Better Tomorrow Message - The Chief Storyteller

Deliver THE Expected Experience with Your Better Tomorrow Message™

THE Expected Experience ™ is not just a standard you meet once. It is the consistent quality others expect from you at every touch point. Where you deliberately deliver excellence in every spoken word, written communication, and social interaction. And when you deliver consistently… the standard moves higher and higher. Making you THE bridge to their better tomorrow. This is where your Better Tomorrow Message ™ becomes your secret weapon.

THE Expected Experience starts with one powerful truth

Your audience will pay attention to you if you solve THEIR problems or address THEIR issues.

Here are 9 telling insights on communications to inspire you to think differently as you communicate your value, your Expected Experience ™. All backed by rigorous research.

Audiences form impressions about your competence in as little as 30 seconds (N. Ambady et al., Source)
You have 15 seconds to grab attention in today’s executive environment (P. Zack, Source)
Stanford studies show decision-makers remember stories 12 times more effectively than statistics (C. Heath, et al., Source)
73% of impact from statistics fades after one day vs. only 32% of impact from stories (T. Graeber et. al, Source)
High-trust companies report 106% more energy and 76% more engagement at work (P. Zack, Source)
The greater the audience’s understanding of the story, the more closely their brain wave patterns will mirror those of the storyteller. (G. Stephens et al., Source)
Board directors expect executives to speak their language by framing insights with understandable metrics (Price Waterhouse Coopers & The Conference Board, Source)
We forget 40% to 70% of what we learned by the end of the first day (H. Ebbinghaus, Source)
People find information that is easy to digest more accurate than information they have to think about (M. S. McGlone et al.)

The difference between leaders who inspire and those who inform comes down to this: compelling messages that solve problems, evoke emotion, and inspire action.

Samantha, Director of R&D in a ~$90M organization, learned this the hard way. The door to the elevator opened and she was greeted by a “Good morning, Samantha” from Venkat, her CEO. He asked, “So, what’s new and exciting?”

In that very moment, Samantha knew she had mere seconds to explain her project’s value. Technical specs. Budget numbers. Implementation timelines. By the time the doors opened at the floor, Venkat smiled again, and said, “Good to see you.” Samantha’s idea was politely rejected.

Three months later, same elevator, same project. Now, a different approach. Samantha delivered her elevator pitch with a powerful and compelling Better Tomorrow Message ™. Venkat leaned forward and said, “Walk with me. Tell me more.”

Funding was approved that month.

What transforms good executives into great communicators

Your Better Tomorrow Message ™ is the specific feeling you want to evoke in your audience. It summarizes the central idea of your communication in a highly memorable short statement of fewer than 10 words.

Think headline. Think hook. Think what makes your audience nod and say, “Yes, this matters to me. Tell me more!”

Unlike stories you tell at parties, workplace stories must solve your audience’s problem or address their issue. You must frame change. You must connect hearts and minds simultaneously.

The Better Tomorrow Message Requires 5 Non-Negotiables

Your Better Tomorrow Message ™ should be thought of as a universal message. A message your audience is already familiar with AND your audience agrees is important to their personal and professional goals. Imagine your audience nodding in the affirmative as you share your story, presentation, speech, etc. When your audience nods in the affirmative, you have both touched their hearts and reached their minds.

Your BTM™ evokes the emotion you want people to feel during and after hearing your message. Your Better Tomorrow Message ™ summarizes the most integral components of the story, presentation, speech, etc. and reiterates the message in 10 words or less. Why 10 words? Because you want your BTM™ to be like a headline in a magazine or newspaper or an email subject line. Short. Memorable. Inspiring. Impactful.

To be that highly effective communicator and thought leader, your Better Tomorrow Message ™, must:

Solve a Problem
Be Memorable
Evoke Emotion
Be Relevant
Inspire Action

Let’s take a look at these five characteristics. Following the characteristics are a variety of BTM™ examples.

1. Solve a Problem

Your BTM™ should solve a problem for your audience–the most important problem or issue. Strong messages establish the issue your audience wants to change or improve. Without this foundation, they wonder why they should care about your topic.

For personal messages, frame the BTM™ around specific behavioral change.

For organizational success stories, demonstrate how your solutions solved stakeholder challenges.

For organizational sales success stories, compare and contrast with and without your solution.

The problem becomes your hook. The solution becomes your value.

2. Be Memorable

Your Better Tomorrow Message ™ should be a memorable lesson learned, that universal message your audience immediately understands. Transition your lesson into a catchy, “aha” moment statement. Your message sticks in their memory like a favorite song.

What you are trying to get across to audiences should stick with them. This message should match your brand or individual goals so that audiences have a consistent idea to remember you by. A Better Tomorrow Message ™ that is well-remembered continuously attracts and influences the right audiences.

Ten words or less. Magazine headline length. Email subject line impact. Short. Memorable. Inspiring. Impactful.

3. Evoke Emotion

Dr. Gerald Zaltman found that 95% of purchasing decisions are subconscious. Emotion is what really drives the purchasing behaviors, and also, decision making in general.

As a result, your BTM™ should evoke the emotion you want people to feel after hearing or reading your story, presentation, speech, etc. Create a feeling when people read or hear your message to enable audiences to connect to you, a brand, and an idea faster and with higher impact.

Your BTM™ touches hearts while reaching minds. Create the feeling that enables faster connection and higher impact. The power of emotion drives the action you desire. When your audience nods affirmatively during your communications (e.g., elevator pitch, story, and presentation), you’ve achieved emotional resonance.

4. Be Relevant

Audiences form impressions about your competence in as little as 30 seconds (N. Ambady et al.). And Dr. Zack says you have 15 seconds to grab attention. As such, your BTM™ must be relevant to your audience.

Your audience’s ability to relate to your message enhances their connection to you and your organization. This further emphasizes why audiences should care and what they should take away from the message.

The greater the audience’s understanding of the story, the more closely their brain wave patterns will mirror those of the storyteller. (G. Stephens et al.)

A BTM™ tailored to your audience ensures it has the power to influence as it resonates and is relevant.

5. Inspire Action

Your BTM™ creates the feeling. Your Call-To-Action (CTA) directs the action. Together, they inspire behavioral change. Tell your audience specifically how you want them to think, feel, and act differently. This change anchors your entire story, presentation, speech, etc.

Together, you want these two key parts of every great communication to inspire action.

Are your messages, stories, and engagement materials helping to achieve your goals? If not, contact us. Let’s have a conversation.

Better Tomorrow Message – Organization & Success Story Examples

Below are a variety of Better Tomorrow Message ™ examples developed by The Chief Storyteller ® team for organizations from around the world. Since 2002, we have developed thousands of BTMs™ for government organizations, associations, non-profits, charities, fast-growing firms, and Fortune 500 companies. Please note over time, some organizations have changed their BTMs™ from what we have included below.

We create workplace happiness™

Organization: Transwestern Commercial Services
Read Success Story

By including “happiness” in its BTM™, people automatically attribute Transwestern with that emotion. There is an age-old adage: “People do business with those they like, know, and trust.” This message talks to the CFO, who gets better pricing, talks to the employees, who get a better workplace environment, and talks to the CEO, who ensures the CFO and employees are happy.

Application
Our team worked with Bob, the Managing Partner, to develop a BTM™ that embodied both Bob’s team culture and senior corporate leaders. Bob and his team build credibility instantly with their compelling elevator pitch. They grew revenue more quickly. And a fun fact, Bob changed the title on his business card to “Chief Happiness Officer.”

We connect successful professionals to brands people crave™

Organization: Yum! Brands Franchising

Yum! Brands is excellent in summarizing its franchising operations and goals in its BTM™. It is clear it works to bring together individuals and brands to create great customer experiences. Including “crave” in the BTM™ is smart in connecting to the food industry to make it more memorable.

Application
Yum! Brands Franchising engaged us to develop a unified message, its BTM™. And then to ensure its new foundational message was synchronized throughout its System of Credibility™ — website, franchising materials, email and outreach campaigns, engagement scripts, organizational success stories, franchising development elevator pitch, and personal stories to build rapport and credibility.

We are the champions of healthy living™

Organization: American Diabetes Association^®

This BTM™ emphasizes the American Diabetes Association®‘s primary goal of achieving healthy living for everyone. People can immediately relate to this since good health is a concern for all of us. The BTM™ also helps establish the ADA as a leader in helping those with diabetes and identifying an end goal of helping patients live healthy lives.

Application
The ADA’s sponsorship team asked us to develop a stronger, more compelling corporate sponsorship story to increase corporate sponsorship, increase sponsorship investment, and accelerate the contract signing process. We developed a new BTM™, elevator pitch, and sponsorship presentation and helped the team with practice and delivery.

We help you buy knowledge a better way™

Organization: FEDLINK, Library of Congress
Read Success Story
Even a renowned organization such as the Library of Congress needed a BTM™ to attract more organizations throughout the three branches of government to use its FEDLINK services. Its Better Tomorrow Message ™ of helping procure the right knowledge emphasizes the benefit of its services that come with faster, easier, and lower cost acquisition.

Application
We worked with the FEDLINK leadership team first on its ideal user profile (persona). Then we developed the powerful BTM™ and elevator pitch. We culled through numerous customer accounts to develop a set of engaging and compelling success stories/use cases to include in its new capabilities presentation. The Chief Storyteller^® team helped FEDLINK become THE Federal government procurement Executive Agent for over $515M in information products.

We Transform Experiences™

Organization: The Companies of Nassal
Read Success Story

The Companies of Nassal (TCON) are known around the world for creating experiences. For more than 40 years with more than 3,5000 clients, they have helped create award-winning destinations, attractions, and experiences for leading global brands. Examples include theme parks, cultural exhibits, historic landmarks, museums, water parks, heritage parks, and themed restaurants. TCON needed one BTM™ for each of its three brands and one to bring them together.

Application
We spent time with the leadership teams of the various brands. We helped develop their ideal client profiles, Better Tomorrow Messages™, elevator pitches, sales presentations, customer success stories, and website content.

Here are the four BTMs™:

We transform experiences™ – The Companies of Nassal
We build memories™ – Nassal
We build culture™ – Lexington
We deliver destinations™ – Nfusion

We build healthier communities through partnerships™

Organization: Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Read Success Story

CHANES, a specialty program in the CDC, targets community health problems in their BTM™. This organization forms partnerships with community leaders to create a healthier community. This BTM™ simply states to audiences, the CDC’s goal of helping communities to be healthier.

Application
We developed a unified set of internal and outreach communication materials, with a compelling Better Tomorrow Message™ for the CDC’s stakeholders around the United States. The materials improved confidence in the team when delivering the new compelling message. We also developed a new, simplified engagement process / engagement framework for the team to follow for building relationships with community leadership teams. The efforts helped the CDC secure several million dollars in funding for new and existing programs.

We are like a hotel for business™

Organization: Carr Workplaces
Read Success Story

This BTM™ uses the power of a metaphor/simile to make Carr Workplaces brand clear and memorable. Carr Workplaces has a passion for delivering the ultimate customer service experience. This passion became an immediately recognizable value proposition of “like a hotel for business.”

Application
We helped Carr Workplaces develop its BTM™, elevator pitch, and supporting digital and print materials throughout its System of Credibility™. The sales team hit 300% of quota in the first month.

We help you breathe better™

Organization: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

This is an excellent example of a BTM™ solving a problem. The BTM™ clearly outlines the Environmental Protection Agency’s goal of cleaning the environment of contamination so that people can breathe better. The priority of people’s health and well-being is clearly outlined, making it relevant to audiences.

Application
We helped team members at the EPA in Research Triangle Park, NC develop more persuasive and more compelling internal and external elevator pitches for budget requests, cross-agency collaboration, strategic messaging, and partnering with state, industry, and Federal agencies.

We build futures™

Organization: United Negro College Fund Special Programs

This inspiring message brings a sense of hope to those looking for a better life. The United Negro College Fund Special Programs uses its strength to provide students better opportunities for the future in this meaningful BTM™. Hope for the future drives people to take action and use its services.

Application
We developed the anchor message and supporting elevator pitch to help the UNCFSP establish, build, and maintain relationships between the diverse and high-performing minority education community and the private industry.

We make healthcare safer™

Organization: Carrtech
Read Success Story

CEO, Sue Carr, is a seasoned pharmacist with decades of experience under her belt. She saw a (big) problem with healthcare today — unnecessary needle sticks associated with dispensing medicine. She came to us to simplify her complex technical and medical messages so that her idea for the FROG^® (Filter Removal of Glass) would open doors to investors and partners. “Making Healthcare Safer” immediately conveys a message of safety, solving a problem for hospitals, pharmacists, and healthcare professionals.

Application
We worked with the Carrtech team on its sales and marketing materials and individually, Sue’s public speaking. Today, Carrtech has raised over $1M in investment. Sue has been recognized throughout the Washington, DC metropolitan area for her innovative ideas, including the DCA Live 2021 New Power Women of DC Tech award. She has won multiple investment presentation competitions. And Carrtech was accepted into a variety of accelerators.

We are action architects™

Organization: Netstrategies
Read Success Story

Netstrategies is a fast-growing media technology company that needed to differentiate itself. We worked with co-founders, Rodney and John, to rethink, reposition, and develop a sales-based story that immediately engaged prospects. “Action Architects” immediately conveys that Netstrategies is all about helping its clients architect better experiences that inspire action in their prospects..

Application
Netstrategies increased average revenue per customer by 75%.

We help Third Sector Leaders be exceptional™

Organization: Chief Officers 3^rd Sector (CO³) Northern Ireland

Established in 1985, CO³ is a leading membership-based organization that supports, develops, and connects Third Sector (charity) leaders in Northern Ireland. Its BTM™ resonates with its stakeholders because of their shared goals. People want leaders to exceed expectations for the greater good. And CO³ clearly connects to doing good by creating a message that identifies helping charity leaders be “exceptional.”

Application
We worked with the leadership team at CO³ in Northern Ireland. Our CEO, Ira Koretsky, spent several days on-site helping with its System of Credibility™. Ira started with the development of key personas for CO³‘s partners, members, sponsors, volunteers, and government partners. Ira collaborated on its new Better Tomorrow Message™, elevator pitch, website content, outreach messaging/script, target relationship plan, and more. Years later, CO³ continues to use the powerful BTM™ at the center of its System of Credibility™, to amplify its impact in Northern Ireland, growing its membership and sponsorship. And most importantly, amplify the impact of its member charity organizations in helping Northern Ireland be a better place for everyone.

We bring innovative medicines to patients™

Organization: Brace Pharma Capital

Founded in 2013, Brace Pharma Capital is a strategic investment firm formed by EMS S/A (the largest pharmaceutical company in Brazil) and high net worth biotech investors. It invests in innovative, life-changing therapies for diseases with a high degree of unmet medical need and insufficient treatment options. Commonly referred to as orphan drugs, Brace Pharma Capital’s BTM™ relates both to prospective investors and prospective drug companies. Its target customer base wants to ensure it is afforded the best possible pharmaceutical care, and this BTM™ effectively communicates the prioritization of patients.

Application
We worked with the leadership team of Brace Pharma on its System of Credibility™. We first developed the ideal company investment profile, followed by its Better Tomorrow Message ™ and elevator pitch. The team then designed the website layout and structure and wrote the content narrative. Lastly, we developed a high-impact investment presentation. Nearly a decade later, Brace Pharma continues to use the powerful BTM™ at the center of its System of Credibility™. Brace Pharma has successfully invested more than $300 M in more than 25 portfolio companies from around the world, with 6 exits.

We help you make your information work for you™

Organization: The Chief Information Group
Read Success Story

Mike, CEO of TCIG, wanted to capture his team’s passion and ideas and turn them into a story-centered, sales message that would immediately resonate with TCIG’s corporate and government stakeholders. TCIG positioned itself as a new type of services company that focused on business needs first and technology needs second. And they focused the benefits into a phrase complementary to its BTM™, a high ROI — a high Return on Information.

Application
TCIG quadrupled annual revenue based on just six months of working with The Chief Storyteller^®.

Sponsorship has always been a good business decision™

Organization: Americans All®
Read Success Story

Allan looked to us to create a development-driven and audience-centered message that inspired donors, partners, and sponsors to act.

Application
For the first time in 22 years, Americans All® has one easily understood and unifying message. We developed a succinct and must-read story from hundreds of pages of materials dating back to 1984. We developed a sponsorship presentation / capabilities presentation with supporting tools potentially worth millions in new revenue. Also, we created supporting materials such as website content, messages and positioning statements, solicitation emails, and more. The new messaging and materials throughout Allan’s System of Credibility™ started opening doors previously closed at several Fortune 100 companies.

Better Tomorrow Message – Personal Story Examples

The following are BTMs™ from personal stories told in the workplace. Some The Chief Storyteller ^® developed, some come from Ira Koretsky’s students (he’s an adjunct professor teaching public speaking, storytelling, communications, presentations, and data storyteller), and some come from our own research where the BTM™ met each of the must-have five characteristics of a highly effective Better Tomorrow Message ™.