An Interview With Christoph Trappe on Authentic Storytelling

I heard him speak at Indiblogger event BNLF Mumbai on “Storytelling” and his effortless speaking, authentic delivery and compose personality totally won me. Immediate thought: I need to interview him and today it’s live.

I am talking about Christoph Trappe, one of the most reputed and leading content marketing trainer, author and a global speaker. He started his career in journalism and has since implemented journalism-based storytelling techniques in the business world. He lives in Iowa with his wife and their two daughters.

Without any further delay, let me take you to some his sharp and short interview I did on email.

Question: Hello Christoph, great to have you share your knowledge and time with us. Everybody wants to know the back story of a successful personality like you. Let me ask. What was the first thing you did (and that worked) to get to where you are today?

Answer: Determine your passion and expertise. My passion has always been how to share authentic stories. I first started doing that in the journalism world and now do it with corporations, brands and people. But ultimately, I defined my passion which later became an expertise early on in my career. The underlying discipline hasn’t really changed. Even if you didn’t start early, it’s never too late! Today is better than never.

Question: How about sharing one of your outstanding storytelling success stories with our readers?
Answer: Personal stories that are authentic and include conflict (preferably one that has been overcome) work the best. People relate to people. #socialselling #storytelling

Question: I see you’re prolific blogger, Christoph. What keeps you excited about blogging your stories?
Answer: Relevance. Sharing our stories helps us stay relevant. Learning. Every time I share something, I also learn something myself.

Question: Can you guide our audience with some key points that make a story compelling when it comes to using storytelling for marketing a business?
Answer:

Authenticity
Conflict
Know your audience

Question: What are your thoughts on the way people are using storytelling today?
Answer: Many still do marketing. They tell, but don’t show. Less promotional, showing but not telling is much more successful long-term.

Question: Who are some great storytellers you’re inspired from?
Answer:

Seth Godin – Follow Seth at Twitter
Joe Pulizzi – Follow Joe at Twitter
Maria Popova – Follow Maria at Twitter

Question: I understand that mistakes are a part of experience. Do you recall some of your mistakes that you advise others shouldn’t make.
Answer: Just keep going. Stand by your opinion, but be flexible enough to change with new details. #christophtrappe

Question: Can we learn a bit about the non-business side of Christoph? What do you do when you’re not working?
Answer: I prefer to not think of it as work. It’s just part of my life. 🙂 Other interests: Fitness, family, etc.

Question: With the rise of business storytelling in the last few years, everybody wants to be one. What do you think what makes someone a great storyteller?
Answer:

Transparency
Authenticity
They get to the point

Question: Do you recommend any tools or some great resources to learn more about storytelling?
Answer: The Authentic Storytelling Project blog and my book. 🙂

P.S: Ah, there he goes!

Question: Would you like to share one of your habits that contributed to your success?
Answer: Get on a schedule. Don’t interrupt publishing. Ever.

My comment: We can clearly see from Christoph’s answers;

“Talk less, mean more. Smallest stories has got bigger impact. #storytelling”

 P.S.S: Must mention that he is super-prompt and super responsive, perfectly complements his profession and personality.

Thanks for sharing your experience and knowledge Christoph.

I would highly recommend you getting his book, Get Real: Sharing Authentic Stories for Long-Term Success, and it could be one of the only resource you might need to learn about authentic storytelling. You may want to follow Christopth on Twitter and know more about him on his blog.

 

Did you like this interview? I would love to hear your thoughts in comments. If you want me to Interview a great entrepreneur or personality, just recommend in comments or email me at hello@sunitabiddu.com.