Whether a keynote or workshop, Shane will ensure that every audience member leaves with actionable principles and tools to create and tell better stories across both personal and business applications.
Some of the content and exercises he shares include:
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Why do we love stories? The simple human TRUTH behind storytelling and why it's an important tool and way of thinking for every business and leader today.
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The story building block of EMPATHY and why the best movies, leaders and brands understand it is an essential beginning.
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Learning valuable story lessons from the trends of STAGE, PAGE and SCREEN - why every business needs to follow the entertainment industry and how your favorite movies can help build better business strategies, communications and presentations.
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Film School 101 and the difference between your brand PLOT and your brand STORY and why the STORY is the most powerful and where to focus.
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Defining what is most distinctive about your brand, pitch or sales story (also called your POD - Point of Difference) and how to express that in the simplest, but most powerful, terms.
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The Science of Story and how to best share data in your narrative - how Pixar, Aristotle, Jaws, Theme Parks and your favorite brands both understand the power of the “HEAD and HEART” effect.
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Words Matter - using story principles to bring to life your brand “WHY?” or PURPOSE and how Dumbledore, Simon Sinek, Disney and Tesla do it with style.
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A Story "RECIPE" - why creating a story is just like cooking and the 5 key ingredients you need for your "dish" (along with a secret 6th - after all, the best recipes always have a special ingredient). Importantly though, learning that there is NO formula for a hit story (and don't believe anyone who tells you there is) - at the end of the day it is up to the chef to take the necessary ingredients and turn them into something magical.
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The FUNDAMENTAL Story Structure - how to sum up every story ever told with a single sentence - one framework that “rules them all”, using it as a quick story outline and how to sum up every story in 3 pictures.
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The MENTOR character - why Glinda the Good Witch and Obi Wan Kenobi are a critical part of your brand's image. Why your brand can't be the Hero character and the dangers of thinking it is!
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SEQUEL Strategy and your project pipelines - you can learn a lot from how Hollywood approaches sequels and why your brand is just like the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the John Wick series, The Office and Toy Story 1-4. All brands work on sequels - extending their story to new, powerful and more interesting places.
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There are NO new plots...only new story perspectives! The REMIX Principle - how to find new and great story ideas, avoiding cliche and why all the best stories are "stolen".
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The THEME - creating a story focus, the importance of having a controlling idea for editing and how it is a critical part of every TED talk (using Shane's as an example).
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The Hollywood PITCH - understanding how a pitch can leave your audience wanting more, a few different techniques and why both Hollywood and the TV show SharkTank love short elevator rides with great storytellers.
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Simplified versions of the HERO'S JOURNEY that work really well as helpful outlines for all types of business stories and plenty of examples to get you started!
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A fun tool that PIXAR uses to help outline story ideas - digging into the STORY SPINE.
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And so much more!!!
Shane keeps his presentations very interactive and offers helpful storytelling principles, techniques and tools that can be applied to ANY type of business and ANY business discipline. Lots of helpful content, lots of engaging exercises and lots of fun doing it all.
CLICK IMAGE TO VIEW - Article from BrandChannel written by Joe Pantigoso (Senior Director, SAP) after Shane's Conference Board Presentation
"This workshop really gave me the opportunity to put my creative problem-solving hat back on and re-lit a spark in me. I so enjoyed being able to step away from the everyday and be able to learn a new way to approach tasks at hand. A very enriching experience, thank you so much!"
- Lindsay, Walt Disney Consumer Products
"When Meeker conducts his storytelling workshops, he instills in his audience the enthusiasm of college freshmen, and inspires them with his favorite movies. Whether at companies or at conferences or universities, Meeker holds his audience spell-bound through a combination of expertise, passion and audience participation."
- excerpt from book Creating Breakthrough Products, 2nd Edition by Jonathan Cagan and Craig M. Vogel
“It was such a treat to have Shane at the Ross School of Business! Not only was the content of his presentation extremely useful, Shane was an incredibly engaging presenter. He boils down so much storytelling expertise into key takeaways and frameworks, it’s impossible to walk away not feeling excited and prepared to integrate storytelling into the business world.”
- Ava, University of Michigan MBA Candidate, President of Design+Business Club, Storylab Leader
“Shane has an uncanny ability to engage with his audience by drawing them into his “story” - whether through movie references or brand examples, he keeps your attention and leaves you wanting more!”
- Shawnee, Givaudan Manager of HR Analytics & Business Process
Shane Meeker, and his 'StoryMythos' framework, is both energizing and transformational. Throughout the course of his keynote address to our entire Brand Building team, he challenged our mindset, inspired our soul, and motivated our hearts. We have stories to tell, so why are we letting them stagnate in the dark? Shane shines a bright light into a world of 'what could be' and points the way for us to take our own, personal hero's journey."
- Dave, Centene, EVP Business Integration and CMO
“Shane has led a permanent shift in the way to innovate brands and offerings through the power of story.”
- Greg, Worthington Industries, Director of New Product Development
Shane's Story content is featured in the book Creating Breakthrough Products by Cagan & Vogel - check it out by clicking on the book!
Podcast featuring Scott Mautz, author of Find the Fire and Shane Meeker, author of StoryMythos. Click the visual to listen..