Tell to Win

Connect, Persuade, and Triumph with the Hidden Power of Story

By: Peter Guber

Narrated by: Patrick Egan

Length: 10 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's Summary

Today everyone - whether they know it or not - is in the emotional transportation business. More and more, success is won by creating compelling stories that have the power to move partners, shareholders, customers, and employees to action. Simply put, if you can’t tell it, you can’t sell it. And this book tells you how to do both.

Historically, stories have always been igniters of action, moving people to do things. But only recently has it become clear that purposeful stories - those created with a specific mission in mind - are absolutely essential in persuading others to support a vision, dream, or cause.

Peter Guber, whose executive and entrepreneurial accomplishments have made him a success in multiple industries, has long relied on purposeful story telling to motivate, win over, shape, engage, and sell. Indeed, what began as knack for telling stories as an entertainment industry executive has, through years of perspiration and inspiration, evolved into a set of principles that anyone can use to achieve their goals.

In Tell to Win, Guber shows how to move beyond soulless Power Point slides, facts, and figures to create purposeful stories that can serve as powerful calls to action.

Among his techniques:

• Capture your audience’s attention first, fast, and foremost
• Motivate your listeners by demonstrating authenticity
• Build your tell around “what’s in it for them”
• Change passive listeners into active participants
• Use “state-of-the-heart” technology online and offline to make sure audience commitment remains strong

To validate the power of telling purposeful stories, Guber includes in this book a remarkably diverse number of “voices” - master tellers with whom he’s shared experiences. They include YouTube founder Chad Hurley, NBA champion Pat Riley, clothing designer Normal Kamali, “Mission to Mars” scientist Gentry Lee, Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank, former South African president Nelson Mandela, magician David Copperfield, film director Steven Spielberg, novelist Nora Roberts, rock legend Gene Simmons, and physician and author Deepak Chopra.

After listening to this extraordinary mix of voices, you’ll know how to craft, deliver - and own - a story that is truly compelling, one capable of turning others into viral advocates for your goal.

©2011 Peter Gruber (P)2011 Random House

Critic Reviews

“In Tell to Win, Peter Guber demonstrates that telling purposeful stories is the best way to persuade, motivate and convince who you want to do what you need.” (Bill Clinton)

“ Tell to Win gives great insight into why good storytelling skills are essential for a successful leader. It’s both an engaging read and a great practical guide on how to listen, prepare and marshal facts to tell the right kind of story to the right audience.” (Robert A. Iger, President and Chief Executive Officer, The Walt Disney Company)

“Peter Guber has a deep understanding of the lure of story and its capacity to transform…Inhale this book so that you may breathe energy and purpose into the lives of others." (Muhammad Yunus, Winner of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize, author of Banker to the Poor)

I didn't mind the listen but...

The author basically relates how story telling is the moving force in getting the intended audience to act. He then goes through a number of business and non-business scenarios in which story telling saved the day. Although I agree with the author that storytelling is important, I think the book would have been more helpful if it delved into the techniques that are best used to move the desired audience to act and how to implement them. I enjoyed the listen but would have enjoyed it more if I had more techniques to carry away from it.

Incredable material! Great 3hr book, 10hr Listen#%

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

If you are responsible for communication any an kind; you must read this book! The lessons discussed in this tome are incredible, they must be studied, notated, memorized, and put into action in your daily life. Those that take the lessons to heart will substantially increase their success.

What could Peter Guber have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Peter Guber, aka "Pete the name dropper Gubber" was best when the story used to relay a point was third party. Pete,… REALLY?? You run around with Millionaires, Billionaires, and the so-called political elite... So does the bell hop at the Four Seasons!

The whole book reeked of narcissism!

If you ever do a rewrite, lift up someone else and you’ll be lifted with them!

What about Patrick Egan’s performance did you like?

The Narration was very good!

Hated This Book

I read the other reviewer who attributes the lack of stars to the narrator. I'm not so sure. I thought the content was lacking. The "stories" seemed a little trite for the CEO of Sony America...I didn't like this book at all.

Now, there is a caveat. I generally don't care for books written by CEOs. They are generally pretty self-centered books and they gloss over much of the real grit of business. So, me? I didn't like the book but maybe I'm biased.

Chris Reich
TeachU

Good Content - Awful Narrator

I've been a huge fan of Peter Guber for years, but this version would have been a magnitude better had he narrated it himself. The content is first rate, but it's difficult to listen to due to the voice talent. Patrick Egan is a sleep inducing automaton. I'll never buy another audio book narrated by this guy.

I know this is a book about telling stories...

I realize this is a book about storytelling to make a point, but too much time was spent name dropping. I did find the stories interesting, but I would have preferred more time spent on the nuts and bolts

Pretty boring for a book with this title

I have not got past the first chapter. Very boring for a book that is meant to be about telling a story well. Perhaps it will get better, and I hope to persevere with it sometime. The power of this book seems very hidden to me....

to me it was worthless

to me was worthless it might be valuable for you but to me I wasted 10 hours of listening I did not learn anything from this book

Brilliant book on Influence

Written in such a way that I learned how to transfer everyday situations to compelling stories with rich lessons.

A winner!

I am so very pleased that Peter shared his wisdom, experience and personal stories with us. A bit "wordy" for me, but well worth it. An area of weakness in my business life is now becoming a strength.

Essential

An absolutely essential book for anyone who wants to succeed in life. This man is an absolute genius who generously distills his remarkable life experiences into actionable scaffolding for success within any paradigm.

really inspiring

really enjoyed this book. has stories of all kinds in it and provides inspiration for all kinds of creative endeavours

A gripping story about the power of story.

this book is a great listen if you want to get better at story telling.

the stories that get told are enough of a reason to listen! but the lessons he weaves into the telling are priceless.

will be listening to this again I'm sure.

Best audio I’ve heard

Absolutely brilliant book. I felt transported to all of the places described and I’ve learned so much. Going to listen again!

Interesting & quite fun - if you're in the mood

I enjoyed this book even though to British ears it is hilarious the extent to which he is obsessed by status and name-dropping! He is also disgracefully long-winde Nonetheless his core ideas of how powerful the concept of "a story" is as a sales & motivational tool are fascinating, and probably say something pretty profound about how us humans are wired.

Every story tells another...

Interesting and powerful stories. Now I realise I'm a zookeeper, no more monkeys left in my room!