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Feb 26, 2018

Have you ever been so captivated by a great story that you lost track of time, and even your surroundings?  Park Howell, is the founder of The Business of Story, a Keynote speaker, TEDx speaker, and shares his wisdom after interviewing over 133 people on his podcast The Business of Story and helping brands tell their story through his company.  

"When you can tell a very honest, true, personal story that reflects who you are as a business leader, a brand connects better than any "advertising" campaign you could possibly imagine.” Park Howell

Park Howell’s Story Cycle Process-10 Steps to Creating a Story

  1. The Back Story-What problem have you fallen in love with that your brand solves?
  2. The Hero-Who are you solving the problem for?
  3. Stakes-What is it that the Hero wants? What do they stand to gain or lose?
  4. Disruption-Something has to Change. Why do they want this solution?
  5. Obstacles- Why doesn’t the hero already have this solution?
  6. The Mentor-How do you help the hero solve their problem?
  7. The Journey- Describe what the process is like when you help solve your hero’s problem.
  8. Victory-What is the first success milestone. How can you demonstrate success to your customer?
  9. Moral- How have you helped your hero? What do they experience with your solution? How do you connect the belief and values and connect them with what your customers want?
  10. Ritual-How do you make their story your story and build a brand ritual-how will they share your story with their world?

All of the steps are important and Park recommends that step 9 is the most important.  Figure out what is the theme that will help your hero.  Focus on what success feels like as a customer, attendee interacting with your sales reps or in a presentation to an audience, what do they want to experience?  It is different for each hero-having this clear before you start will help you make it to the conclusion of the story.


Get Park’s new e-book starting today!  There are free tools, a weekly podcast and other resources to help you create a brand story.

Credits: Thanks so much to Christy Haussler with Team Podcast for editing this episode.

Visit for more insights, tips and advice from industry leaders.  If you would like to elevate your trade show program through story, reach out to me at