Find the Story: Turn Data into Meaning
Hosts: Mark Smith, Meg Smith
Communication and storytelling turn information into meaning. The episode shows how to frame data as a clear message, tailor to specific audiences, interrupt fear-driven narratives, and use concise stories and quotes to create action. It covers a practical “find the story” prompt, the role of humanities, decision frameworks for tech use, and a simple champions model for scaling change. It closes with community invites and a learning series.
Join the private WhatsApp group for Q&A and community: https://chat.whatsapp.com/E0iyXcUVhpl9um7DuKLYEz
What you’ll learn
Extract a single, audience-ready message from messy data.
Tailor the same insight for executives, managers, and interns.
Detect and interrupt fear cycles in media and feeds.
Use sticky story structures and quotes to drive recall.
Build champions with simple, memorable selection criteria.
Chapters
00:00 Welcome and Introduction
02:34 Book Launch Excitement
04:34 The Power of Communication and Storytelling
09:18 Navigating Fear and Anger through Storytelling
11:32 The Importance of Storytelling in Media
16:00 Building Community through Storytelling
18:09 The Role of Technology in Storytelling
23:54 Intentional Technology Use
27:40 Choosing a Positive Perspective
28:52 Conclusion and Call to Action
Highlights
“What is the single most important story that emerges from this data?”
“Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.”
“Play the ball, not the player.”
“I’m getting rid of apps off my phone.”
“Be really intentional and engaged about how you’re using technology.”
“Do you think that people are generally doing the best they can with what they have?”
Mentioned
ChatGPT Custom Instructions / “Customize GPT”
Microsoft 365 Copilot Adoption https://bit.ly/CopilotAdoption
SLB (Schlumberger) https://www.slb.com/
Made to Stick (Chip and Dan Heath)https://amzn.to/42q3fqA
Lost Heart Found (book)https://amzn.to/4pRAH3r
Connect with the hosts
Mark Smith: Blog https://www.nz365guy.com, LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/nz365guy
Meg Smith: Blog https://www.megsmith.nz, LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/megsmithnz
Support the show
Subscribe, rate, and share with someone who wants to be future ready. Drop your questions in the comments or the WhatsApp group, and we may feature them in an upcoming episode.
Keywords: communication, storytelling, ai, google, mission, yoda, fear, champions program, power platform, whatsapp, meta, linkedin
Hosts: Mark Smith, Meg Smith
Communication and storytelling turn information into meaning. The episode shows how to frame data as a clear message, tailor to specific audiences, interrupt fear-driven narratives, and use concise stories and quotes to create action. It covers a practical “find the story” prompt, the role of humanities, decision frameworks for tech use, and a simple champions model for scaling change. It closes with community invites and a learning series.
Join the private WhatsApp group for Q&A and community: https://chat.whatsapp.com/E0iyXcUVhpl9um7DuKLYEz
What you’ll learn
Extract a single, audience-ready message from messy data.
Tailor the same insight for executives, managers, and interns.
Detect and interrupt fear cycles in media and feeds.
Use sticky story structures and quotes to drive recall.
Build champions with simple, memorable selection criteria.
Chapters
00:00 Welcome and Introduction
02:34 Book Launch Excitement
04:34 The Power of Communication and Storytelling
09:18 Navigating Fear and Anger through Storytelling
11:32 The Importance of Storytelling in Media
16:00 Building Community through Storytelling
18:09 The Role of Technology in Storytelling
23:54 Intentional Technology Use
27:40 Choosing a Positive Perspective
28:52 Conclusion and Call to Action
Highlights
“What is the single most important story that emerges from this data?”
“Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.”
“Play the ball, not the player.”
“I’m getting rid of apps off my phone.”
“Be really intentional and engaged about how you’re using technology.”
“Do you think that people are generally doing the best they can with what they have?”
Mentioned
ChatGPT Custom Instructions / “Customize GPT”
Microsoft 365 Copilot Adoption https://bit.ly/CopilotAdoption
SLB (Schlumberger) https://www.slb.com/
Made to Stick (Chip and Dan Heath)https://amzn.to/42q3fqA
Lost Heart Found (book)https://amzn.to/4pRAH3r
Connect with the hosts
Mark Smith: Blog https://www.nz365guy.com, LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/nz365guy
Meg Smith: Blog https://www.megsmith.nz, LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/megsmithnz
Support the show
Subscribe, rate, and share with someone who wants to be future ready. Drop your questions in the comments or the WhatsApp group, and we may feature them in an upcoming episode.
Keywords: communication, storytelling, ai, google, mission, yoda, fear, champions program, power platform, whatsapp, meta, linkedin
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