Looking back on my own career as a speaker, storyteller, and communicator across projects and mediums, I realize: every time I developed a signature story capable of resonating with others, I went through the same process. It wasn't intentional, but it worked. Today, I want to codify that process into a more conscious process you can follow. I'm calling it Six-Way Stories: 1. Make a messy draft. 2. Find the 4 building blocks of the story. 3. Build up the story from the building blocks. 4. Arrive...
Jun 27, 2025•31 min•Ep. 45
How to resonate with better clients and buyers—people with experience and taste who hire you for everything that makes you unique. This is different than almost everything the owners of search engines, social networks, and AI tools have taught us. So we first need to unlearn a lot of what's popular on the internet today. *** ABOUT ME, JAY ACUNZO: Strategic Storytelling & Speaking Advisor to Experienced Pros I help my clients package and communicate their expertise to differentiate & reso...
Jun 04, 2025•23 min•Ep. 44
Steve Pratt has spent a lifetime earning attention, from his time working for "the MTV of Canada" (Much Music) and as the co-creator of the most popular podcast in Canada, then as the cofounder of Pacific Content, which created podcasts for DELL, Charles Schwab, Zendesk, Slack, Atlassian and more. Steve is a past client of mine, as I helped him develop his keynote speech associated with his book, Earn It: Unconventional Strategies for Brave Marketers. When he's not traveling the world speaking, ...
May 29, 2025•39 min•Ep. 43
I know a ton of storytellers and creators and entrepreneurs, but I know exactly zero other people who have learned how to do what they do from both legendary news broadcasters and Kermit the Frog. Meet Andrew Davis. He is a powerhouse business speaker who’s given speeches in 35 different countries, at more than 50 events every year. He speaks to audiences ranging from marketers and entrepreneurs to plumbers and physicians — and there may not be a storyteller who is this craft-driven and obsessed...
May 21, 2025•43 min•Ep. 42
There's a big difference between people hearing your words and understanding you. There's an even bigger gap between understanding and caring. How can we communicate in ways that ensure others care about our ideas, our messages, our businesses? In this solo episode, a look at two moments involving two very different communicators: Roy Kent, the character from Ted Lasso, and author and speaker Seth Godin. We'll dissect both moments and make sense of what they do differently. It's a stark reminder...
May 07, 2025•16 min•Ep. 41
This episode is a total blast and tour de force from one of the world's foremost business communicators, Dorie Clark! Dorie is a Wall Street Journal bestselling author, a contributor to the Harvard Business Review, a communication coach and mentor for world-class leaders, and a keynote speaker who has consulted with or spoken for Google, Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, Yale University, and the World Bank. In this episode, you'll hear a signature story Dorie uses in support of her premise and her book...
Apr 30, 2025•39 min•Ep. 40
"Reworking in Realtime." That’s a phrase I’ve been thinking about a lot lately. How often do you get to sit with a peer, a colleague, a mentor, a coach, and go through something to improve in realtime? Why don't we? Athletes do it. Comedians. Musicians. Filmmakers. We should too, and lately, on my YouTube channel, I've been building a playlist of publicly available coaching calls to put the process on display of developing stronger speeches and stories. Justin Moore was the first to kick things ...
Apr 18, 2025•46 min•Ep. 39
Lessons from 20 years of storytelling through my writing, speaking, podcasting, videos, and most of all, from my Grandma. *** IMPROVE YOUR SPEAKING + STORYTELLING: Subscribe to my newsletter and learn more about me at jayacunzo.com Explore my services: jayacunzo.com/services Book me to speak: jayacunzo.com/keynotes *** CONNECT: Follow me on LinkedIn , Instagram , or Bluesky This episode was produced by Ilana Nevins Cover art designed by Blake Ink *** ABOUT ME: I help you package and communicate ...
Apr 11, 2025•20 min•Ep. 38
AI and people both run on LLMs. AI has large language models. People have little life moments. But mostly, we don't draw on our LLMs confidently or consistently enough. Neal Foard does, and that's made him one of the most exceptional (and viral) storytellers in the business world. Neal joins me today to lay it all out: we talk about constructing stories, practicing and rehearsal, and how to shape a true story into something entertaining. Together, we hear his famous story of "the best bartender ...
Mar 27, 2025•40 min•Ep. 37
In this special bonus episode, I take your questions about public speaking. We talk about the craft, but also the way we can better approach our speaking as a marketing strategy and approach, how to think about whether to charge for public speaking (and how much), and a lot more! Whether you've got a speaking engagement coming up, give tons of talks each year, or you're just thinking about becoming a stronger and more strategic speaker to support your business and message, this episode will help...
Mar 19, 2025•30 min•Ep. 36
This episode, we do something a bit different. I’m joined by the brilliant messaging strategist and pioneer of the message design industry, Tamsen Webster! We fully nerd out on crafting messaging and the elements that help you create stronger speeches, better stories, and a more effective message for your entire platform. Tamsen in not only a leader in the field of message design, she’s also the author of two revolutionary books: Find Your Red Thread and Say What They Can’t Unhear. She’s been na...
Mar 14, 2025•48 min•Ep. 35
A technique for our work found in an incredible moment between John Mulaney and David Letterman. This is a solo episode from me to share something you can apply to your work right away to become a stronger storyteller, to differentiate your message, and to generally compete on the impact of your ideas NOT the volume of your marketing. *** IMPROVE YOUR SPEAKING + STORYTELLING: Subscribe to my newsletter and learn more about me at jayacunzo.com Explore my services: jayacunzo.com/services Book me t...
Mar 07, 2025•19 min•Ep. 34
It's hard to show up publicly at times, sharing your work, giving of yourself to others. It can be even harder given the places we mostly show up online today. But Brad Montague is here to lead a joyful rebellion—one for creatives, artists, and humans of all kinds, both kids and (in Brad's terms) former kids. And here's here to show us that celebrating failure is part of the process of doing meaningful things. Brad is a New York Times bestselling author of books for kids and former kids alike. H...
Feb 28, 2025•40 min•Ep. 33
In this solo episode, I share a storytelling concept I'm calling "the idea before the idea," which helps solve issues of growth and audience traction. *** REGISTER FOR MY NEXT BOOTCAMP: Design My Signature Talk is a virtual intensive where I help you develop and nail your next talk and elevate your speaking all year long. Register now at jayacunzo.com/signaturetalk *** IMPROVE YOUR SPEAKING + STORYTELLING: Subscribe to my newsletter and learn more about me at jayacunzo.com Work with me one-on-on...
Feb 21, 2025•16 min•Ep. 31
This week, I’m joined by my favorite recurring guest and the star of our “Is this ANNything” mini-series, the brilliant Ann Handley. Throughout this mini-series (usually called “Is This Anything?”), close friends and collaborators join me to work out new ideas and unproven drafts to see if it is, in fact, anything. Today, Ann and I start by discussing the first time we were paid to speak, then we touch on my white whale of public speaking, the big no-nos when opening speeches, and how we have ev...
Feb 14, 2025•52 min•Ep. 32
In this episode, we go inside the delivery and construction of a popular TED Talk! Elise Hu gets real with us about the preparation and challenges that go into taking complex ideas and molding them to fit a tightly delivered speech. Elise is an award-winning journalist, podcaster, and author based in Los Angeles. She’s the host of TED Talks Daily , Accenture’s Built for Change , and a co-host of Forever 35 . And if that’s not enough, she also co-founded the LA-based podcast production company, ...
Feb 07, 2025•42 min•Ep. 30
Inspiration is everywhere -- if you're paying attention. Today we’re resharing a slightly modified version of an episode I used to help pilot How Stories Happen, back inside my old show called Unthinkable. (You’ll hear me reference the “miniseries,” which is what I used to craft this show and test various elements.) In this episode, bestselling author and Hall of Fame keynote speaker Jay Baer brings one of his oldest, most proven stories to the show -- and we learn the two psychological concepts...
Jan 31, 2025•46 min•Ep. 29
We’re told to steal from those we admire, but so often, we mimic the wrong things. It’s not WHAT someone does but WHY they do it (and why it works for them) which we ought to model in our own creative work and storytelling. Once we find that, we can intentionally master the craft. And this work is about exactly that: intentionality. It’s practiced. Until it looks effortless (even if, for a long while, it wasn’t). In this episode, Mike Ganino shares a story about his childhood and falling in love...
Jan 24, 2025•42 min•Ep. 28
What does the psychology of family systems have to do with being a good storyteller? Well, according to Veronica Romney, a lot. Understanding identity and how people define theirs can make or break your ability to stand out, resonate, and earn passionate fans. In this episode, V shares the story about a funeral unlike any other. In fact, it’s 18 years in the making. It even made the news, and it reveals a major lesson about modern marketing. Throw in a Harley-Davison superfan riding his motorcyc...
Jan 17, 2025•46 min•Ep. 27
How do you make a story truly come alive? You pace things down and focus on the small details. Everyone else might want the big, flashy story, but your most effective (and ownable) stories are from noteworthy moments, not newsworthy events. In this episode, Ron Tite puts on display his otherworldly mastery of public speaking and performance. He takes a (relatively average) hotel and uses a series of interactions with the brand to make you laugh, feel inspired, and transform how you think about c...
Jan 10, 2025•45 min•Ep. 26
A special bonus story and a crucial question to guide your 2025. This episode was handcrafted for you by Jason, with love.
Dec 27, 2024•23 min•Ep. 24
When we communicate with business results in mind, whether we work in-house on a team or we ARE the business, it's so common that we omit specific details. We want to rush to stuff things full of our ideas and make our value clear instantly. The thing is, only when we slow our stories down, include specific details, and describe one or two tiny moments, do others start to care. Because the goal isn't to say everything all at once. The goal is to find the touchstones of the story that bring it al...
Dec 23, 2024•42 min•Ep. 25
Welcome to one of the more inspiring episodes of the show! Entrepreneur and growth marketing expert Sarah Stockdale is one of the most nuanced, capable, and generous voices in the industry. When she shows up, she resonates, no matter what she's creating or where she's appearing. Today, both of us commiserate over being dedicated parents learning to be parents, informed citizens struggling with so many things in society, and being public voices with pressure to deliver ... all at the same time. T...
Dec 16, 2024•40 min•Ep. 22
This is a special episode of the show. I’ve partnered with Intuit Mailchimp as part of a limited series called B2B Storytelling Stars. You can watch as I coach 3 marketers and experts on group calls and 1:1s, helping them craft their premises, messages, and stories. Get all 6 videos plus a storytelling template, free and ungated, at https://jayacunzo.com/stars To cap off the series, each storyteller will appear on How Stories Happen for their very own episode, featuring the story we began develo...
Dec 09, 2024•38 min•Ep. 21
As another year comes to an end, we often reflect backwards, because hindsight is 20/20. But what we don’t often realize is that sometimes when you have that clarity of sight, you'll want to close your eyes, rub your temples, maybe let your head fall to the table. Because you’re amazed at how you just… couldn’t… see it. That was me, all year long, but I finally see clearly again, and I want you to avoid the same frustrating slog I endured between 2020-2023. That’s why in this solo episode I’m sh...
Dec 02, 2024•18 min•Ep. 20
Signature stories aren’t just stories you tell a lot. They’re stories you’d sign your name to. In this episode, author and speaker Melanie Deziel shares a story that went from nerve-wracking to heart-wrenching the more she told it, as she found ways to tell it her own way (and as new details emerged from the story). Mel is my cofounder in our Creator Kitchen membership, and this interview was part of the miniseries that helped me pilot How Stories Happen. The thing is, when you pilot something, ...
Nov 25, 2024•42 min•Ep. 19
"You have a real gift," we say to our storytelling heroes. But do they? Storytelling is a skill. Communicating with greater impact is a craft. It’s not something anyone is gifted. It’s something we all can master. Today, it’s just me, Jay. Hello! I’m trying a solo episode, sharing my favorite trick for stronger ideas and stories. Be forewarned: this trick involves sharing your thinking publicly. Not “building in public,” as many like to talk about doing, but by aerating your thinking to sharpen ...
Nov 04, 2024•24 min•Ep. 18
It's time for a new edition of "Is This Anything?", the miniseries where friends and clients join me to work out new drafts and ideas for upcoming pieces and projects. In this episode, I help Justin Moore design his signature talk, beat by beat. Justin is the founder of Creator Wizard, which helps creators secure more and better brand deals to grow their businesses. Through trainings, coaching, and his signature course, Justin has made a name for himself in the creator economy. For both his book...
Oct 28, 2024•44 min•Ep. 17
Today, it's a total treat as the one and only Seth Godin takes us into how he thinks about storytelling and the intersection of strategy and story, and then we hear him dissect a signature story. Plus, Seth and I trade stories in the back half of the episode—business storytelling nerdery on full display. Seth is a world-renowned storyteller and thought leader, a legendary keynote speaker who helped disrupt the format, and the bestselling author of more than 20 books, including Purple Cow, The Pr...
Oct 21, 2024•43 min•Ep. 16
This week, we’re joined by our first-ever recurring guest. The brilliant Ann Handley (WSJ bestselling author of Everybody Writes and globally touring keynote speaker) joins us for a very special episode of “Is This Anything?”, the mini-series, where friends and collaborators join me to work out new ideas, unproven drafts, and hidden ideas to see if it is, in fact, anything. But because it’s Ann, we’re renaming it Is This ANNything. Get it? Do you get it? (If you didn’t like that, you’re really n...
Oct 14, 2024•48 min•Ep. 15
