The Storytelling Lab

This week’s Health & Happiness story is from Dr. Nicole Swiner, aka “Doc Swiner.” Doc Swiner is a family medicine doctor, author, and speaker who focuses on a wide range of physical and mental health & wellness issues. In this talk Doc Swiner discusses her mother’s struggle with alcoholism, the stress of being a superwoman, and taking the time to sit down. This talk is from Health & Ha...

This week’s guest is John Livesay, keynote speaker, pitch whisperer, and storytelling expert! Rain and John discuss how to use storytelling to boost sales, make yourself irresistible to clients, and turn case studies into “case stories.” This is a great episode for all you entrepreneurs wanting to learn the best way to pitch your idea or sell your product! Follow John on Twitter @John_Livesay&nbsp...

We’re kicking off our Health & Happiness storytelling episodes with a story from Tom Ferguson, Founder & CEO of Rise Biscuits & Donuts and self-identified Birdman. Tom shares his experience with mental health and how birding saved his life. Keep an eye out for more Health & Happiness storytelling episodes in the future! From now on, we'll be sharing stories of people navigating the...

We’re kicking off Season 4 with an all-star guest, Paul J. Zak, neuroeconomist and storytelling expert. Zak studies the neuroscience behind storytelling and is full of knowledge about how narrative form affects our brains and informs our actions. Listen in to hear more about neuroeconomics (the study of how people make decisions), the science behind storytelling, and why narrative arcs are almost...

The Season 3 recap is here! Rain talks us through our favorite storytelling tips and tricks from our Season 3 guests. We focus on storytelling fundamentals, telling the stories of the people you help, being vulnerable, and believing in yourself! Listen in to catch up on anything you may have missed or guests you just couldn’t get enough of.   Follow Rain on Twitter @rainbennett Stay up to dat...

This week we’re bringing you a special bonus episode with the one and only Evan Carmichael, entrepreneurial expert and YouTube star! Evan is working to solve the world’s biggest problem: people don’t #BELIEVE in themselves enough. Evan and Rain discuss belief & what it means to Evan, learning from your role model’s success stories, and turning your dreams into action. Enjoy! Follow Evan on Ins...

This week’s guest is Alexa Carlin, motivational speaker and Founder & CEO of Women Empower X, a speaker convention dedicated to connecting diverse female leaders, executives, and entrepreneurs. Rain and Alexa discuss setting realistic and measurable goals for 2020, finding the courage to share the stories you are currently living, and harnessing the power of storytelling to build a community....

This week’s guest is Eric Henry, President & CEO of TS Designs, a sustainable T-shirt manufacturing company in Burlington, NC. TS Designs is dedicated to creating locally made and environmentally responsible products that have a positive social impact! We discuss sustainable business practices, telling creative and interactive stories of products, and how to make a positive impact (personally...

This week we welcome Brian Powell, Communications Director for the NC Conservation Network. Brian works every day to bring light to stories of environmental injustice affecting the people of North Carolina. We discuss how the NC Conservation Network uses communication to contribute to policy change, why the environmental movement is moving towards human-centric messaging, and how to tell big pictu...

This week’s guest is Britni Clark, social media and marketing manager for the Virginia Realtors Association. We discuss how realtors (and ALL other businesses) can benefit from digital storytelling, how to convince your company to devote more time to social, and how to make social media content management more manageable. This episode it perfect for anyone that wants to learn more about social med...

This week’s guest storyteller is Sabine Harnau, founder of From Scratch Communications, a company committed to helping businesses change the world through sustainable and responsible copywriting! In this episode, we discuss Sabine’s take on the 5 act story structure, why it pays off to be vulnerable in your business communications, and how the biggest factor holding you back can often be yourself....

We’re heading back into the nonprofit world with today’s guest, Jaz O’Hara, founder of The Worldwide Tribe, a nonprofit dedicated to sharing stories and raising awareness of the global refugee crisis. We discuss how to share the stories of the people you help, combat negative narratives in the news media, and use video to move your audience to action. This is a great episode for anyone looking to...

This week’s guest is Jimmy George (aka The Script Butcher), a horror film producer and scriptwriting consultant. Jimmy has been writing and creating micro budget horror films for over 15 years and joins us to share his actionable tips and tricks! We discuss creating low budget films, common pain points for new scriptwriters, and the top 5 things every script needs to be successful. Jimmy is curren...

This week we dive into a new and exciting form of storytelling: video games ! Our guest is Susan O’Connor , a writer, speaker, and teacher, who has worked on scriptwriting for video games including Far Cry 2, and Tomb Raider. We discuss how storytelling is used in video games, why people love games so much, and how both stories and games are used to make sense of the world. Follow Susan on Twitter...

This week we welcome Nick Sung, a storyboard artist who has worked with companies such as Pixar, Airbnb, and Nike to incorporate storytelling into their brands! Nick discusses the art of visual storytelling, using pictures to complement words, and using stories to create a social impact. We circle back to empathy with this episode -- no matter what medium you use in your storytelling, it all comes...

For the first episode of season 3, we dive into nonprofit communication with Maria Bryan, a communications strategist specializing in writing and content marketing. Maria wants to make the world a better place by sharing inspiring stories! She shares the best way to take advantage of social media management tools, keep track of analytics, communicate with clients and much, much more! If you’re in...

As we look back on an exciting second season full of expert storytellers, the same themes keep coming up. (Hint: THESE are your key takeaways!) So we compiled them all into one jam-packed bonus episode full of highlights! Rain talks us through some of our favorite tidbits and lessons from our Season 2 guests. We focus in on the importance of storytelling, doubling down on your unique qualities, an...

Join us for our final episode of Season 2 with guest Melissa Cassera, scriptwriter, business owner, and PR & marketing consultant. Melissa takes on the challenging question: How do I combine my artistic passions with my business goals to create something truly unique? She has done it in her own life, being both a business professional and a scriptwriter and she is on the show to share her tips...

We’re moving back into the nonprofit world this week with Antionette Kerr, a local nonprofit leader, media correspondent, author, and owner of Bold & Bright publishing company. Rain and Antionette discuss the intricacies of non profit media relations and publishing, how to conduct a successful interview, and tips to make your audience care. We circle back to one of our more popular themes: lis...

This week we join screenwriter and storytelling enthusiast William Simpson. Simpson is known for his work on Myths & Monsters, now available on Netflix, and Murder Maps, a British true crime series in its 4th season. Rain and William nerd out over stories and history, diving into questions including: What makes a good character? What common themes do we use in storytelling? What parts are need...

This week’s guest is Jake Fehling, a speaker, writer, and fellow podcaster. Jake works as the Vice President & Communications Executive for Movement Mortgage, a company based in Charlotte, NC. He joins Rain to discuss genuinely caring about customers, creating and keeping up with content calendars, and implementing creative branding. If you are a marketing professional, or interested in the wo...

Our guest this week is Elaine Bloom, a motivational speaker, career counselor & business owner living in Norway. Rain and Elaine discuss personal and societal narratives, being better listeners, learning to be honest with ourselves and others, and knowing when it’s time to say “no” or walk away. As a career counselor, Elaine has learned that sharing stories and personal experiences is the best...

Ever wonder how long your online blog post should be? How to write for health care professionals? Or, how to turn academic journals into plain language for a larger (and more general) audience? Well, this episode is perfect for you! Rain discusses actionable writing tips with Annie Beth Brown Donahue, a long-time friend and freelance healthcare writer and children’s novelist. Annie Beth recently f...

We take a break from our normal interviews to share a conversational interview, recorded last year at the Full Frame Film Festival, between Rain and Bing Liu, director of Oscar nominated documentary Minding the Gap! Rain talks with Bing about shooting beautiful skateboarding footage, the decision to make Minding the Gap a personal narrative, and the hardships surrounding familial cycles of abuse....

This week we dive into the world of independent filmmaking with North Carolina filmmaker, Evan Kidd. Evan finished his first feature film, Son of Clowns, in 2016 (just two years after graduating college!), and is now focusing his energy on a short documentary. Rain and Evan discuss taking creative leaps, knowing when to ask for favors, being authentic, and speaking to your audience. Follow Evan on...