The guest for our April 2026 members’ meeting was Susan Lindner, the host of the podcast Innovation Storyteller, and a keynote speaker and trainer focused on storytelling skills.
Here are five tips she shared during this meeting with InnoLead members.
1. Make your audience the hero — not your innovation
What to do: Reframe your pitch so the listener is the protagonist, not your product.
- Instead of: “Here’s our new tool…”
- Try: “Here’s how you become the person who solves this problem / wins / looks great…”
2. Lead with context before content
What to do: Start by acknowledging what’s happening in your audience’s world right now before introducing your idea.
- What pressures are they under?
- What changes (layoffs, AI, strategy shifts) are influencing their mindset?
3. Define the “shift” before you pitch the solution
What to do: Get agreement that a meaningful change is happening — before you introduce your idea.
- Macro shift: industry change (AI, regulation, competitors)
- Micro shift: internal change (strategy, leadership, performance issues)
4. Use “pain, gain, and hidden cost” to shape your story
What to do: Go beyond benefits—explicitly address three things:
- Pain: What frustrations does your audience feel?
- Gain: What do they personally want (promotion, time savings, less stress)?
- Hidden cost: What do they lose by saying yes (time, expertise, comfort)?
5. Start with a vivid “imagine” moment…not a data dump
What to do: Open with a concrete, relatable scenario that helps people see the future.
Lindner’s example from the meeting: Instead of leading with technical specs, a team opened with: “Imagine… you get into your self-driving car and use your windshield as a screen…” This shifts people out of analytical mode and into imagination—making them receptive before diving into the details.
(Featured image by Emil Widlund on Unsplash.)
