The Storytelling Lab

"A living story is immersive, embodied, agentic, responsive, and social. It's stories that we get to be in and experience and live — as opposed to dead stories." —Charlie Melcher

Charlie Melcher has been on the cutting edge of storytelling for decades—from designing books with J.J. Abrams and Al Gore to building an app that Steve Jobs fell in love with to producing a 6,000-person immersive storytelling summit. I

n this conversation, he breaks down what he calls living stories: experiences that are immersive, embodied, agentic, responsive, and social, and why he believes they are the antidote to the loneliness and disconnection fueled by passive media.

We cover the neuroscience of multi-sensory learning, the dyslexia origin story that put Charlie on this path, and the moment he walked into his team and said "we're no longer in the book business." We also get into where AI fits into all of this and why Charlie sees it as the great unlock for immersive storytelling at scale.

This one will make you see every story you've ever consumed differently.

In this episode, you will learn to:
Understand what a living story is and how immersion, agency, and embodiment change the way audiences feel and remember
Recognize why limiting storytelling to two senses is leaving most of your audience's emotional capacity untapped
Use multi-sensory and physical elements to deepen learning, memory, and emotional connection in any story format
See how AI will enable personalized, responsive story worlds at scale and why that demands a moral compass from storytellers
Reframe your own origin story the way Charlie did: not as a limitation but as the thread that explains everything

Follow Charlie Melcher:
Website → https://www.futureofstorytelling.org
Podcast → The Future of Storytelling with Charlie Melcher
Book → The Future of Storytelling by Charlie Melcher https://amzn.to/4w6gFVQ
Company → Melcher Media → https://www.melchermedia.com
Experience → Future of Storytelling Explorers Club → https://www.futureofstorytelling.org

Book Referenced → The Extended Mind by Annie Murphy Paul https://amzn.to/42UcU8A
Book Referenced → Bowling Alone by Robert Putnam https://amzn.to/4whTtUJ
Book Referenced → S. (Ship of Theseus) by J.J. Abrams and Doug Dorst https://amzn.to/4f7PvI0

App Referenced → Our Choice (iOS app, Apple Design Award 2011)

Conference Referenced → State of the Story by Storytelling360

Experience Referenced → Meow Wolf: House of Eternal Return (Santa Fe, NM)
Experience Referenced → Sleep No More by Punch Drunk Theater
Experience Referenced → The Wizard of Oz at The Sphere (Las Vegas)

For more storytelling tips and strategies, visit:
Website → https://rainbennett.com
Podcast → https://thestorytellinglabpodcast.com

Or follow along at:
TikTok → https://www.tiktok.com/@chiefstorytellingofficer
Twitter/X → https://twitter.com/rainbennett
Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/rainbennett
Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/thestorytellinglab
YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/@RainBennett

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Your product is not the features, the specs, it's not what you ship. The product is the experience, the transformation that your customer goes through. It's the change in their lives. That's what you're selling." — Rain Bennett

You can have a bold vision, a clear mission, and a brand people believe in... and still fail.

Because none of it matters if your product doesn't deliver.

In this solo episode, Rain breaks down the fourth layer of the Narrative Operating System: Product, the moment where your story is either proven or broken. Using Nike's grassroots origins and screenwriting software Highland Pro as case studies, Rain shows how the best brands don't build products for their customers—they build them with them.

He also introduces the Hub and Spoke Model as a practical framework for keeping every feature and offering tied back to your core brand narrative, and walks through the most common product traps (feature bloat, trend chasing, and data misreading) that cause brands to drift and fracture over time.

In this episode, you will learn to:
Reframe your product as the moment your brand story is proven, or exposed
Use the Hub and Spoke Model to keep every product feature tied to your core narrative
Build with your customers instead of for them by treating listening as a storytelling strategy
Understand where the Chief Storytelling Officer sits in the product conversation and why it matters
Avoid the three biggest product traps: feature bloat, trend chasing, and misreading data without context

Episodes Referenced:
EP 216 → Vision: The Big Future Story (https://www.thestorytellinglabpodcast.com/items/the-real-reason-your-brand-feels-disconnected)
EP 220 → Mission: How You're Going to Get There (https://www.thestorytellinglabpodcast.com/items/%E2%80%9Cvision-is-what-inspires-your-people.-mission-is-what-activates-and-organizes-them.%E2%80%9D)
EP 225 → Brand: How It Feels to Be Part of Your Story World (https://www.thestorytellinglabpodcast.com/items/the-real-brand-difference)

Guest Referenced → Nelson Farris, first Chief Storytelling Officer at Nike
Guest Referenced → John August, screenwriter and founder of Highland Pro

Podcast Referenced → Scriptnotes with John August and Craig Mazin
Software Referenced → Highland Pro → https://www.highland.app

Book → The Chief Storytelling Officer by Rain Bennett → Coming August 25th (https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-chief-storytelling-officer-b-rain-bennett/1149080177?ean=9781636988115)
Substack → Subscribe for more NOS content → https://rainbennett.substack.com

For more storytelling tips and strategies, visit:
Website → https://rainbennett.com
Podcast → https://thestorytellinglabpodcast.com

Or follow along at:
TikTok → https://www.tiktok.com/@chiefstorytellingofficer
Twitter/X → https://twitter.com/rainbennett
Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/rainbennett
Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/thestorytellinglab
YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/@RainBennett

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"CQ — the character quotient — is who you are at the core of your values, and how consistently people can trust you to be that person. That to me is the exponential topper." — Bill Blankschaen

Every person has a story no one else has. The problem is most people either don't know how to tell it or don't believe it's worth telling.

Bill Blankschaen, author of Your Story Advantage and founder of StoryBuilders, has spent over a decade helping thought leaders (from John Maxwell to Lewis Howes)nfind their story, shape it, and use it to grow their impact, influence, and income.

In this episode, Bill breaks down the Story Multiplier Formula, the five traps that keep people from ever telling their story, and why the structure he teaches doesn't constrain you, but actually sets you free to be more creative and more effective. He also walks through IQ, EQ, and the often-overlooked "CQ," and why that last one is the only variable that's entirely your choice.

If you've got a message inside you that you haven't figured out how to get out, this is your episode.

In this episode, you will learn to:
Apply the Story Multiplier Formula to turn who you are into measurable impact, influence, and income
Identify and break out of the confidence trap, the chaos trap, and the other story blocks holding you back
Understand the difference between IQ, EQ, and CQ—and why character is the only one you fully control
Build a story ecosystem with a clear message, a multiplier like a book, and a path to monetization
Edit your story for your audience, not yourself, because your story is about you but it was never for you

Follow Bill Blankschaen:
Website → https://billblankschaen.com/
Free Resources → https://www.yourstoryadvantage.com/free-resources
Book → Your Story Advantage by Bill Blankschaen: https://amzn.to/4vPjudW
Company → Story Builders → https://mystorybuilders.com/

Book Referenced → Never Quit by Glenn Cunningham (https://amzn.to/4tsDFNe)
People Referenced → John Maxwell, Lewis Howes, Dean Graziosi, Jason Wilson, Stephen Covey, Hugh Hewitt

And for more storytelling tips and strategies, visit:
Website → https://rainbennett.com
Podcast → https://thestorytellinglabpodcast.com

Or follow along at:
TikTok → https://www.tiktok.com/@chiefstorytellingofficer
Twitter/X → https://twitter.com/rainbennett
Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/rainbennett
Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/thestorytellinglab
YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/@RainBennett

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"I wasn't processing and dealing with my own stuff. Somehow I made my way back to storytelling. And that was really, if I could point to two things—my wife and story—those pulled me out." — Ret. Lt. Col. Scott Mann

Scott Mann spent nearly two decades as a Green Beret, but the most powerful weapon he ever wielded was his story.

In this episode, Scott breaks down rooftop leadership, the concept he coined in Afghanistan after watching storytelling and human connection turn frightened villagers into fighters. What he learned on those rooftops became the foundation for everything he now teaches about leadership, trust, and the courage to be relatable.

After leaving the military, Scott hit rock bottom, standing in his closet holding a pistol, lost and without purpose. Storytelling pulled him out.

Now he's an author, playwright, and the founder of a nonprofit helping veterans and first responders find their voice. His book The Generosity of Scars and his one-man shows Last Out and 11 Days are taking that message across the country and onto stages where veterans and civilians sit side by side and finally make sense of things together.

If you've ever wondered whether your story is worth telling, Scott Mann's answer is clear: it was never about you in the first place.

In this episode, you will learn to:
Use storytelling as a trust-building tool in any high-stakes, low-trust environment
Distinguish between vulnerability for its own sake and relatability as an intentional, powerful communication strategy
Understand what "autobiographical listening" means and why it explains how stories move people to action
Own your story rather than let it own you by working through it in the service of others
Recognize that your scars are not your wounds—they are your most generous gift to the people who need to hear them

Follow Scott Mann:
Website → https://www.scottmann.com
Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/greenberetscottmann

Books → The Generosity of Scars (out May 12th) and Operation Pineapple Express by Scott Mann
Plays → Last Out: Elegy of a Green Beret and 11 Days: The Story of Operation Pineapple Express
Nonprofit → Task Force Pineapple
Program → Take the Mic (storytelling coaching)

People Referenced: Steven Pressfield, Bo Eason, Dr. Diego Hernandez, Gary Sinise, Daniel Coyle, Daniel Pink

For more storytelling tips and strategies, visit:
Website → https://rainbennett.com
Podcast → https://thestorytellinglabpodcast.com

Or follow along at:
TikTok → https://www.tiktok.com/@chiefstorytellingofficer
Twitter/X → https://twitter.com/rainbennett
Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/rainbennett
Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/thestorytellinglab
YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/@RainBennett
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"When you live in alignment with your values, you cause yourself as little suffering as possible in the long term. And that one just always sticks with me because it's really challenging in the short term. But if you have faith in your values and who you are and how you want to show up in the world, then ultimately you're creating a path that's going to serve you for the long term." — Jon Bregel

What happens when the thing you love most… starts breaking you?

In this episode, Rain sits down with cinematographer, founder of Variable, and career/life coach for filmmakers, Jon Bregel, to unpack a reality most creatives don’t talk about enough: burnout.

After years of success in the film industry, Jon hit a breaking point that forced him to reevaluate everything—his career, his identity, and the story he was telling himself. That journey led him to create The Nourish Community, a space designed specifically to support the mental and emotional health of filmmakers.

This conversation goes beyond tactics. It’s about identity, purpose, and how to build a creative life that actually sustains you, instead of slowly draining you.

If you’re a filmmaker, creator, or entrepreneur feeling the pressure… this one hits close to home.

In this episode, you will learn to:
Recognize the early warning signs of creative burnout before it becomes a crisis
Use core values as a practical decision-making compass
Understand the difference between a life coach and a therapist and why creatives may need both for different reasons
Reframe career plateaus, pivots, and rest as seasons of inner growth rather than signs of failure
Build or seek out real community as a creative and understand why that distinction changes everything

Follow Jon Bregel:
Website → https://www.nourishcommunity.co
Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/jonbregel
Production Company → Variable (New York City)
Film Referenced: The Baltimorons — directed by J. Duplass, starring Michael Strassner (cinematography by Jon Bregel)

And, for more storytelling tips and strategies, visit:
Website → https://rainbennett.com
Podcast → https://thestorytellinglabpodcast.com

Or follow along at:
TikTok → https://www.tiktok.com/@chiefstorytellingofficer
Twitter/X → https://twitter.com/rainbennett
Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/rainbennett
Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/thestorytellinglab
YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/@RainBennett
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.