Winning the Crowd

Posted on June 17th, 2008 by Keith Ferrazzi

Here's my summer intern, Ben Parrish, to tell you about an incredible event we attended this past weekend on the power of storytelling for business and leadership success. Ben, a college senior, is doing some amazing work -- and he went to my highschool!

And now I'll turn the blog over to him...

Hey everyone, it's Ben! My first week out here I was thrown into the mix right away by joining Keith at Peter Guberâ??s house for the meeting on â??storytelling.â?  Peter is currently the CEO of Mandalay Entertainment and has produced a long list of amazing movies including Batman, Midnight Express, and Rain Man. 

Keith was one of 18 participants, and the other participants included Mark Victor Hansen, co-author of Chicken Soup for the Soul, and world-renowned leadership guru Warren Bennis, along with many other storytelling experts from an assortment of backgrounds. On our lunch break, I also taped short tip clips with each of the attendees outside in the courtyard, which will be included on Keithâ??s new website as Featured Friends when the site launches late next month.

Sitting in on the meeting was an amazing opportunity. I never realized how much â??storytellingâ? plays a role in so many different careers -- honestly, almost any career you could pursue.

Here are some points that stuck with me as the most helpful guides to good communication, whether I am at lunch with friends or speaking in front of a crowd during a presentation:

â?¢ Let go of "itâ??s all about me" - you need to tap into something bigger
â?¢ Be authentic - people can feel it when you're posturing
â?¢ Create an environment where people feel safe and respected, so they'll respond honestly
â?¢ Pay attention to the body language of your audience and respond accordingly

If you'd like even more info, you can check out the blog of attendee Ivan Misner, author and Founder & Chairman of BNI International. Also Keith's blog about a smaller, previous event at Peter's on this same subject. Finally, here are some photos of this weekend's event - none of me though!

2008_expert2expert_steve_denning__3

In the foreground, you can see Keith on the left in the blue shirt, sitting with (going from him clockwise) Peter Guber, Tom Kelly, Warren Bennis, and Steve Denning.

2008_expert2expertpeter_and_keith10

Peter and Keith.

2008_expert2expert_group_action_sho

The ideas were flying!

Send a trackback!
2 comments // In Never Eat Alone
Bookmark and Share
« Previous Post Next Post »

2 Responses so far | Have Your Say!

  1. Twitter is a great way to stay in touch with other like minded people, not just in the Internet Marketing circles, but in any area of interest or Niche. There are more and more Twitter Applications coming out all the time. Here are some Incredible Twitter...

  2. Alex Canby says:
    July 24, 2008 at 12:03 pm
    Reply

    Wow, would I have loved to be there. I actually have a goal of writing a bare bones book about the basics of storytelling. I look forward to seeing how your new understanding of storytelling affects your career and the knowledge you share with all of us.

    Thanks so much,
    Alex

Leave a Reply