The Storyteller’s Secret: From TED Speakers to Business Legends, Why Some Ideas Catch On and Others Don’t

According to communications coach Gallo (The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs), “You don’t choose your passion; it chooses you.” Successfully selling that passion to others, he confides in this helpful primer, means becoming a master storyteller. Gallo believes that the first step to finding your own story is answering the question of what makes you happy. He uses the stories of accomplished storytellers such as Richard Branson, Joel Osteen, Tony Robbins, and Oprah Winfrey to demonstrate the ways in which self-narrative informs self-confidence—and helps speakers convince others. Explaining how to help listeners comprehend a message, he reminds readers, “If you can’t tell it, you can’t sell it.” Highly narrative and personality-driven, these stories, backed up by checklists and concrete tips, may not break any substantial new ground, but Gallo’s enthusiastic and encouraging style is infectious. Readers with an idea to sell—whether for profit or for social justice—will find this an indispensable guide to articulating a sales pitch. Agent: Roger Williams, New England Publishing Associates. (Feb.)