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AI + Storytelling secrets from a former Microsoft AI Ambassador 🤐

✍️ How to tell compelling stories with AI, Meta takes on OpenAI with its own GPT-4, how to get better answers from ChatGPT, and more!

Author

Everyday AI
September 11, 2023

Outsmart The Future

Sup y'all!

Today's episode was packed with sooooo much value, I had to drop a note about it. But the most valuable thing? A free gift from today’s guest, Doug himself!

He's gonna give you his time and help you or your brand craft better stories. Read on to the end for more on that, and let your inner storyteller run wild.

✌️

Jordan

Today in Everyday AI
7 minute read

🎙 Daily Podcast Episode: Storytelling is a crucial skill needed to captivate your audience. But sometimes we can lose the story if we rely too much on AI. How can you find the balance? Give today’s show a listen.

🕵️‍♂️ Fresh Finds: Have your website be discoverable and ranked by AI-powered search engines, NVIDIA’s AI dominance affecting startup funding, and how prisoners in Finland are training AI. Read on for Fresh Finds.

🗞 Byte Sized Daily AI News: Meta takes on OpenAI with its own GPT-4, Google pledges $1 billion to Responsible AI Fund, and Tech Titans are set to talk AI with Congress. For that and more, read on for Byte Sized News.

🚀 AI In 5: Ever felt like ChatGPT could give you even better answers? Cue the Consensus Search ChatGPT plugin! We show you how to use it. See how here

🧠 Learn & Leveraging AI: Storytelling is a crucial part of capturing the attention of your audience. So how can you do that while using AI? Keep reading for that!

↩️ Don’t miss out: Did you miss our last newsletter? We talked about the future of HR with AI, Microsoft's AI having copyright trouble, and creating viral vertical clips from your long-form videos! Check it here!

The Art of Storytelling – Secret Insights From a Microsoft AI Ambassador 📖

The ability to tell a captivating story to your customers and/or readers is a crucial skill.

Sometimes storytelling can be lost when using AI for content creation. Finding the balance between the two can be challenging.

So what does an expert storyteller and former Microsoft AI Ambassador have to say about it?

Let’s find out!

Doug Thompson, founder of The Doug Thompson LLC, joins us to discuss how you can tell stories with AI.

Join the conversation and ask Doug and Jordan any questions about AI and storytelling.

Also on the pod today:

• How to tell a story 📖
• The power of storytelling in pitches 🗣
• The challenges of "expensive" AI tools 💵

It’ll be worth your 35 minutes:

Listen on our site:

Click to listen

Subscribe and listen on your favorite podcast platform

Listen on:

Here’s our favorite AI finds from across the web:

New AI Tool Spotlight – AI Score My Site helps you find out if your website can be discovered and ranked by AI-powered search engines, Soft Skills Cloud helps you improve your writing with an AI coach, and CMD+ allows you to create AI time-saving keyboard shortcuts.

The Money in AI – NVIDIA’s dominance in AI chips has hurt many AI startups from being funded.

Future of Work - Finland is having its prisoners train AI. Seems legit...right?

AI in Science – A new study found that computers that use heat instead of electricity could run more efficient AI.

Read This – AI seems to be coming for every job. Except for the CEO. But how could AI improve a CEO role?

1. Meta Takes on OpenAI with Its Own GPT-4 🥊

Meta's stepping up its AI game, unveiling a new model that's set to rival OpenAI's GPT-4, Google, and even Apple. The tech giant aims to redefine the chatbot landscape. With such heavy hitters in the AI arena, the competition is heating up. Want to know how Meta plans to outshine its rivals? Get the full lowdown here.

2. Google Pledges $1 Billion To Responsible AI Fund 💰

Google announced a hefty pledge towards its "Responsible AI" fund. The fund is a commitment to ethical, transparent, and accountable AI development. In a world where AI's influence is growing, Google's stance could shape the industry's future.

3. AI Can Make Software Faster and Cheaper Than Humans! 💻

A new study reveals AI can now whip up software in under 7 minutes for less than a dollar. It's a game-changer for developers and businesses, promising efficiency without breaking the bank. Wondering if this is the future of software development? Check out the groundbreaking findings here.

4. Tech Titans Take the Stand in Congress 🏛️

It's not every day you see tech moguls like Musk, Zuckerberg, and Gates heading to Congress. But they're set to testify in a high-profile meeting, discussing all things AI. With such influential voices in the room, the future of AI policy is on the line.

5. AI in US Elections: Public Opinion Weighs In 🗳️

AI's role in US elections is a hot topic, and a new Axios-Morning Consult poll is shedding light on public sentiment. The results? Let's just say opinions are divided. As AI continues to shape our world, its role in democracy is under the microscope. Interested in where the public stands on this issue? Dive into the poll's insights here.

Get Better Answers From ChatGPT 🧠

Ever felt like ChatGPT could give you even better answers?

Enter Consensus Search ChatGPT plugin!

In this review, we dive into how this plugin can supercharge your ChatGPT experience and deliver more precise results.

🤷‍♂️ What’s Going On and Why It Matters:

There’s a lot of garbage content out there.

See, the good thing about GenAI is also the bad thing about GenAI: it’s soooooo easy to create content.

But what if that content is …. Kinda bad?

We tackled that subject and a whole lot more on using AI in storytelling today with Doug Tompson, founder of TheDougThompson.com.

Doug brought a super unique perspective to today’s show — he’s a seasoned storyteller who also has a background in tech and AI at Microsoft AI.

And he gave us some clutch pointers on how we can still tap into AI without falling into the trap of creating mediocre content that sounds like it came from a robot. Beep boop.

From the role of AI in storytelling to maintaining your voice to the use of story arch and the hero’s journey, Doug took us on an adventure of captivating readers’ attention with compelling tales.

Ready to open the book? 📚

Let’s get after it.

🦾How You Can Leverage:

This is how stories should be told.

If you missed out on today’s episode, you missed insights on AI and storytelling insights that few people in the world are as qualified to give.

Doug has wowed on the TedX stage, delivered more than 400 presentations as a speaker, and worked 20 years at Microsoft covering roles from Tech Strategist to AI Ambassador.

Long story short — Doug lives at the intersection of AI and storytelling. And boy, did he have stories to tell.

You should probably take the time to listen to today’s conversation. If you need the nuggets-only version, we’ve got ya!

1 –Storytelling is a secret skill 🤐

Like any great craft, storytelling is caught, not taught.

Doug mentioned how storytelling is like a secret skill, as it’s something that most people don’t learn in school. Yet, it’s one of the most desired skillsets in all aspects of your work-life, from marketing and sales to advertising and communication. If you can’t tell a story, you’ve got your work cut out for you.

Try this: If you’re looking for a secret ChatGPT prompt to turn you into a masterful storyteller, this section ain’t it. (Again, caught, not taught!) Rather, check out some great storytellers that Doug mentioned: Steve Jobs’ famous speech introducing the iPod or Simon Sinek’s ‘Start with Why’ talk.

2 – You have two minutes ⏰

Two minutes. That’s all you’ve got, y’all.

(We’d even say you have less than that sometimes!) Doug talked about the importance of capturing your audience’s attention immediately. Like, now. Whether you’re in the boardroom pitching or crafting an email meant to sell, your storytelling skills can’t take too much time to unravel.

Try this: Take Doug’s advice and start where the audience lives. If you can understand your audience’s context and desires, you can craft a compelling opening that immediately grabs their attention. How to use AI in that? Use ChatGPT to explore in-depth about your audience’s pain points, desires and solutions they want. You can try a prompt as simple as this:

In my role as (description of your role/company/job), I’m creating a presentation on (your topic), geared at (very specific description of your target audience). Please give me 5 examples of customer archetypes, and for each archetype, please give me 10 of their most pressing pain points as it relates to (your product/service/offering category). Then, please list out, in detail, ways that (your actual product/service/offering) can help address those paint points.

3 – Maintain your human voice 👱

This one’s like tip-toeing a tightrope.

AI-powered content can help you tell more emotion-evoking stories, but it can just as easily give your audience, ‘This sounds robotic, Beep-boop’ vibes. How to strike the balance? Doug cut it straight: use tools like ChatGPT to better understand your audience and to get started crafting effective stories. But, you’ve gotta keep the human touch intertwined throughout.

Try this: Start with human input, and end with human edits. If you’re tapping in some AI help in creating your next piece of content or big pitch, ensure that you have proper human input throughout. Check out this previous episode on making AI content sound less robotic. And most importantly, check out the ‘Now this’ below! 👇

Now This …

You made it this far? You’re in luck! Go connect with Doug on LinkedIn , send him a message and tell him Jordan from Everyday AI sent ya! He’s gonna give the first 20 people who hit him up a free storytelling session. Yes — you’re gonna get a 1-on-1 on storytelling from a pro’s pro!

Go do that pronto! 🏃

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