Story Telling for Business by Philipp Humm

I finished this book in October 2025. I recommend this book 7/10.

Why you should read this book:

I received the book from the author, who was coaching a work event I attended. The book explains how to put stories together in business scenarios and how to do it without being boring to the audience.

Get your copy here.

🚀 The book in three sentences

1. Storytelling is about transformation—a moment when someone faces adversity that changes how they think, feel, or act.

2. Great stories follow a structure: context, adversity, resolution, and takeaway.

3. In business, storytelling builds trust, makes ideas memorable, and increases the impact of your message.

   
   

📝 My notes and thoughts

• P15. What is storytelling:

  • A good story is about a moment when a person faces a challenge that changes how they think, feel, or act.

  • In business, storytelling helps you to be remembered, build trust, and increase the value of your offer.

• P19. Think of your story structure like a cart in the supermarket. It holds together all the awesome elements (ingredients) of your story:

  • Context

  • Adversity

  • Resolution

  • Takeaway

• P21. Adversity is usually the longest and most crucial part of any story. So, take time to explain the struggle, show what's at risk, and how it makes the main character feel.

• P21. Resolution: Now it's time to explain how the main character responds to the adversity. What actions do they take, and where does that lead? How does the story turn out at the end?

• P23. Takeaway: I'd encourage you to focus on only one takeaway.

• P31. Imagine watching a war movie. It opens with an epic helicopter shot. From above, you see the entire battlefield—tanks rolling forward, soldiers forming ranks, and smoke rising in the distance. It's captivating for a moment, but then you start wondering, Okay, what's actually happening? And then, the real story begins. The camera dives into the trenches. Suddenly, you're in the thick of it. Bombs are exploding nearby, mud is flying, and you see the fear and grit etched into the soldiers' faces. You feel the emotions of the moment. Now, how does this connect to storytelling? Most people stay stuck in the helicopter view. They hover above the story, offering summaries like, "Our team faced a tough challenge" or "We wanted to improve customer satisfaction." That's fine for a moment—it sets the stage. But if you never zoom in, your audience will lose interest. Great stories zoom into the trenches. They show the action. They share the exact words of the angry customer, paint a vivid picture of exhausted faces during a late-night session, and bring to life the joy of finally solving the problem. The best stories don't just summarize events. They transport their listeners into the vivid moment of the story, making them feel like they're experiencing the moment first-hand.

• P32. Whatever details come to mind, those are the ones to include in your story. These specifics bring your audience into the trenches with you, turning your story from a dry summary into an unforgettable experience. Ask yourself:

  • Where am I?

  • What am I doing?

  • What am I thinking?

  • What am I feeling?

  • What am I hearing?

• P32. Where are you? Examples:

  • "Chicago, two weeks ago. I'm sitting on the couch in my living room."

  • "I'm standing outside the conference room, taking a deep breath."

• P33. What are you doing? Examples:

  • "I am sitting at my desk, staring at my computer, when a notification pops up: 'Urgent'."

  • "I'm at the airport security check, putting my bags into the bins."

• P34. What are you thinking? Examples:

  • "I hope they'll like me."

  • "Oh no, that probably sounded weird."

  • "I can't wait to try this out!"

• P35. When you share the thoughts, give your audience the raw, messy, unpolished version.

• P36. Don't just tell emotion, show it. Examples:

  • "I exhaled deeply, leaning back in my chair, closing my eyes for a few seconds."

  • "He glanced at the clock every few seconds as he rehearsed his opening line."

  • "She smiled warmly, nodding at each person around the table."

• P51. An example of kicking off a presentation:

  • "Last weekend, I was at home, ordering a pizza. The moment I hit the order button, I realized that I had chosen the wrong toppings—anchovies. Yikes. I hate anchovies more than anything in this world. Anyway, so I call them up, thinking, No big deal. The guy answers, and I explain the situation. He pauses for a moment and then says, 'Sorry, there's nothing we can do.' I blink. 'Wait? What? You haven't even started making it! 'Yeah, well. . . It's our policy. No changes after the order's placed. I noticed my head getting red. To avoid saying something I'd regret, I hung up. But after a few seconds, it got me thinking—where in our business have we got too rigid? Are there moments where we could make a customer's day with minimal effort? That's what I want to talk about today—how we can create those small, thoughtful moments that leave a lasting impact."

• P55. How to find coaching sessions:

  • Think of an insight: Start by pinpointing the lesson or insight you want your coworker to truly understand (e.g., "Underpromise and overdeliver"; "If you don't measure it, you can't improve it.")

  • Think of a moment: Dig into your own experience to find a story about a way you learned that lesson. Is there a moment in your past when you faced a challenge that helped you realize that point?

• P58. How to find convincing stories:

  • Think of the pain: Start by identifying the frustration or inefficiency your idea solves. What's the problem you're addressing?

  • Think of a moment: Reflect on a real situation where you (or someone else) experienced that frustration first-hand. What emotions did they feel? What happens if nothing changes?

• P109. A simple, proven method I learned from the Ultra-speaking program is to describe a character with, "I was the type of person who. . ." or a variation of the statement:

  • Instead of saying, "I was a nervous wreck," say, "I was the type of person who rehearsed saying hi to the cashier before walking into a store."

  • Instead of saying, " I was super cautious," say, "I was someone who made pros and cons lists for which cereal to buy."

  • Instead of saying, "I was disorganized," say, "I once locked myself out of the apartment five times in one week."

• P110. Share any sort of time constraint with your audience, telling them that you (or the main character) had far too little time to complete this massive task. Examples:

  • "I had five minutes to convince the panel, or the deal was off the table."

  • "The presentation was in 30 minutes, and my laptop wouldn't turn on."

  • "If I didn't get to the station by 5:00, I'd miss my train—and my chance to close the deal."

• P111. To keep your audience engaged, you need to surprise them. You need to break their expectations. You need to have some sort of "pink cow" in your story. Surprises can take many forms:

  • An unusual event: Something happens that no one expected (e.g, your client asking you to go on a five-day camping trip).

  • An unexpected reaction: A character responds in a way that feels out of the ordinary (e.g, your manager asking you, "What the hell was that?").

  • An extreme action: A character does something that the average person wouldn't do (e.g, you were asked to call ten people. To make sure you did it right, you called 150 people).

• P116. Instead of telling people who you are, you show them through a humorous example:

  • Original: "I am curious."

  • With humor: "If there's a 'Do Not Touch' sign, you can bet I'm already touching it."