The MindShift Podcast

The Power of Storytelling to Attract Your Audience with Dennis Morrison

1/19/23 3:06 PM

5 Minutes Read

Episode 71

The power of storytelling is one of the most relevant and essential skills that every business owner should possess. It’s a skill that you can learn, and when used effectively, it can transform your business and life.

Dennis Morrison is an entrepreneurial creative who originated as a filmmaker. He’s a business storyteller, marketing story strategist and founder of Audience Magnet, which helps businesses and professionals to communicate authentically and effectively. He’s helping business owners and digital creators find their unique voices.

Don’t miss out on this episode as Dennis shares storytelling, how it relates to your business, and how to attract YOUR audience.

Here are three reasons why you should listen to the full Episode:

Why Dennis thinks the power of storytelling is so important.
He goes over his seven-step framework.
Dirty secrets around filmmaking that Dennis dishes on.

Episode Highlights

Dennis’s backstory and about him

- He’s been in the film and TV industry for over 20 years.
- His shift started with realizing that you could be behind the camera and determine what happens in front of it.
- Starting at the bottom, he decided that he wanted to be more active in understanding how they craft and put stories together.

Has he always been interested in filmmaking?

- Dennis’s interest started at 18.
- He didn’t get a camera at a young age and instantly want to do this.

Any dirty secrets around the filmmaking industry that Dennis is willing to share?

- He says it’s really fake.
- They are actors for a reason.
- There are three films made. One is the script, and two is production, three is the edit.

Are all good editors good storytellers?

- Dennis says that they have to be.
- An editor is there to enable the director to realize their vision.
- Sometimes when someone is so deep in their project, their blinkers are on, only seeing forward.

How much raw footage or production phase does a typical editor get for a normal-length film?

- It does vary, but an independent film is anything from five to one to a ten to one ratio.
- Every minute you see, there was ten minutes shot.
- Bigger films may be for every 18 minutes shot, and you see one minute.

When did Dennis’s interest in the power of storytelling begin?

- It started for him when he started to work.
- Anyone who decides to work in film and TV or creative industries has decided straight away that they are an entrepreneur.

Do you have to sell your way into the project?

- After working for three years, Dennis went to study film.
- He says that you can become good at the art of what you’ve learned, but no one teaches you how to get work.
- He says they are learning the skill, but they need to know how to position and project themselves.

When did Dennis experience the breakdown into the breakthrough?

- He had an idea in 2000 about how great it would be if independent filmmakers could build an audience by getting their film seen and earning some money.
- He says that the best way to learn something is having a reason to do it.
- Dennis said that he learned so much about himself and so much about the journey.

What is the definition of storytelling in the world of business?

- Dennis likes to call it business storytelling.
- It is storytelling with a purpose.
- Every story doesn’t have to be “I want you to buy something”.

What advice does Dennis have for the person going from behind-the-scenes technician to a speaker on stage?

- The beauty of storytelling is platform agnostic.
- It’s not about the platform.
- It’s about how you communicate.

Dennis shares his framework around the power of storytelling

- Define – define your path and what you want.
- Offer – you need to clarify your offer and understand your audience.
- Audience – you have multiple audiences, but choose one to start with.
- Storytelling – this is where you are building your stories.
- Audience – where are they, what is the best medium to connect and communicate with them.
- Transform – you transform your clients and customers with your products and services.

Why do we shy away from who we are uniquely gifted to be

- We want to be perfect.
- We want to get things right.
- He says that you should record a video of yourself for 30 days until comfortable talking.
- When was the last time you prepared for a conversation?

The one thing Dennis wants to be remembered by

- Inspire, Guide and Empower.
- The one that Dennis loves is to empower you—empowering you by guiding you to become all that you choose to be.

3 Powerful Quotes from this Episode

The Shift

18:55 – “So, in 2000, I had this crazy idea. And it was, would it be great if people like me, independent filmmakers, could build an audience by getting their short film scene and earn a bit of money in the process? Crazy idea. The technology wasn’t there. We hadn’t really hit digital yet. But that just kept mulling in my mind. So about five years later, I think it was 2005. It came back to me, and that’s when the technology was changing. Mobile phones were becoming more kind capable of Manju pre iPhone. And that thought came forward to me again, and I thought, Hmm, yeah, I think I’ve got something here. So I put all my energy, everything I had to create a platform for independent short filmmakers, where they could build an audience who watched their short films on mobile phones.”

Building a foundation in storytelling

26:56 – “Now, many people who talk about storytelling, talk about, Hey, tell your story. That’s just one story. Telling a story is not enough. Yes, it may be the foundation. But like anything with any building, there’s no building without foundations. But there’s no building without bricks. Yeah. So really, we have the foundations. And then we use storytelling, and I like to say that storytelling is a way of communicating is not a thing, is how we communicate. I like to call it a language that we all know. So well. We just don’t know the details. So when you learn the details, you can be purposeful in how you construct what you’re saying and communicating to the wider audience, when you’re offering something of value, whether it’s your services or a product.”

Using storytelling like a magnet

25:43 – “I firstly, I like to call it business storytelling, and it’s storytelling with a purpose. When people hear storytelling, they do think of TV and stuff like that. So this is business storytelling, and we’re telling purposeful stories because I would like an outcome of some kind. The other thing is, it doesn’t mean that every story is I want you to buy something. No, we are using storytelling as a magnet. It’s about you becoming an audience magnet for your ideal audience. We’re not interested in people who don’t resonate with us, gonna those days trying to sue everyone. If you don’t like who I am, why offer? That’s great. There are many other people. So the beauty of using storytelling in your marketing is, first and foremost, you’re connecting with people on an emotional level, is about connecting with people emotionally, has been proven by science that stories engage. When done correctly, at that moment, people aren’t judging. It’s like they’re in the story with you.”

About Dennis Morrison

Dennis Morrison is an entrepreneurial creative who originated as a filmmaker. He’s a business storyteller, marketing story strategist, and founder of Audience Magnet, which helps businesses and professionals to communicate authentically and effectively. He’s helping business owners and digital creators find their unique voices.

He originally started a video production company, and then in the mid-2000s, he decided to create an online and mobile platform for short films. (This was pre-iPhone) It turned out that he was ahead of his time. And it didn’t quite work out. But he learned from his mistakes, picked himself up, and came back stronger.
He’s now created a storytelling-based marketing platform, specifically for coaches, digital product creators, service providers and small businesses, to help them using the power of storytelling to grow their business and sell their products and services.

The three words that describe Dennis best are Inspire, Guide, Empower.

His 25+ years as a professional filmmaker, editor, his teaching and training experience have equipped him with the skills to teach and guide you to become an inspirational teller of compelling stories. That inspires people to join your tribe, buy your stuff and experience massive transformation.

Ultimately, Dennis loves helping people through the way he knows best, by enabling you to connect with and engage your ideal audience, using the power of storytelling, so they want to buy what you offer. He wants you to become an Audience Magnet.