Don Yaeger has spent 30 years studying what makes stories stick — and he's put it all into his new book, The Business of Storytelling: Inspire Action, Build Trust, and Drive Results Through Story. In this conversation, Don breaks down why "the story is the strategy," the neuroscience behind why we fall for a good story (looking at you, Steve Jobs), why PowerPoint slides kill more presentations than they save, and the exact "x-ray" method he uses to reverse-engineer his own talks.
Don is a 13-time New York Times bestselling author, longtime journalist, and one of the most sought-after storytelling coaches in the world — he's worked with Simon Sinek, Forbes, and NVIDIA's senior leadership, among others.
📖 Get the book: The Business of Storytelling: Inspire Action, Build Trust, and Drive Results Through Story
🔗 More from Don and our other authors: theauthoritycompany.com
What You'll Learn
- Why the story you tell about your childhood shapes how you tell every story after it
- The difference between being a good writer and a good speaker — and how to bridge that gap
- How to build a personal "story bank" from the greats (MLK, Oprah, Shakespeare)
- Why the best stories are always human — and how to humanize even boring business numbers
- Why slide-heavy presentations are a crutch, and what to do instead
- The single biggest storytelling mistake: telling "I" stories instead of "you" stories
- The neuroscience behind why Steve Jobs' product launches worked (hint: it's not the specs)
- Whether great storytellers are born or made
- How to figure out the right length for any story
- Don's "game film" method for breaking down (and fixing) a story that didn't land
Timestamps
00:00 – Intro: Meet Don Yaeger & The Business of Storytelling
00:30 – The Thanksgiving story that sparked his obsession with storytelling
03:30 – The moment he learned to watch the room, not just the storyteller
05:00 – Bridging the gap from writer to public speaker
07:00 – Building a "story bank": studying MLK, Oprah, Shakespeare, Simon Sinek
09:00 – Universal truth #1: the best stories are always human
10:00 – Making business stories connect without drowning in spreadsheets and ROI
11:30 – Why PowerPoint slideshows are a story killer
15:00 – The "I" story trap — and how switching to "you" pulls the audience in
17:00 – The neuroscience of storytelling: dopamine, endorphins, and Steve Jobs
21:00 – Are great storytellers born or made?
23:00 – How to find the right length for a story
25:00 – Breaking down his iconic Michael Jordan talk like game film
27:00 – Teaching intentional storytelling to NVIDIA's sales leadership
28:30 – "The story is the strategy" — making the case to skeptical leaders
29:30 – Behind the book's dedication to his wife, Jeanette
30:30 – Closing thoughts & where to find the book
