Kathy Klotz-Guest
Your Team Is An Improv Group
Your Team Is An Improv Group Your team IS an improv group. Collaboration Is What High-Performing Teams Do Every team in a business setting is an improv group. I don’t care what kind of business you are in or work for – every business team…
How Improvisation Makes Us Better Marketers and Better People
And not in that order. Improvisation has changed my world. It’s changed everything in 20 years for me. It’s not just about honing your funny bone (and it will, Virginia, I promise!); the true lessons of improvisation are about so much more than being f...
Business Storytelling Truth: And Nothing But the Truth!
Business Storytelling Truth in a World of Fake News I was on a podcast recently with friends and colleagues to promote our StoryCo Conf in LA on Oct 25th (note: still FREE tickets available here at storyconference.info).storyconference.info Over the w...
How Mixed Reality Will Change Business Storytelling
Sharing Experiences (Source: Unsplash.com) Lots of big brands today are experimenting with mixed reality tech – virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) to create content. Forbes recently reported that 75% of the world’s most valuable brands (Forbes brand list) have created some kind of mixed...
Building a Customer Service Culture Through Storytelling
Her name was Vanessa L. and she had bright purple hair. She was a rock star. And so was her hair. It had spikes and was so cool, although I knew I wouldn’t rock hair like she did. On this day in 2012 at a...
Beyond Product Content: A Chat with Robert Rose
Product Story: Beyond Product Content – My Chat with Robert Rose Not too long ago, I had the great and fun fortune of being able to chat with my friend and colleague, Robert Rose, of the Content Marketing Institute. It’s time to go beyond the...
Improv in Business Customer Service and Crisis Communications (video)
Improv in Business Customer Service Source: etherspeak.com On May 25th, Gary Ware, fellow improviser and marketer, and I chatted about improv in business customer service and crisis communications. We do a few exercises and talk about ways you can say “yes and” to your customers.…
Break the Fourth Wall for Brand Storytelling Success
Last year I wrote a piece about live streaming (I was honored that it was a top ten post on Convince and Convert for 2016 and thanks to Brian Fanzo who I interviewed in the article). The piece focused on how brands are finding...
How Open-Mic Content Grows Audiences
An open-mic content mindset can help companies tremendously. First, let me back up and define “open-mic.” How to Create Open-Mic Content to Grow Audiences Typically, an open-mic night is a sampling of different acts in one night. Each comic gets 5-10 minutes. And clubs often…
Ten Brand Commandments – Co-Created Content
A Little Background Vincenzo Landino and I chatted a few weeks back for his Brand Boost podcast. We talked about improv and marketing, Happy Days, how “human” – yes, still an important word – has also ironically jumped the marketing shark. We also talked about…
Bust Boring Content! Sheet Fitters Example
Bust Boring Content! I hear this a lot: “I work in a boring industry or I have a boring product. There isn’t much I can do.” I disagree. You can bust boring content. There is no boring product or industry – only boring marketing lacking...
Why John Oliver Rocks Content and So Can You
Why John Oliver Rocks Content John Oliver, Source: Youtube.com, This Week with John Oliver I love John Oliver. He’s up there in my comedy pantheon along with Key and Peele and Jon Stewart (who gave him his start on The Daily Show). He’s smart, insightful,…
How Brands Use Live Streaming Video
My article first ran on Convince and Convert. I am a storytelling and comedy nerd, a marketer, and a comic improviser. I know how important preparing and letting go is. In the same way software nerds rule technology development (I say this with admiration, as...
Why a Story Gap Kills Sales and What to Do About it
Why a Story Gap Kills Sales Source: gratisography.com What is a Story Gap? Every buyer has a story about his or her work, what’s wrong, what’s right and why he or she does what they do. Conversely, every company has a story they tell buyers…
Nonprofit Storytelling: How to Tell a Powerful Nonprofit Story
On March 10, I had the great fun of hosting and participating in a blab on Nonprofit Storytelling: How to tell a Powerful Nonprofit Story. In this conversation, I spoke with Karen Dietz and Jim Signorelli about creating compelling story stories. Creating a Story Mosaic…
How to Tell Your Brand Story
Every company is trying to tell a better story today about its business. Why? Because storytelling is the best differentiation any of us has! And that story has to include the stories our customers and communities tell; actually, those are the most important stories in...
Good Storytelling Goes Bad: The Savior Story
Sometimes good storytelling goes bad. It happens. We have great intentions and we mean well. We’re passionate and we’re on fire, and we want to help people. I get it. I am a passionate person and we should all be so lucky to find...
Seven Ways to Improve Your Business Storytelling in 2016
Want to Improve Your Business Storytelling? Here are Seven Ways to Raise Your Game in 2016 Source: Wikipedia.org I am super passionate about what I do in the world of telling business and marketing stories. If you read my stuff and know me…
Successful Storytelling Means Going Bigger Than Your Company
Successful Storytelling Means Going Bigger Than Your Company I saw Tony Hsieh speak years ago and he said something I’ve always believed (and I know many of you agree): “When you think your story is big, think bigger.” Mindfulness of Thinking Bigger by www.gratisography.com In…
How to Humanize Social Media and Content Marketing
How to Humanize Social Media in 2016 and Why it Matters Being Human in Social Media and Content Marketing Means Being Mindful That PITA. You know it when you experience it. It’s that ‘pain in the ass’ person that destroys value with every communication he…