Ideas
The thinking behind the work.
This site is where Ian’s speaking and workshop work lives. The long-form writing, frameworks and tools are published at Signal & Story.
Frameworks
Three things used in almost every room.
SSO
Setup · Shift · Outcome
Establish the world, move it, then say what that means for the people in front of you. The rhythm underneath almost anything worth listening to.
RACTI
Reminder · Answer · Context · Tension · Impact
An order of operations for explaining something to a busy, sceptical audience without burying the point on slide nineteen.
The 5Cs
Customer · Challenge · Context · Capability · Credibility
The customer-centric pitching methodology. Start where the customer is, and earn the right to talk about yourself last.
Published thinking
Currently on the page.
A selection of what is live at Signal & Story right now. The full archive keeps growing there.
- 01
Why Organisations Keep Winning and Learning Nothing
- 02
Narrative Is Not Communication. It Is Infrastructure.
- 03
Setup, Shift, Outcome: The Simplest Way to Explain Change That Actually Works
- 04
Why Recognition Without Meaning Fails
- 05
AI Has a Narrative Problem Before It Has a Technology Problem
Principles
Four preferences that decide most arguments.
Practitioner
over theorist
Active
over passive
Specific
over generic
Clear
over clever
Signal & Story
The principles, tools and programmes behind Ian’s approach to communication.
If you want the thinking read, it is over there. If you want it applied to your team, that is usually a workshop.