Send us a text

Winning Stories Rely On Details: Make Them See It, So They Trust It

Most business owners don’t have a storytelling problem. They have a detail problem. “I used to be shy” is information, but “I hid under a pile of coats at family gatherings so nobody would talk to me” is a scene.

And scenes are what make people listen, trust, and remember you. In this episode of The Story Lab, I break down why details create instant credibility, how to turn summaries into scenes, and a simple 3-question exercise you can use to upgrade any story you tell in your content.

What You’ll Learn

• Why details create trust faster than “expert” statements
• The difference between a summary and a scene (and why most content stays forgettable)
• The 3 types of details that make stories hit:
  • Sensory details (what you saw, smelled, heard, felt)
  • Specific details (what actually happened, not the vague version)
  • Emotional truth (the unpolished thought in the moment)
• Build A Scene in 60 Seconds: A simple exercise to turn any business moment into a story people feel

If your stories aren’t landing, don’t change your whole brand. Change your details.

Try the scene exercise and tell one story as a scene this week.

Want help turning your experiences into stories that connect and convert? You know where I will be!

Support the show

Send us a text

AI Made Content Effortless, But Effortless Content Doesn't Get You Seen with Special Guest Wes Towers

AI made content effortless. But effortless content doesn’t get you seen.
Because when everything is easy to publish, it’s also easy to ignore. And the real casualty in the AI age is trust.

In this episode, Jonathan sits down with Wes Towers (Uplift 360) to talk about what actually cuts through the digital haze: a clear point of view, human texture, and storytelling that feels lived-in, not manufactured.

Wes shares a surprisingly powerful exercise that starts with your behind-closed-doors frustrations about your industry and flips them into your strongest differentiator. The stuff you can’t stand becomes the signal that attracts the right people and quietly repels the wrong ones. Which is not a bug, it’s the whole point.

We also unpack why the old funnel is eroding, what Wes calls “search everywhere optimization,” and why your website still matters, just later in the decision journey. If you’re tired of posting into the void and ready to build authority that feels earned, this episode is your playbook.

What You’ll Learn

• Why AI content created a trust drought and what to do about it
• How to uncover your differentiator using “the dark side” of your industry
• Why a grounded contrarian point of view is a visibility cheat code
• What “search everywhere optimization” is and how it works across platforms
• Why people hit your website later now, when they’re closer to buying
• How stories and case studies add weight, warmth, and credibility

Guest Bio
Wes Towers is the founder of Uplift 360. For 20+ years, he’s helped real-world businesses, especially builders and trades, turn websites and SEO into steady, qualified work. No fluff. No jargon. Clear strategy, clean execution, and results you can see on the calendar and in the bank.

Links
Uplift 360: uplift360.com.au

Support the show

Send us a text

We break down the transformation story as a simple, powerful arc from sad to happy and explain how to guide clients from point A to point B without leaving them in the dark. We share concrete steps, a social media example, and why you must be the guide, not the hero.

• framing the problem as the audience’s “sad” and the goal as their “happy”
• showing the darkness with empathy, then leading to the light
• mapping a clear, stepwise path from point A to point B
• painting an attainable after-state buyers can believe
• using client stories where we act as the guide
• keeping language simple and outcomes concrete
• reminding listeners the transformation is why people buy

If you haven’t already, please give us a review

Support the show