedman and alliteration reads much better in a column!
For business leaders, there’s a lesson here.
In a world drowning in content, the ability to articulate a worldview with clarity, passion, and undeniable impact is more valuable than ever.
So how do you tell stories that don’t just inform but inspire?
How do you challenge people’s thinking without alienating them?
And how do you craft a message that sparks conversations long after the last word is read?
Tom Friedman thinks he has the answers—or at least, even if you don’t believe him, he’ll make you want to find them.
So how does one of the top journalists in the world become so successful?
What’s his philosophy and his process?
Listen to this.
It’s a clip I found from The Chicago Council of Global Affairs when Tom was promoting his brilliant book “Thank You For Being Late” – he’s giving a similar piece of advice that he gave me about how to write an opinion column for the New York Times.
This is superb. Listen carefully.
[TF @ CHICAGO AUDIO CLIP]
Heating & Lighting.
When you meet Tom if you’re lucky enough to get his business card (I wasn’t) you’ll notice something pretty unusual about it. It doesn’t say Tom Friedman, Opinion Writer for the NY Times, 3 Pulitzer prizes – alongside his details.
It just says, Thomas L. Friedman, “Heating & Lighting”.
I love that.
As storytellers in business – or if you’re in the opinion writing business – like a consultant – dare I say “Thought Leader” then that’s exactly what we do.
We create heat and we shed some light.
We simplify complexity.
Einstein once said, “If you can’t explain something simply, then you don’t know if well enough.”
And how do you create some heat? Add enough emotion to you story to provoke a reaction? (Because there’s nothing worse for opinion writers than being relegated to the beige / vanilla area of no-mans land when your ideas aren’t strong enough – or your opinions are concise and compelling enough).
How do you do it?
Tom told me it all comes down to one of two emotions.
Humiliation. And Dignity.
In his world, he’s either speaking out about humiliation (in the way that someone – or something, such as the planet, is being mistreated) or he is celebrating the dignity of the human spirit.
And the way that he does that sparks so much emotion that his words always create heat.
That’s what makes him arguably the best opinion writer the NY Times has ever had.
So the next time you’re trying to think about how to influence or inspire an audience – maybe you’re using the 50-25-25 rule that we talked about in the last episode – then just ask yourself, how can I create some heat and some light for this audience?
How can you surprise them?
Maybe even - how can you tell them a story they think they know – but in a way which they’ve never heard before?
And… how can you give them a view of the world which isn’t impressing your opinion on them – it’s helping them to see their world differently.
And that’s a really important distinction.
Let me say that again...
Despite being a “thought-leader” in business (let’s call it) – audience don’t really care what you think – they care about how you can help them to see the world differently.
That’s the difference between someone who presents – and someone who persuades.
Good advice hey?
Heating & lighting.
Thanks everyone for listening – have a fabulous day and I’ll see you next time.
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The Truth in Ten is a cross between a podcast series and a storytelling masterclass. Each short episode shines a light on a different inspirational leader; someone who shared a short story which changed the world in some way. This is a show for anyone who wants to make a difference by sharing their story.
The purpose of a great business story is to make the audience feel something so that they do something. Hundreds of words have been written about how to tell stories at work, but I’m pretty sure you could sum up all the advice in those books in that one sentence.
Make them FEEL something so that they DO something.
One of the most powerful pieces of advice I’ve ever heard was from a conversation between Linkedin News Editor in Chief Daniel Roth, and former president Barack Obama. Daniel asked Obama, “What do you tell people when they come to you asking for career advice?”
Listen to this clip (even if you’ve heard it before, don’t switch off) because after you’ve listened to it, I want to take you behind the scenes of where that advice came from – because I promise you it will make you a much better storyteller.
[OBAMA]
Great piece of advice isn’t it.
Speechwriters have a word for getting stuff done – “KAIROS”. It’s an unusual word and is only really taught if you study rhetoric (the art & science of influencing audiences) but the definition of KAIROS – one of the words which classical Greek’s used to describe time, can be translated as “a supreme moment at which one must act – no matter how implausible or inconvenient.”
Make the audience feel something so that they do something.
OK – so what about when you need to write an important speech or a story, and you need to inspire your audience to act?
How do you get that done?
Well who better to ask than my friend Terry Szuplat, Barack Obama’s longest serving speech writer, who wrote for Obama between 2009-2017.
Here’s a 3-minute clip from a conversation I recorded with Terry about his book “Say It Well” about how he gets speeches done for Obama. It’s based on a brilliantly simple rule called “The 50:25:25 Rule” which I really like and use all the time – and I think it might help you too…
[TERRY x JCW]
I think it was Abraham Lincoln who said, “If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I'd spend six sharpening my axe.”
If you want people to ACT when they’ve heard your presentation, then you need to prepare the environment to make it easy for them to act – and that means doing your research.
Properly. Up to 50% of the time.
Have to give a presentation in a month? Spend…
2 weeks thinking, researching and organizing your thoughts, 1 week writing and 1 week editing and practicing.
Have to give a speech in a week? Spend…
3 days thinking, researching and organising, 2 days writing, and 2 days practicing,
Just found out you have to give the introduction to a client session later today? Spend…
1 hour thinking, researching and organizing, 30 minutes writing and 30 minutes editing and practicing.
The 50:25:25 rule works so well because the best predictor of whether you’ll give a good presentation isn’t what we do at the podium, it’s the preparation we put in before we ever get to the podium;
It’s the work that goes into a speech before we ever write a single word.
But even more than that, when you’re prepared you’re not as nervous when it’s time to deliver your talk, because you know you’re ready.
And around ¾ of us get nervous and anxious when we have to give a talk, so take a breath – and no matter how much time you have (or don’t have), use half of it to get your thoughts in order and organise all the pieces of your talk in a meaningful way.
This is where AI assistants can really help you – by saving you time in your research phase – pulling a list of potential quotes to use, showing you were all the relevant reports are which you can pull some insights from, finding brilliant client stories that you didn’t even know about to emphasise your point. In my experience working with business leaders who are putting a client presentation together, using an AI assistant for research saves them around 5 hours a week.
That’s a big deal!
I also use record cards – with a different point on each card – and move them around – reorganising them until the talk feels right.
So…
You want to chop down a big tree?
You’ve got to give a big talk?
You’ve got to sharpen that axe!
50:25:25
Thanks everyone – see you on the next one.
[WEST WING THEME]
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The Truth in Ten is a cross between a podcast series and a storytelling masterclass. Each short episode shines a light on a different inspirational leader; someone who shared a short story which changed the world in some way. This is a show for anyone who wants to make a difference by sharing their story.
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