Obituaries are fascinating. When you really get down to it, your last impression is very much like your first impression: you only get one chance to tell this story, so make it a good one. Sure, it’s a gloomy topic, but it is a universal truth that there are two realities we all ultimately face: death and taxes. Beyond any personal losses we many have suffered lately, or our passionate awareness of war or crime or other sad affairs, it is undeniable that the first six weeks o

Politics provides lots of possibilities to witness the power of words and stories. What happened this week at the Iowa caucuses in the US presidential election was no exception. In a late night interview, a reporter asked an official from the Bernie Sanders campaign why they had not emphasized his personal background, upbringing, and immigrant family history. “He has a good story to tell,” the reporter said. “We’ll get to it,” the official responded, or something to that effe

This is the latest in a series of blogs on what we at Present Tense LLC call a “Master Story”. In this installment, Frank gives us the next steps in the process of story creation: using your words to provide a consistent story across your content. Sure, we have all heard it said: our actual words make up only a small part of effective storytelling. This saying dates back to the early 1970’s and the work of UCLA psychologist Albert Mehrabian, who derived a famous formula (verb

This is the latest in a series of blogs on what we at Present Tense LLC call a “Master Story”. In this installment, Paul Mooney reminds us how the Master Story is not meant to be written alone, and that the greatest product comes from working with others to perfect your message. Read the first, second, and third parts of the series on our blog. If told properly, the Master Story of your business will undoubtedly share many parallels with the kinds of stories that make great w

This is the latest in a series of blogs on what we at Present Tense LLC call a “Master Story”. In this installment, Elana Duffy examines how the Master Story can help your company find its true identity, and then communicate it to each other and to your market. Read the first and second parts of the series on our blog. Action is the key to any business. Whether it is signing a contract, buying a retail product, or filling out a user survey, you are looking for someone to take

This is the latest in a series of blogs on what we at Present Tense LLC call a “Master Story”. In this installment, Frank Luby looks at the role the Master Story plays in helping professionals use storytelling to establish their name and reputation. Read the first part of the series, on why you need a Master Story, here. The next time you have a few minutes to fill, start a list. Write down a few things you wish your customers knew about you. Don’t sort it yet, and don’t over

This is the first in a series of blogs on what we at Present Tense LLC call a “Master Story”. In this installment, Chris Thunder looks at the role the Master Story in creating mindful habits and routines in business. Many people disparage habit as this soul-crushing addiction that leads to mindless routines, sapping the marrow of life. But think of how much habit helps you. What would your life be like if you had to think intensively and consciously about each and every task