The Storytelling Lab

“The real story is always in the subtext.” — Tal Lazar

Most people lose their audience the moment they start explaining.

In this episode, cinematographer, educator, and author Tal Lazar breaks down why the real story is always in the subtext, and why emotion beats information when you’re trying to persuade, pitch, teach, or lead.

We talk about why leaders default to “feature lists,” how filmmakers create coherence across dozens of departments, and why there’s no such thing as a formula for “coverage” if you’re actually telling a story. The throughline is simple: focus on the transformation your audience wants, not the impressive details you’re tempted to showcase.

If you’ve been chasing better tools, better tactics, or better talking points, this conversation will pull you back to the skill that makes everything else work.

In this episode, you will learn to:
Shift your messaging from “what it is” to the transformation it creates for your audience
Use subtext intentionally so your communication lands emotionally, not just intellectually
Spot the fear-driven habit of over-explaining and replace it with story-first clarity
Lead like a director by creating one coherent interpretation across many moving parts
Build cinematic impact with fewer resources by knowing what your audience is actually feeling

🔗 Follow Tal on:
Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/talazar
LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/talazar
Website → https://cinematicimpact.com

📚 For more storytelling tips and tricks:
Visit → https://rainbennett.com
Or → https://thestorytellinglabpodcast.com
TikTok → https://www.tiktok.com/@chiefstorytellingofficer
Twitter → https://twitter.com/rainbennett
Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/rainbennett
Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/thestorytellinglab
YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/@RainBennett

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Vision is what inspires your people. Mission is what activates and organizes them.” —Rain Bennett

What good is a bold vision if you don’t have a mission to back it up?

In this solo episode, Rain Bennett breaks down why mission is the most misunderstood and most essential piece of a brand’s storytelling system.

Using examples from WeWork’s collapse and Airbnb’s legendary collaboration with Pixar, Rain explains how to turn abstract ideas into real-world action through a story-driven mission.

If your company struggles to align teams, inspire customers, or scale with clarity, the problem may not be your vision. It may be the lack of a narrative-driven mission.

This episode will teach you how to build one that works, aligns, and lasts.

In this episode, you will learn to:
Find the gap between vision and mission that leads to brand drift
Craft a mission that functions like a plotline for your business
Align internal teams and stakeholders around a shared narrative
Use customer journey mapping as a story structure
Translate lofty goals into repeatable action through story

📚 For more storytelling tips and tricks:
Visit → https://rainbennett.com
Or → https://thestorytellinglabpodcast.com

Or following along on...
TikTok → https://www.tiktok.com/@chiefstorytellingofficer
Twitter → https://twitter.com/rainbennett
Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/rainbennett
Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/thestorytellinglab
YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/@RainBennett

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Your stories are building bricks of belief in your brand." — Shane Lukas

How do you sell something your customer can’t see, touch, or fully understand?

Shane Lukas has spent decades helping professional service providers do exactly that by using story as a tool to create trust, clarity, and emotional resonance.

In this episode, Rain and Shane explore how narrative makes “invisible” value tangible. From accountants and coaches to consultants and creatives, anyone who delivers a process or service will benefit from Shane’s simple but powerful storytelling framework.

Together, they discuss the importance of transformation-driven messaging, the psychology of pre-sale belief, and how to guide your prospects with authentic case studies that show, not just tell, what you really do. This is a masterclass in making your message matter.

In this episode, you will learn to:
Sell intangible services by framing the emotional outcome, not the technical details
Guide potential clients through stories that build trust before you pitch
Use transformation case studies to prove your value without overselling
Understand why people buy with emotion, not logic—even in B2B
Reframe your sales process as a storytelling journey

🔗 Follow Shane on:
Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/agreatidea
Website → https://www.agreatidea.com
LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/shane-lukas/

📚 And for more storytelling tips and tricks:
Visit → https://rainbennett.com or https://thestorytellinglabpodcast.com

Or follow...
TikTok → https://www.tiktok.com/@chiefstorytellingofficer
Twitter → https://twitter.com/rainbennett
Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/rainbennett
Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/thestorytellinglab
YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/@RainBennett
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Everybody in your organization has to be aligned… or it all starts to break down.” — Jensen Savage

If you’ve been muscling your way through growth and wondering why it still feels so hard, this episode is for you.

Jensen Savage, founder of Savage Growth Partners, breaks down the true cause of stagnation in business: misalignment.

In this conversation, we explore why brute force can’t scale and how systematizing your customer journey can unlock powerful, sustainable growth. Jensen and Rain dig into the often-ignored “connective tissue” between marketing, sales, and operations and show how storytelling is more than messaging and communication—it’s infrastructure.

Whether you're a founder, marketer, or small business owner, this episode will help you rethink what’s actually holding you back.

In this episode, you will learn to:
Understand why growth stalls even when you’re doing everything “right”
Uncover the unseen gaps in your customer journey that silently kill momentum
Map your marketing to metrics that matter most for service-based businesses
Build systems that turn handoffs into high-performance links
Use story-driven alignment to unify your brand from sales to operations

🔗 Follow Jensen on:
Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/savagegrowthpartners
LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jensensavage
Website → https://savagegrowthpartners.com

📚 For more storytelling tips and tricks:

Visit rainbennett.com or thestorytellinglabpodcast.com, or

Follow...
TikTok → https://www.tiktok.com/@chiefstorytellingofficer
Twitter → https://twitter.com/rainbennett
Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/rainbennett
Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/thestorytellinglab
YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/@RainBennett
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“Every time you press upload, you’re telling the universe this is your part in the grand scheme.” — Elton Anderson, Jr.

What if your content wasn’t just a creative outlet, but a mirror for your transformation?

In this episode, Rain Bennett sits down with Elton Anderson—a photographer, storyteller, and founder of L10 Media—for a deep, vulnerable conversation on using storytelling to break free of the algorithm, let go of outdated identities, and build a media platform rooted in purpose.

Elton shares his own creative pivot, leaving behind a successful photography career and embracing a new chapter built around authenticity, micro media ownership, and spiritual self-alignment.

Together, they explore how to attract the right audience by showing up fully as yourself, why resistance is a sign you’re on the right path, and how to build a life and career that flow from the inside out. If you're multi-passionate, burned out by content trends, or questioning how to evolve in public, this episode will show you that your shadow isn’t something to fear—it’s where your story begins.

In this episode, you will learn to:
Embrace identity shifts as part of your creative evolution
Find your unique voice through consistent, imperfect action
Use storytelling as a tool to connect with others and yourself
Build a micro media company around your personal purpose
Reframe resistance as a signal that you're on the right path

Follow Elton on:
Instagram
TikTok

or visit his website, HERE!

And for more storytelling tips and tricks,

Visit rainbennett.com or thestorytellinglabpodcast.com
Follow on TikTok @chiefstorytellingofficer
Follow on Twitter @rainbennett
Follow on Instagram @rainbennett
Follow on Facebook @thestorytellinglab
Subscribe to the YouTube Channel
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