Carmine Gallo is a communication coach who has worked with brands including Intel, Coca-Cola and LinkedIn. — Articles - Carmine Gallo.

Infographic for "Lessons from Carmine Gallo".

On the Power of Storytelling

  1. On Emotion and Memory: Carmine Gallo: "When the brain detects, an emotionally charged event, anger, fear, surprise, it actually releases DOPAMINE in the system, acting as a mental post-it note, saying remember this." — Sell Your Ideas the Steve Jobs Way by Carmine Gallo (Transcript).
  2. On What Audiences Actually Remember: Carmine Gallo: "Sometimes the most memorable parts of a presentation are not about what’s on the slide, and yet we spend 98% of our time getting the fonts just right and the right images." — Sell Your Ideas the Steve Jobs Way by Carmine Gallo (Transcript).
  3. On Words on Slides: Carmine Gallo: "In fact, too many words on a slide is actually very difficult for the brain to process because, according to John Medina who I talk to, the brain interprets every letter as a picture, so what happens is the brain is literally choking on text." — Sell Your Ideas the Steve Jobs Way by Carmine Gallo (Transcript).
  4. On Dreaming Bigger: Carmine Gallo: "Dream bigger, see genius in your craziness, believe in yourself, believe in your ideas, and above all, deliver and communicate those ideas with confidence, clarity, and passion." — Sell Your Ideas the Steve Jobs Way by Carmine Gallo (Transcript).
  5. On Making Big Numbers Memorable: Carmine Gallo: "When John Chambers, the CEO, was giving presentations on it, in every presentation, and in every interview, he rarely even used the number 322 terabits, but he did say powerful enough to stream every movie ever made in four minutes." — Sell Your Ideas the Steve Jobs Way by Carmine Gallo (Transcript).
  6. On Practicing Under Pressure: Carmine Gallo: "Public speakers have the same thing, and I think one of the solutions is to practice like a professional golfer does, and practice under extreme conditions and a little stress to get used to being on that first tee." — Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos & the Secret to Unforgettable Communication | Carmine Gallo (ep. 197) - Talk About Talk.
  7. On Persuasion in History: Carmine Gallo: "Almost every major event throughout history, if you study it or read about it, there’s always someone who triggered that event, and they had to be really persuasive." — Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos & the Secret to Unforgettable Communication | Carmine Gallo (ep. 197) - Talk About Talk.
  8. On Holding Back: Carmine Gallo: "As you progress through a career and you see people who reach the top who are extraordinary speakers, they tend to do what we’re recommending here, which is holding back on a lot of information and only giving the audience the information they need to know." — Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos & the Secret to Unforgettable Communication | Carmine Gallo (ep. 197) - Talk About Talk.
  9. On Simplifying Your Structure: Carmine Gallo: "Making your structure just a little simpler to follow, pulling out some key phrases, ask it to simplify your writing, and the first thing it’ll do is start identifying jargon and unfamiliar words." — Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos & the Secret to Unforgettable Communication | Carmine Gallo (ep. 197) - Talk About Talk.
  10. On Messaging Around a Bigger Mission: Carmine Gallo: "Steve Jobs created this, this presentation of messaging around, Apple would be the only one to stand in, in IBM’s way and make the world safer, us creative people in the world." — Sell Your Ideas the Steve Jobs Way by Carmine Gallo (Transcript).
  11. On Crafting the Narrative First: Carmine Gallo: "Craft the narrative before designing the presentation." — Indezine interview with Carmine Gallo (carminegallo.com).
  12. On the Vulnerability in Personal Stories: Carmine Gallo: "It’s hard for people to tell personal stories. They feel as though they’re lowering a shield and exposing a vulnerability." — Lisa B. Marshall interview, The Public Speaker (Quick and Dirty Tips).
  13. On Stories and Company Purpose: Carmine Gallo: "Stories are one of the best ways to share a company’s purpose." — Carmine Gallo, “Brands Leverage Power of Storytelling To Court Top Job Candidates” (carminegallo.com).
  14. On Storytelling as a Building Block: Carmine Gallo: "Storytelling is the fundamental building block of communication." — Carmine Gallo, “Brands Leverage Power of Storytelling To Court Top Job Candidates” (carminegallo.com).
  15. On Personal Stories: Carmine Gallo: "Telling personal stories is the single best way to make an emotional connection with your listener." — Carmine Gallo, “Talk Like A Leader, Talk Like TED” (carminegallo.com).

On Passion and Inspiration

  1. On What Storytelling Unlocks: Carmine Gallo: "Storytelling is the secret to career advancement, social media success, selling products, building brands and launching movements." — Indezine interview: The Storyteller’s Secret.
  2. On Friendly, Passionate People: Carmine Gallo: "The Apple Store understands that the secret to an outstanding customer service starts with friendly, passionate staff." — Carmine Gallo, “2013: The Year of the Customer Experience” (carminegallo.com).
  3. On Buying Into a Story: Carmine Gallo: "You see, people don’t want to buy a product as much as they want to buy into a story." — Indezine interview: The Storyteller’s Secret.
  4. On Ideas Wrapped in Story: Carmine Gallo: "Ideas that catch on are wrapped in a story." — Indezine interview: The Storyteller’s Secret.
  5. On What Stories Do: Carmine Gallo: "Stories inform, illuminate and inspire." — Indezine interview: The Storyteller’s Secret.
  6. On Vision as Direction: Carmine Gallo: "Passion is the fuel that gives you energy to pursue your dreams, but vision gives the rocket direction." — Carmine Gallo, “The Legacy of Steve Jobs” (carminegallo.com).
  7. On Inviting Participation: Carmine Gallo: "I interviewed more than two dozen inspiring leaders for my book, Fire Them Up, and I learned that extraordinary leaders go well beyond listening — they invite participation." — Carmine Gallo, “Motivate Staff by Inviting Participation” (carminegallo.com).

On Presentation and Public Speaking

  1. On Facts and Movements: Carmine Gallo: "Facts don’t trigger movements; stories do." — Lisa B. Marshall interview, The Public Speaker (Quick and Dirty Tips).
  2. On Heavy Text and Bullet Points: Carmine Gallo: "Slides that contain heavy text, words, and bullet points are the least persuasive way of changing hearts and minds." — Indezine interview with Carmine Gallo (carminegallo.com).
  3. On Eliminating Clutter: Carmine Gallo: "Your customers demand simplicity and simplicity requires that you eliminate anything that clutters the user experience — whether it be in product design, Web site navigation, marketing and advertising materials and presentation slides." — Carmine Gallo, “The Legacy of Steve Jobs” (carminegallo.com).
  4. On Keeping It to Eighteen Minutes: Carmine Gallo: "TED organizers have found that 18 minutes is the ideal amount of time to have a serious discussion without putting your audience to sleep." — Carmine Gallo, “Talk Like A Leader, Talk Like TED” (carminegallo.com).
  5. On the Story Coming First: Carmine Gallo: "The story must come first." — Indezine interview with Carmine Gallo (carminegallo.com).
  6. On Short-Term Memory and Three Messages: Carmine Gallo: "Simply put, we can only remember about three to five key messages in short term memory." — Carmine Gallo, “Talk Like A Leader, Talk Like TED” (carminegallo.com).
  7. On Pictures and Text: Carmine Gallo: "Text on a slide detracts from the story you’re telling. Show more pictures than words." — Lisa B. Marshall interview, The Public Speaker (Quick and Dirty Tips).
  8. On Heroes and Villains: Carmine Gallo: "Second, always have a villain and a hero." — Lisa B. Marshall interview, The Public Speaker (Quick and Dirty Tips).
  9. On Internalizing Your Content: Carmine Gallo: "The single best way to reduce nerves is to internalize your content." — Carmine Gallo, “3 Ways to Ease Your Presentation Jitters” (carminegallo.com).
  10. On the Formula for Improvement: Carmine Gallo: "The formula for improvement is the same for public speaking as it is for any other activity: learn something new, practice it, and you’ll get better step by step." — Indezine interview: Viral Voices.
  11. On What Audiences Care About: Carmine Gallo: "Nobody cares about your company or product. They care about themselves, their dreams, and their goals." — Carmine Gallo, “The Legacy of Steve Jobs” (carminegallo.com).
  12. On Simple Words for Complex Ideas: Carmine Gallo: "Bezos spoke in metaphor, and he always wrote ideas, no matter how complex, with words that were simple, understandable, and actionable." — Indezine interview: The Bezos Blueprint.
  13. On Inspiring Others: Carmine Gallo: "You will never be a leader unless you inspire those around you." — Indezine interview: Fire Them Up!.
  14. On Humor Without Jokes: Carmine Gallo: "Most leaders are not comedians." — Carmine Gallo, “Talk Like A Leader, Talk Like TED” (carminegallo.com).
  15. On Persuasion as a Learnable Skill: Carmine Gallo: "Anyone can learn to be more persuasive. Anyone can learn to be a better speaker and communicator." — Indezine interview: Five Stars.
  16. On Keeping the Story in the Spotlight: Carmine Gallo: "Everything else, like PowerPoint or social media videos, enhances the story you tell, but the story must take the spotlight." — Indezine interview: Viral Voices.
  17. On the First Ten Seconds: Carmine Gallo: "A customer’s perception of their experience begins to be formed in the first ten seconds of an interaction." — Carmine Gallo on the five secrets revealed in the Apple Genius manual (carminegallo.com).
  18. On Articulating a Bold Vision: Carmine Gallo: "Articulate a bold vision with communication skills and give your team and colleagues the direction they crave." — Carmine Gallo, “The Legacy of Steve Jobs” (carminegallo.com).

On Career and Personal Growth

  1. On Communication as a Human Edge: Carmine Gallo: "Skills like communication, long considered “soft skills,” are the ones that will give humans an edge that no machine can replace." — Indezine interview: Five Stars.
  2. On Great Speakers: Carmine Gallo: "Great speakers are made, not born." — Indezine interview: The Bezos Blueprint.
  3. On Writing as the Start: Carmine Gallo: "Great communication starts with strong writing." — Indezine interview: The Bezos Blueprint.
  4. On Convincing Others to Act: Carmine Gallo: "You can have a great idea, but the secret to success in any endeavor is convincing someone else to take action on your idea." — Indezine interview: The Bezos Blueprint.
  5. On Day One Learning: Carmine Gallo: "The Day One mindset isn’t about the skills you failed to learn yesterday; it’s about learning new skills to avoid failing in the future." — Indezine interview: The Bezos Blueprint.
  6. On Practicing the Pitch That Matters: Carmine Gallo: "Most leaders I know practice their golf swing far more than they’ve rehearsed a pitch that can make or break their business." — Carmine Gallo, “Talk Like A Leader, Talk Like TED” (carminegallo.com).
  7. On Ideas That Must Be Communicated: Carmine Gallo: "But in the information age, if you cannot communicate your idea persuasively in a succinct, compelling pitch or presentation, it doesn’t matter." — Carmine Gallo, “Talk Like A Leader, Talk Like TED” (carminegallo.com).
  8. On Who We Are: Carmine Gallo: "Storytelling is not something we do. Storytelling is who we are." — Carmine Gallo, “Brands Leverage Power of Storytelling To Court Top Job Candidates” (carminegallo.com).
  9. On Hours of Practice: Carmine Gallo: "It takes hours and hours of practice to get to this point." — Carmine Gallo, “3 Ways to Ease Your Presentation Jitters” (carminegallo.com).
  10. On Struggle and Character: Carmine Gallo: "Struggle develops character. Share it." — Lisa B. Marshall interview, The Public Speaker (Quick and Dirty Tips).
  11. On Culture as a Story: Carmine Gallo: "In business as in life, great storytellers build great cultures — and great culture attracts and motivates great people." — Carmine Gallo, “Brands Leverage Power of Storytelling To Court Top Job Candidates” (carminegallo.com).
  12. On Advocacy for Ideas: Carmine Gallo: "Ideas don’t sell themselves. They need an advocate, a champion." — Indezine interview: Five Stars.
  13. On Shared Meaning at Work: Carmine Gallo: "Your employees or colleagues at work are no different. They want to participate in something meaningful." — Carmine Gallo, “Motivate Staff by Inviting Participation” (carminegallo.com).
  14. On Soft Skills: Carmine Gallo: "Effective communication skills are no longer ‘soft.’ They’re fundamental to your success." — Indezine interview: Viral Voices.
  15. On Standing Out in a Knowledge Economy: Carmine Gallo: "It’s an information age; it’s a knowledge economy; the ability to persuasively connect your ideas and the work you’re doing to the bigger picture is critical in enabling you to stand out from all the noise, especially in IT departments in large companies." — Presentation Skills Linked to Career Success, Survey Finds (IT Business Edge interview, carminegallo.com)
  16. On Presentation Skills and Promotion: Carmine Gallo: "I know for a fact that it is very difficult to advance beyond a certain stage in management if you are not rated highly on your presentation skills." — Presentation Skills Linked to Career Success, Survey Finds (IT Business Edge interview, carminegallo.com)
  17. On Breaking Up a Presentation: Carmine Gallo: "It’s important to break up your presentation into 10-minute chunks, and there’s science behind this. People will start to lose their attention within about 10 minutes." — Presentation Skills Linked to Career Success, Survey Finds (IT Business Edge interview, carminegallo.com)
  18. On Engaging the Audience: Carmine Gallo: "What you need to do is engage the audience through your presentation." — Presentation Skills Linked to Career Success, Survey Finds (IT Business Edge interview, carminegallo.com)
  19. On Packaging Information to Stand Out: Carmine Gallo: "In every pitch, every presentation, you have to figure out a way to package the information in a way that stands out, that’s new, novel, unexpected" — 3 Public Speaking Secrets From the Most Successful TED Talks (Business Insider interview, carminegallo.com)
  20. On Stories as Case Studies: Carmine Gallo: "You don’t have to talk about your kid like Sheryl Sandberg did, a story can be a case study" — 3 Public Speaking Secrets From the Most Successful TED Talks (Business Insider interview, carminegallo.com)
  21. On Three Reasons to Invest: Carmine Gallo: "I always advise people when they’re pitching a new product or talking to a reporter, give them three reasons, three new features that are interesting in the product, three reasons to invest in you." — 3 Public Speaking Secrets From the Most Successful TED Talks (Business Insider interview, carminegallo.com)
  22. On Shared Vision: Carmine Gallo: "Nothing great happens without a shared vision of a bright future." — Articles Praises Livermore’s Planning Vision (carminegallo.com)
  23. On Sticking With Facts and Figures: Carmine Gallo: "Your competitors would love nothing more than for you to stick with facts and figures." — Lisa B. Marshall interview, The Public Speaker (Quick and Dirty Tips)
  24. On Stories Versus Anecdotes: Carmine Gallo: "A story has characters, a backstory, triumph and struggle." — Lisa B. Marshall interview, The Public Speaker (Quick and Dirty Tips)
  25. On the Obligation to Inspire: Carmine Gallo: "Each and every one of us has the ability, and I would argue, the obligation, to inspire, motivate, and positively influence everyone in our personal and professional lives." — Indezine interview: Fire Them Up!
  26. On the Payoff of Persuasion: Carmine Gallo: "Master the art of persuasion and you’ll land better jobs, get promoted more quickly, sell more products, build more sustainable companies and inspire teams." — Indezine interview: Five Stars
  27. On Innovation and Communication: Carmine Gallo: "Innovation requires intelligent human beings with excellent communication skills." — Indezine interview: The Bezos Blueprint
  28. On Differentiating Yourself in the Age of AI: Carmine Gallo: "In the age of AI, it’s crucial that you differentiate yourself and stand out." — Indezine interview: Viral Voices
  29. On Using TED Techniques Anywhere: Carmine Gallo: "What I’m most excited about is the fact that anyone can incorporate these techniques into their very next pitch or presentation, even if they never set foot on a TED stage." — Indezine interview: Talk Like TED