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Eric Schnure is the consummate storyteller. A former White House speechwriter for Vice President Al Gore with 20 years of experience counseling executives on messaging, Eric knows how to tell a great story. He also knows what makes storytelling such a powerful internal comms tool.

We’d gladly spend an afternoon sipping tea (or something stronger) on the porch with Eric, but we settled for a visit to the EE Voice virtual HQ for our last podcast of 2018. Of course, he launched right in with two stories from his White House days (okay, we asked), then reminded us that storytelling is “not just spinning a yarn.”

“I could stay here with you all day telling stories,” he said, “but it might not move the ball forward in any constructive way other than we may have a really entertaining day, which will only make tomorrow busier.”

In this episode of EE Voice, we talk with Eric about how to construct a compelling story, how to foster a storytelling culture in the workplace and how to get leaders more comfortable telling stories. Tune in and learn:

• What narrative storytelling really means
• What Eric calls “The Big 3” of storytelling
• How to use conflict and other narrative elements
• What makes a good story persuasive
• How to use humor in storytelling

It’s a fascinating and informative conversation with one of the best storytellers we know. Enjoy!

About Sharon McIntosh

Sharon is president of And Then Communications. With more than two decades of communications experience, she has a passion for creating and executing new ideas to drive employee engagement at companies both large and small. Most recently Sharon served as PepsiCo’s vice president of Global Internal Communications, overseeing the company’s efforts to connect with its more than 274,000 employees worldwide.

About Sharon Phillips

Sharon Phillips is principal of Sharon Phillips Communications, which focuses on employee engagement and corporate communications strategy and support. Prior to relaunching her consultancy in 2014, she served as director of Global Internal Communications at PepsiCo.