Let's Make This More Interesting

While storytelling isn’t the automatic answer to every kind of ‘dull’, if we’re going to learn how to tell more interesting stories we should learn from the best. John Yorke founded the BBC Studio Writer’s Academy after a career that included being Head of Channel4 Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production, working on and producing some of the world’s most widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama, from EastEnders to Shameless, Life on Mars and Wolf Hall. In this episode, he shares with Adam his learnings about how we can all tell a story that will really engage our audience.Read John’s book: Into The Woods: How stories work and why we tell them John’s company and training services: https://www.johnyorkestory.com/_______Connect with Adam on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-morgan-3a473a/ Follow eatbigfish on Linkedin and Instagram See what’s coming up on the podcast at The Challenger Project With thanks to our editor Ruth and producer Ross. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Squiggly Careers podcast has been hugely influential and useful for anyone interested in Career Development community. In this episode I talk to Sarah Ellis and Helen Tupper, the brilliant pair behind the podcast, the two bestselling books that have come out of it – Squiggly Careers and You Coach You – and the company they have founded, Amazing if.We discuss:How, in looking to throw out the old model of the ‘career ladder’, they arrived at that fascinating idea and language of the ‘squiggle’How they’ve found a much more engaging way to talk to people about confidence issues, and why it worksWhy dullness in large organisations is often a kind of conformityHow to be a ‘helpful rebel’ in big companies if you want to help shake up dull practicesAlong the way, they talk about a fascinating idea: ‘the long aha’ – that realisation that comes to you sometime after an engaging moment in a meeting, prompting you to question something you are doing, when you realise how pervasive that practice and issue has been in your life. As fascinating and useful as you would expect from the inimitable Sarah and Helen.Listen to the Squiggly Careers podcast  Find out more about Amazing If's work Helen and Sarah's books:The Squiggly CareerYou Coach You ________Connect with Adam on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-morgan-3a473a/ Follow eatbigfish on Linkedin and Instagram See what’s coming up on the podcast at The Challenger Project With thanks to our editor Ruth and producer Ross. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode we talk to Professor Arlene Holmes-Henderson, Professor of Classics Education and Public Policy at Durham University, about her fierce belief in the enduring relevance of classical rhetoric to today’s world, and why its value in helping disadvantaged children find their voice in a more engaging way is fundamental to how schools need to develop oracy, alongside literacy and numeracy. And at the end, she gives a 10-minute masterclass in classical rhetoric that we can all use to make a speech more interesting. _____________Arlene's books Forward with Classics  and Expanding Classics The ‘Shy bairns get nowt’ project https://www.durham.ac.uk/news-events/latest-news/2023/05/shy-bairns-get-nowt/Arlene's work in The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/education/2023/jun/04/brucey-and-caesar-can-help-children-improve-oracy-says-classic-professorConnect with Adam on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-morgan-3a473a/ Follow eatbigfish on Linkedin and Instagram See what’s coming up on the podcast at The Challenger Project With thanks to our editor Ruth and producer Ross. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gemma Parkinson, a Global Marketing and Business Director at Moet Hennessy, shares advice on elevating a presentation into an irresistible performance. Topics include challenging traditional norms in the world of scotch, creating a cult following for Ardbeg whiskeys, embracing the negatives to create an authentic narrative, captivating the audience through physicality, and creating impact during a performance.

Addison Brown, a science teacher and star of a Department for Education recruitment film, joins Adam to discuss key principles in teaching, engaging students, and the importance of imagination. Topics include cognitive load, dual coding, teaching technique for understanding matter, access, inclusion, and dual coding in education, imagination in teaching, and chunking and adaptive teaching.

In this episode, Adam talks with Norman Stiles, for 20 years the Head Writer on Sesame Street, about the pioneering pairing of entertainers and educators that changed the educational life of a generation. And how success lay in a very simple ambition that has fascinating implications for us all. Sesame Street made something possible that people thought couldn’t be done. What can it teach us about the audiences we want to really engage?Watch the classic Sesame Street scenes that Norman refers to during the conversation:Grover really wants us to learn near and farErnie answers the Count's telephoneTelly tries to help Elmo get over his fear of clownsBig Bird learns about 'just because' and says goodbye to Mr Hooper----Connect with Adam on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-morgan-3a473a/ Follow eatbigfish on Linkedin and Instagram See what’s coming up on the podcast at The Challenger Project With thanks to our editor Ruth and producer Ross. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

National radio presenter Ross Buchanan joins Adam to discuss the challenges of being interesting for four hours on the radio, the unique intimacy of radio as a medium, connecting with listeners through personal experiences like delivering bread and using social media, the importance of authenticity and mental health in podcasting, effective communication techniques, and the foundation of being interesting through self-expression and curiosity.

Reality TV producer, Maz Farrelly, shares her learnings on engaging an audience and creating great content. Topics discussed include: the role of a producer, captivating an audience, making tipping more interesting, finding your unique selling point, and the importance of being memorable in business conversations.

Marketing Effectiveness expert Peter Field discusses the real financial cost of being dull in business. Topics include the need for less tolerance of dull communication, a six-slide rule for presentations, the impact and cost of dull advertising, the importance of being interesting, and influencing climate change through engagement.

** EPISODES 1 & 2 - TUESDAY 26TH SEPTEMBER **Do you have moments in your business or personal life when you simply can’t afford to bore your audience? What can we do to hold their undivided attention when it really matters? To find out, Adam Morgan, founder of eatbigfish, speaks to fascinating people who excel at engaging their audience – be they distracted social scrollers, bored schoolchildren or cynical CEOs – and learns from them how we can all be much more interesting.See what's coming up at: https://thechallengerproject.com/lets-make-this-more-interesting Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.