There’s a checklist at the end of this book, outlining the characteristics that make a good story. But you’d miss many great stories that are fleshed out throughout the book in five parts. I would have expected Carmine Gallo, the author, follow his own advice and stick to the rule of three and divide the book into three parts. All stories are meant to educate, motivate, and inspire. The ‘secrets’ in the book are making the reader aware of the actual people who are astonishing speakers and storytellers. I don’t mean the typical ones we all know, like Steve Jobs or Howard Schultz, even more astonishing ones like Bryan Stevenson.
Gallo’s passion for passion is evident in how well the book is put together and summary at the end of each chapter is well thought out. Gallo, whose father had worked for the same company that Jobs’ adoptive mother had worked for during the same time, analyzes numerous visionaries and how they told their stories—dots are connected looking back. The book focuses on the importance of reframing stories, backstories, making emotional connection, weights of importance given to pathos, logos, and ethos. He even goes into academic studies of Judee Burgoon and Jerome Bruner for expectancy violation theory and the narrative construction of reality, respectively.
This is a highly readable book, and recommended.
– Erol Esen, Amazon Vine Review