Ep246: Build Your Career, Strategically Craft Your Story, & Diversify Your Portfolio | Jeff Bartsch

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Today’s guest is Jeff Bartsch who is a visionary storyteller and communication strategist at Story Greenlight. He has over 20 years of experience in the entertainment industry and online business. Jeff has also been a guest on my podcast before, talking about storytelling and making a living out of storytelling.
In our conversation today, we discuss the craft of storytelling from a strategic perspective. “Strategic” storytelling can change our human interactions in our daily lives. Storytelling is what really governs all human interactions whether you’re starting a business, looking for a job, writing outreach emails, or even selling a product or service. We dissect what makes a story bad, and what makes it so powerful that it builds bonds between people. Jeff also shares candidly how understanding the psychology of storytelling revived his business from failure.
No doubt that my conversation with Jeff will unravel the strategies you can use to reinvent the way you interact with people, no matter where you are in your career.
00:00:00 | Intro
00:03:09 | What creativity really means and why understanding it can change your own creativity
00:07:57 | Why a comment Jeff got as a kid changed the way he thought about creativity
00:18:47 | What does Jeff mean by the ‘thing underneath the thing’ in your story
00:24:04 | The four elements of a story definition and how it governs all human interactions
00:30:29 | The difference between tactical storytelling and strategic storytelling
00:33:15 | How bonds are formed between the storyteller and the audience
00:39:50 | How to construct your own story and apply it in your human interactions
00:47:35 | Jeff’s business that (almost) tanked and how understanding storytelling revived it
00:58:19 | Finding your unique value from the dots you connect
Here’s What You’ll Learn:
- What creativity really means and why understanding it can change your own creativity
- Why a comment Jeff got as a kid changed the way he thought about creativity
- How understanding your technical skills can take your creativity to the next level
- What does Jeff mean by the ‘thing underneath the thing’ in your story
- The four elements of a story definition and how it governs all human interactions
- The difference between tactical storytelling and strategic storytelling
- How bonds are formed between the storyteller and the audience
- How to construct your own story and apply it in your human interactions
- Jeff’s business that (almost) tanked and how understanding storytelling revived it
Useful Resources Mentioned:
The Art of Asking: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Let People Help by Palmer, Amanda, Brown, Brené
A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: How I Learned to Live a Better Story by Donald Miller
Quote by Steve Jobs: “Creativity is just connecting things. When you …”
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Peter McKinnon - UA-cam
Story Greenlight
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Thank you for watching - I really appreciate it :)
Be well,
Zack Arnold, ACE
Founder & Coach at Optimize Yourself, inc.

[@heatherworley2512]

This was the second interview I listened to this morning after listening to your interview with William Zabka!! Thank you Zack and Jeff for your time!! I learned so much from the both of you on storytelling!!

[@GlenMcNiel]

This episode is exactly what I needed to hear this morning.