"If you want people to move, you have to move their hearts before you move their heads".
Ed Soo Hoo’s fascination with storytelling grew from a deep interest in how people make sense of ideas and change. Based in California he did not begin his career intending to become a storyteller. Instead his journey led him to recognise that stories are one of the most powerful tools humans use to communicate meaning influence behaviour and navigate change. Over time this realisation became a central part of his work.
His conversation with Steve Borges from leading experience design agency Biglight on The B2B Experience explores storytelling as a practical tool for influence alignment and overcoming resistance – for him storytelling isn’t a performance or entertainment but a practical discipline. It’s about helping people understand something deeply enough that they are willing to act on it. This is particularly important in organisational contexts where change is constant but acceptance is not guaranteed.
A recurring theme in the episode is the limitation of facts and data. Ed is clear that information alone rarely changes minds. People may intellectually agree with an argument while emotionally resisting its implications. This disconnect explains why well-reasoned strategies and transformation programmes often stall.
Storytelling fills this gap. By placing ideas in context and connecting them to human experience stories help people see why something matters. They allow abstract concepts to become concrete and relatable. In this way storytelling becomes a bridge between rational understanding and emotional acceptance.
Ed explains that storytelling is especially powerful in moments of change. When organisations ask people to adopt new behaviours processes or ways of thinking fear and uncertainty often surface. Stories help people imagine a future state and understand their place within it. This reduces resistance and builds confidence.
The episode explores how storytelling can be used to convince organisations to act. Ed describes how stories create shared meaning across diverse groups. Rather than debating isolated facts people align around a narrative that explains what is happening and why action is necessary. This alignment is critical for momentum.
Ed is careful to challenge the idea that storytelling is an innate talent. He argues that it is a skill that can be learned practiced and refined. Structure intention and awareness of audience matter more than charisma. This demystifies storytelling and makes it accessible to leaders and teams who might otherwise dismiss it as irrelevant.
Another important aspect of the conversation is how stories help overcome barriers to change. Resistance is often framed as stubbornness but Ed reframes it as confusion or fear. When people do not understand how change affects them they naturally hesitate. Stories address this by providing clarity and emotional reassurance.
Ed also discusses the role of storytelling in leadership. Leaders who rely solely on authority or data struggle to inspire commitment. Leaders who use stories effectively create trust and shared purpose. Storytelling becomes a way to humanise leadership and make direction feel meaningful rather than imposed.
The conversation touches on how storytelling connects to organisational culture. Stories reflect what organisations value and reinforce behaviour over time. When leaders are intentional about the stories they tell they shape how people interpret events and respond to challenges.
Ed emphasises that storytelling is not about manipulation. Authentic stories respect the audience and reflect real experiences. When stories are disconnected from reality people sense it immediately. Effective storytelling is grounded in truth and insight rather than spin.
Change requires more than rational argument. People need to emotionally understand why something matters. Storytelling helps overcome resistance by making change feel human. Leaders can learn to tell better stories through structure and practice. And organisations that use storytelling deliberately are better equipped to align people and move forward.
Ed’s conversation reframes storytelling as a critical capability for making change happen. In complex organisations where ideas compete for attention and resistance is common storytelling provides a way to connect logic emotion and action in a way that enables progress.
Topics connected to this episode
Why storytelling matters in organisations
The limitations of facts and data in driving change
Storytelling as a tool for influence and alignment
Overcoming resistance to change through narrative
Convincing organisations to act using stories
Storytelling as a learnable leadership skill
Using storytelling to create shared understanding
Storytelling in business
Storytelling for influence
Storytelling to drive change
Overcoming resistance to change
Leadership storytelling
Narrative frameworks
Communicating ideas effectively
Making change happen in organisations
Why storytelling builds trust, confidence and authenticity
How narrative becomes a leadership tool in complex B2B environments
Finding your voice through practice and self reflection
Why influence is created through resonance, not persuasion
How curiosity fuels transformation and makes teams braver
The New York keynote that changed Ed’s relationship with storytelling
Learning to use story as survival in childhood
Helping technical teams see themselves as leaders
Why storytelling is a tool for reflection, not manipulation
Moving from fearful to fearless through practice
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