We’re All Ears Interview Series – Leverage Story For Increased Impact with Brian Summerall

Building Authority and Influence with the Help of Story

We’ve been told time and time again that story is vital to success.  But, what does that actually mean?  Today, we have Brian Summerall here to help us understand how story can transform how you talk about your brand, whether you are in a nonprofit, ministry, or even for-profit business.

Who is Brian Summerall?

Brian Summerall is a Certified StoryBrand Guide (www.storybrand.com) and trainer with Young Life, with 30+ years of experience in the ministry.  He founded YL Access (younglifeaccess.com), which provides online training resources for Young Life staff to supplement the live training programs.  Brian also runs live trainings at the Tod Bush Training Center in Dallas, Texas, as well as on-site trainings worldwide.  He has seen the power of Story Brand principles applied to Young Life donor relations.  He runs trainings to help ministry staff implement the StoryBrand principles into the ministry context.  Brian is also the author of the recent bestseller, Telling Stories (tellingstoriesthebook.com). 

What Did We Chat About?

• Clarity in your story
• Brand scripts
• Transformational Identity in storytelling
• Meeting Internal vs. External Needs
• Heroes in your story
• How to use story with social media to improve face-to-face interactions

Golden Nuggets From Our Conversation:

• “If you open up your website and people can’t tell what it is you do in the first 15 seconds, you don’t have the right message.”
• “People need to understand what differentiates you from other people playing in the same sandbox.  Clarity helps you do that.”
• “If you’re at Starbucks working on your website or an email.  Pull a stranger over for 30 seconds of their time to look at your screen and ask them what they think you do.  If they can’t, you are using too much insider language.”
• “Donors are the heroes in our story.”
• “If you put too much authority into the story, eventually you’ll come across as needy, insecure, or risk becoming the hero of the story.  You need just enough authority in the story, but not too much.”
• “People want to know you have a plan.  They want to know that you have the exact three stones to help guide someone across the creek to get the happy ending they are looking for.”
• “People aren’t necessarily looking for a hero; they’re looking for a guide.”
• “Clear subject lines are key! Tell them the main message in the subject line.  Even if they delete the email and never read it, they’ll get the message in the subject line.”
• “I don’t want a phone to replace face-to-face training.  I want it to make face-to-face training more efficient.”

Recommended Links:

Telling Stories by Brian Summerall 

StoryBrand https://storybrand.com

Young Life Access http://younglifeaccess.com

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