The Story Leader: Five Stories to Build Trust and Drive Action

Communication is consistently named one of the most important leadership skills. Yet it’s rarely developed or prioritized. That’s why so many leaders struggle to share vision and inspire action in a world where connection feels harder than ever. The good news? One of our oldest tools still works.

Long before Slack and slide decks, leaders gathered people around campfires and used stories to explain the world — what was happening, where they were headed, and why it mattered. Story is still how humans make sense of complexity.

Story gives leaders leverage. It builds trust and turns vision into action. Drawing on years of working with leaders and teams, Nick makes story a practical leadership tool for alignment and action. He helps leaders shift from seeing story as inspiration to using it as a Swiss-army knife for leadership communication.

In this transformational keynote, leaders learn how to use story strategically to strengthen trust and guide decision-making.

Practical Tools & Takeaways

• The Five Stories Leaders Must Tell: Trust, Teaching, Action, Values, Vision
• A simple framework for applying these stories in everyday and high-stakes situations
• A secret weapon for connecting with anyone by embracing your own unique story

Leading with story is about one thing: helping people understand where they’re going and why it matters.

The Connection Crisis: How Story Turns Teams Into Communities

Teams today are more disconnected than ever. According to recent Gallup research, fewer than one in three employees are engaged at work — meaning most teams are operating without strong connection or shared purpose. Whether it’s remote work, rapid change, or digital disruption, teams drift into silos rather than shared purpose. The loneliness epidemic is real — and it’s showing up at work. Tools promise connection, but they can’t create it. That’s where story comes in.

Since humans first gathered around shared experiences, story has been how people build trust, meaning, and belonging. As founder of the Story Lab at the University of Iowa’s Tippie College of Business, Nick helps teams reignite that spark — using structured storytelling and peer conversations to strengthen connection and community.

In this powerful keynote, teams participate in guided storytelling exercises that transform personal experience into shared understanding and practical action.

Practical Tools & Takeaways

• The Story Sketch template: A practical tool for crafting clear, compelling stories that create meaningful connection
• A peer-based storytelling system that promotes sharing, feedback, and psychological safety at work
• A simple framework and question toolkit for applying story to everyday conversations, meetings, and high-stakes moments

When teams connect through story, co-workers become communities that can move mountains together.

Scrappy Brand Storytelling: Crafting Meaning in a Noisy World

After 25+ years of digital disruption, marketers are still expected to do more with less. Smaller teams. Tighter budgets. More channels than ever before. And cutting through the noise and connecting with customers has never been harder. Honestly, it’s … a lot.

Story has been a buzzword in marketing forever. We know it works. The science is clear. What’s missing is how to actually apply it. Based on more than two decades working with brands — from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies to President Obama’s Jobs Council — Nick literally wrote the book on scrappy marketing. Story is one of our oldest marketing tools. It’s also one of the scrappiest.

In this session, you’ll learn a simple three-step framework for defining your brand story in a way that connects with customers, and how to use that story across the growing list of platforms and touchpoints you’re responsible for.

Practical Tools & Takeaways

• The Brand Story Sketch template: A practical tool for developing your brand story using customer context, conflict, and call to action
• A method for activating brand stories across websites, campaigns, content, and customer touchpoints
• A repeatable system for turning customer insight into stories that strengthen loyalty and drive growth

Move beyond the basic “story is good” theory and learn how to use it as a true growth engine for your brand.