Stories With Traction

Matt Zaun
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The Stories With Traction Podcast was created to empower leaders to elevate their businesses through the art of strategic storytelling. By engaging clients and inspiring team members, leaders can significantly impact the world around them. Each episode offers insights into storytelling, marketing, sales, company culture, and leadership, providing practical tools to drive growth and influence positive change. Tune in to transform your approach and lead with purpose.

  1. 3 hr ago

    #205: Why Success Can’t Heal You

    SHOW NOTES: In this episode of Stories With Traction, Matt Zaun sits down with Randy Lyman for a powerful conversation about emotional awareness, leadership, vulnerability, and personal growth. Randy shares how unresolved emotions can quietly shape our decision-making, relationships, and leadership style, and why true strength comes not from suppressing emotions, but from learning how to understand and work through them. He explains how fear, anger, shame, and past pain often surface in business settings, and how greater awareness can help leaders respond with greater clarity, calm, and confidence. Matt and Randy also discuss vulnerability in leadership, the difference between manipulation and inspiration, the role empathy plays in building trust, and how personal pain can deepen our ability to connect with others. Randy opens up about his journey from being bullied as a young teen to building businesses in the automotive industry, and eventually discovering the emotional work that transformed both his life and leadership. This episode is filled with practical wisdom for leaders who want to become more grounded, self-aware, and effective not just in business, but in life. RANDY BIO: Randy Lyman helps leaders find greater clarity, calm, confidence, and success by helping them better understand themselves and the emotional patterns that shape their lives and leadership. With a background in physics and business, along with decades of entrepreneurial experience, Randy brings a unique perspective to personal growth and leadership development. He blends logic, emotional awareness, and real-life experience to help people identify their strengths, work through internal obstacles, and build a better life for themselves and their families. Randy is also the author of The Third Element, in which he explores the connection among thoughts, actions, and emotions and how understanding all three can transform every area of life. MATT BIO: Matt Zaun is an award-winning speaker, storyteller, and strategic communication advisor who helps leaders and organizations use storytelling to build trust, inspire action, and create stronger connections. Through keynote speaking, workshops, consulting, and his podcast Stories With Traction, Matt equips executives, sales teams, and leaders with practical ways to communicate more effectively and more memorably.

    35 min

  2. 16 Jun

    #204: Why Your Team Still Doesn’t Get It

    SHOW NOTES: In this episode of Stories With Traction, Matt Zaun sits down with Lee Caraher to unpack one of the most important and misunderstood skills in leadership: communication. Lee shares why so many leaders mistakenly assume that because they said something once, their team understood it. She explains why head nods can be misleading, why repetition is essential, and why “they should know this already” is one of the biggest red flags in organizational communication. Matt and Lee also discuss how leaders can communicate more effectively across multiple channels, why AI should support communication rather than replace it, and how vulnerability can strengthen trust when used wisely. This conversation is packed with practical insights for leaders who want to reduce confusion, build stronger teams, and communicate in a way that actually lands. LEE BIO: Lee Caraher helps businesses and people achieve their goals through communication. She is the founder of Double Forte and the author of Millennials & Management and The Boomerang Principle. Lee works with leaders and organizations to improve communication, strengthen teams, and build cultures where people can thrive. MATT BIO: Matt Zaun is an award-winning speaker, storyteller, and strategic communication advisor who helps leaders and organizations use storytelling to build trust, inspire action, and create stronger connections. Through keynote speaking, workshops, consulting, and his podcast Stories With Traction, Matt equips executives, sales teams, and leaders with practical ways to communicate more effectively and more memorably.

    37 min

  3. 2 Jun

    #203: The Hidden Psychology of Money

    SHOW NOTES: In this episode, Matt Zaun sits down with DonJay Rice for a thoughtful and practical conversation about money behaviors, identity, fear, family, and emotional health. DonJay explains that unhealthy money behaviors are rarely just about dollars and cents. They often reveal something deeper: fear, grief, control, guilt, or a misplaced sense of safety and identity. Together, Matt and DonJay unpack how money can quietly become a coping mechanism, how success can mask deeper emotional struggles, and why some of the most “financially responsible” habits can actually be destructive. They also explore retirement, over-saving, workaholism, financial enabling of children, and how unresolved childhood experiences can shape adult money patterns. DonJay shares pieces of his own story growing up in poverty, losing his mother at age 12, and becoming intensely driven by fear, and explains how that shaped his relationship with work, success, and security. This episode is a powerful reminder that money is never just about money. It is often tied to identity, safety, relationships, grief, and purpose.

    44 min

  4. 26 May

    #202: What Makes an Event Unforgettable

    SHOW NOTES: In this episode of Stories With Traction, Matt Zaun sits down with Mark Mallchok of Brella for a fascinating conversation about what actually makes an event memorable. Mark shares why great events are about far more than logistics, schedules, and content. He explains how the best events create real human connection, intentional engagement, and unforgettable experiences that people carry with them long after they leave the room. Matt and Mark unpack the psychology of audience attention, why too many events fail by cramming in too much content, and how planners can achieve stronger ROI by focusing on transformation rather than just information. They also explore why location matters so much, how every 10 minutes of an event should include an engagement shift, and why participants need to feel like active contributors, not passive spectators. If you care about leadership, communication, audience engagement, conferences, or creating experiences that truly resonate, this episode is packed with practical insight.

    34 min

  5. 19 May

    #201: Fearless Pricing

    SHOW NOTES: In this episode of Stories With Traction, Matt Zaun sits down with Casey Brown, pricing expert, speaker, and author of Fearless Pricing, to unpack one of the biggest profit leaks in business: discounting too quickly, too deeply, and too often. Casey explains why most pricing decisions are driven by fear, why so many sales teams negotiate against themselves before the customer ever pushes back, and why underpricing is often less about strategy and more about mindset. This conversation explores the psychology behind pricing, how value should shape your pricing decisions, why customers often say “too expensive” when they really mean something else, and how to communicate price with far more confidence. If you lead a company, sell a product, run a service business, or ever find yourself hesitating before quoting your price, this episode is packed with insight.

    43 min

  6. 14 May

    Episode 200: The Story Behind the Storyteller

    SHOW NOTES: For this special 200th episode of Stories With Traction, we’re flipping the script. Instead of Matt Zaun interviewing a guest, GT Freeman of TLC Connections sits down with Matt for a conversation about leadership, communication, and the transformative power of story. Matt shares why storytelling is not just a nice addition to leadership communication; it is one of the most powerful tools leaders have for building trust, creating clarity, and inspiring action. He opens up about his own unlikely journey into public speaking, from intense social anxiety and a disastrous early political speech to becoming a sought-after speaker who has delivered talks across the country. Together, GT and Matt explore how stories help leaders move beyond data dumps and directives to create real connections. They discuss the structure of compelling stories, why reps and discomfort matter so much in becoming a better communicator, and how storytelling can shape company culture, strengthen sales, and deepen leadership effectiveness. Matt also shares a deeply personal story that reshaped the direction of his business and his understanding of human connection. Whether you’re a CEO, team leader, teacher, entrepreneur, or parent, this episode will challenge you to rethink how you communicate and why stories remain one of the most human, memorable, and motivating tools we have.

    54 min

  7. 5 May

    #199: Your CRM Isn’t Broken. Your Sales Process Is.

    SHOW NOTES: In this episode, Matt Zaun sits down with Jason Kramer of Cultivize to talk about sales process, CRM systems, AI, follow-up, and the costly mistakes companies make when they try to scale without a clear process. Jason shares how businesses can simplify the path from lead to close, reduce wasted time, and create more profitable systems for both sales and customer management. The conversation also dives into Jason’s entrepreneurial journey, what he learned from building and selling a marketing agency, and why having the right experts around you can dramatically change the trajectory of a business.

    39 min

  8. 28 Apr

    #198: What Honduras Taught Him About Business, Gratitude, and Growth

    SHOW NOTES: In this episode of Stories With Traction, Matt Zaun sits down with Nick Martin of MainStreet IT for a conversation about leadership, customer experience, technology, gratitude, and the realities of building a business from the ground up. Nick shares why so many people dislike working with IT teams, what makes MainStreet IT different, and how great customer experience is built in the margins. He also opens up about his early dreams of playing for Penn State and the Philadelphia Eagles, the life-changing impact of serving in Honduras, and how that experience reshaped his worldview. The conversation also explores entrepreneurship, sales, AI, cybersecurity, and the role technology should play inside a business. Throughout the episode, Nick offers practical wisdom on how leaders can think more clearly about service, teamwork, risk, and perspective.

    39 min
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About

The Stories With Traction Podcast was created to empower leaders to elevate their businesses through the art of strategic storytelling. By engaging clients and inspiring team members, leaders can significantly impact the world around them. Each episode offers insights into storytelling, marketing, sales, company culture, and leadership, providing practical tools to drive growth and influence positive change. Tune in to transform your approach and lead with purpose.

Information

  • Creator
    Matt Zaun
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    205
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Stories With Traction
  • Show Website
    Stories With Traction