Ep51 – The Power of Stories with Eric Chow

In this episode, Stefan and I welcome Eric Chow to Mentally Unscripted. Eric is the host of The Eric Chow Empowers Podcast where he interviews people who have powerful stories of overcoming adversity.

Eric is an intelligent, caring person. He shares with us his strategies for gaining the trust of people who are often uncomfortable sharing their stories. We discuss the importance of rapport and preparation. We also talk about how Eric knows when to push harder during an interview and when to let up. It’s an excellent conversation for anyone wanting to know more about drawing difficult stories out of people.

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Guest Information

1. The Eric Chow Empowers Podcast

2. Eric’s Twitter

Resources

1. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, by Yuval Noah Harari

2. Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

3. Breakfast of Champions, by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.    

Mental Models

1. Hanlon’s Razor

2. The reptile brain

Top Takeaways

1. Stories of overcoming adversities are some of the most memorable stories. Conversely, stories that lack sincerity and focus on getting attention for the storytelling instead of helping others are the least memorable.

2. The first 10 to 15 minutes of the interview are key. During this time, the interviewer must get the storyteller relaxed and comfortable to build trust and rapport.

3. Preparation is important for an interviewer to draw a deep, sincere story out of someone.

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