The Storytellers Edge

Ginger Zumaeta
  • 5.0 (2)
  • MARKETING
  • UPDATED BIWEEKLY

If they don’t understand it, they won’t write a check for it. Most business messages are too long, too vague, and too forgettable. If your audience doesn’t get what you do in 30 seconds or less, they’re already gone. Welcome to The Storyteller’s Edge—the podcast that helps you turn big ideas into sharp, clear, high-impact messages that drive real business results. Hosted by ”Ginger Zumaeta”—3x Emmy Award-winner, business messaging strategist, and author of ”Deckonomics®—this show delivers battle-tested storytelling techniques, real-world case studies, and expert insights.

  1. 5D AGO

    How to Lead When You Don't Have the Answer Yet

    Have you ever been asked a question in a meeting…and instantly felt the room lock onto you? Your brain searches. Nothing shows up. And suddenly the pressure isn’t about the question — it’s about who you are as a leader. In today’s episode of The Storyteller’s Edge, Ginger breaks down one of the most revealing moments leaders face: when they don’t have the answer yet — and everyone is watching how they handle it. You’ll hear the simple structure Ginger teaches executives to stay grounded, credible, and in control under pressure. HERE ARE THE 3 KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE: 1. The Room Isn’t Evaluating Your Knowledge It’s evaluating your center of gravity. When leaders scramble, hedge, or over-explain, the room reads it as instability. Authority isn’t proven by having every answer on demand — it’s proven by staying steady when one is missing. 2. Filling the Gap With Noise Erodes Trust Most leaders think the risk is saying, “I don’t know yet.” It’s not. The real risk is filling uncertainty with speculation, qualifiers, or unnecessary detail. Noise creates confusion, not confidence — and people feel it immediately. 3. Clarity Under Uncertainty Is a Skill Ginger shares a simple structure leaders use in high-stakes moments: Acknowledge the questionAnchor to what’s true right nowDefine the path to the real answerThis takes about ten seconds — and it instantly changes the power dynamic in the room. Want more? Subscribe so you never miss an episode of The Storyteller’s Edge. --- Storyteller’s Edge isn’t just a podcast—it’s also a newsletter. Get the insights delivered weekly to your inbox. Subscribe at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.motive3.com/newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Want to work with us contact us at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.motive3.com/contact-us ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Connect with Ginger: LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@gingerzumaeta⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ---- Subscribe and Review Hit subscribe and drop us a review! It helps more founders, execs, and brand leaders find the tools to make their messaging impossible to ignore. Thanks for listening to The Storyteller's Edge.

    7 min

  2. 12/09/2025

    The One Question That Instantly Sharpens Any Message

    Have you ever walked into a meeting knowing exactly what you want to say…only to hear yourself talking in circles once you open your mouth? You’re not alone, and you’re not a bad communicator. You’re just carrying too much knowledge into the room. In today’s episode of The Storyteller’s Edge, Ginger shares the simple question she teaches executives, founders, and teams to use before every high-stakes moment. This question cuts through the noise, clears out the mental clutter, and forces your sharpest point to rise to the surface. Once you start using it, you’ll wonder how you ever communicated without it. You’ll hear a real coaching story, the deeper reason smart leaders ramble, and how this one sentence becomes the anchor that makes your message retellable, which is ultimately the only thing that matters. HERE ARE THE 3 KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE: 1. The Curse of Knowledge Is Why You Ramble The more you know, the harder it is to see your idea through a beginner’s eyes. You start talking from your depth instead of their needs — which makes your message feel bloated, scattered, or slow. Clarity isn’t about knowing less; it’s about stripping away everything that doesn’t matter. 2. One Question Sharpens Everything Before you walk into any room, pause and say out loud:“The one thing I want them to remember is…” If your answer is longer than a sentence, keep refining. This single line becomes your filter. Every point either reinforces it OR distracts from it. 3. Your Message Must Be Retellable The people in the meeting are not the final audience. They will carry your point into other rooms, budget calls, and leadership discussions. If they can’t summarize your message in one clean sentence, your idea won’t travel, and won’t influence. Want more? Subscribe so you never miss an episode. ---- Storyteller’s Edge isn’t just a podcast—it’s also a newsletter. Get the insights delivered weekly to your inbox. Subscribe at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.motive3.com/newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Want to work with us contact us at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.motive3.com/contact-us ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Connect with Ginger: LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@gingerzumaeta⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ---- Subscribe and Review Hit subscribe and drop us a review! It helps more founders, execs, and brand leaders find the tools to make their messaging impossible to ignore. Thanks for listening to The Storyteller's Edge.

    8 min

  3. 11/14/2025

    The Danger of Letting AI Think for You

    We’ve all done it...typed, “Hey ChatGPT, make this sound better.” And yeah, it’ll polish your words. But if your message is muddy to begin with, all you get back is a cleaner version of the confusion. In this episode of The Storyteller’s Edge, Ginger Zumaeta breaks down the real danger of outsourcing clarity to AI—and how to flip it into your secret weapon. Here’s what you’ll learn: → Why AI multiplies the mud when your thinking isn’t clear → The 4 things AI can’t do for you (and why that matters) → The exact prompts Ginger uses to pressure-test, sharpen, and trim her messaging → A step-by-step process for using AI as a thought partner—not a writer → How to make sure the story, structure, and strategy come from you --- Storyteller’s Edge isn’t just a podcast—it’s also a newsletter. Get the insights delivered weekly to your inbox. Same sharp takes, fresh frameworks, (GPT prompts) zero fluff. Subscribe at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.motive3.com/newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Want to work with us contact us at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.motive3.com/contact-us ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Connect with Ginger: LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@gingerzumaeta⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ---- Subscribe and Review If this episode gave you clarity, sparked an idea, or made you rethink your message, don’t keep it to yourself. Hit subscribe and drop us a review! It helps more founders, execs, and brand leaders find the tools to make their messaging impossible to ignore. Thanks for listening to The Storyteller's Edge.

    11 min

  4. 10/19/2025

    The 5 Messaging Moves That Scale With You

    No one tells you this when you start a business, but explaining what you do is way harder than building the damn thing. At first, it’s easy. You talk about it every day. You live it. You’re close to it. Then you grow. More people. More products. More markets. (Great problem to have, right?) But here’s what happens next: Your sales team is pitching one thing, your marketing team another, and your website sounds like it was written three years ago. By the time you finish explaining what you do, your audience is more confused than convinced. Confused prospects don’t buy. In this episode, Ginger Zumaeta breaks down the five messaging moves that scale with you, so your story doesn’t crack under pressure. → The 5 Messaging Moves That Scale: Clarify Your Core Message — The one sentence that defines your value. Build a Scalable Messaging Framework — Structure that every team can plug into. Simplify with Specificity — Ditch the jargon, keep the detail that matters. Evolve with Proof — Replace opinions with real-world wins and credibility. Stay Consistent Across Teams — Because clarity only counts if it shows up everywhere. → A Simple Framework You Can Steal:The Problem We Solve → How We Fix It → Why It Matters. The same structure Motive3 uses to align teams and sharpen narratives. ---- Want to go deeper? Explore how Messaging Playbooks give organizations a repeatable system to lock in positioning, define their buyer, and align every department around a unified message. 👉 Watch here: https://www.motive3.com/insights/what-a-messaging-playbook-is-and-what-it-isnt --- Storyteller’s Edge isn’t just a podcast—it’s also a newsletter. Get the insights delivered weekly to your inbox. Same sharp takes, fresh frameworks, (GPT prompts) zero fluff. Subscribe at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.motive3.com/newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Want to work with us contact us at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.motive3.com/contact-us ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Connect with Ginger: LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@gingerzumaeta⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ---- Subscribe and Review If this episode gave you clarity, sparked an idea, or made you rethink your message, don’t keep it to yourself. Hit subscribe and drop us a review! It helps more founders, execs, and brand leaders find the tools to make their messaging impossible to ignore. Thanks for listening to The Storyteller's Edge.

    13 min

  5. 10/08/2025

    Every Investor Is Scanning for One Thing: Inevitability

    Every investor is asking one question—whether they say it out loud or not: Is this going to happen with or without me? If the answer feels like yes, the whole decision changes. It’s no longer “Should I take a risk on this?” It becomes “Can I afford to miss out?” In this episode, Ginger Zumaeta breaks down why inevitability—not excitement—is the real signal investors look for, and how to build it into your deck so your story moves from possibility to conviction. Here’s what you’ll learn: → Why inevitability outperforms hype every time → The 3 signals of inevitability that make your pitch magnetic: Market Shift: The change that’s already underway Traction Evidence: Proof that momentum is real Strategic Positioning: Why you’re the team to capture it → How to structure your deck so investors stop evaluating and start acting When investors feel inevitability, they stop debating your idea. They start deciding how fast they can get on board. Want to go deeper? Check out Ginger’s new self-paced course, The High-Stakes Presentation Blueprint, built on her Deckonomics® framework. It’s the same process she teaches leaders at Fortune 500 companies to turn complex ideas into clear, persuasive stories that drive decisions: https://www.gingerzumaeta.com/high-stakes-presentation-course --- Storyteller’s Edge isn’t just a podcast—it’s also a newsletter. Get the insights delivered weekly to your inbox. Same sharp takes, fresh frameworks, (GPT prompts) zero fluff. Subscribe at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.motive3.com/newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Want to work with us contact us at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.motive3.com/contact-us ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Connect with Ginger: LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@gingerzumaeta⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ---- Subscribe and Review If this episode gave you clarity, sparked an idea, or made you rethink your message, don’t keep it to yourself. Hit subscribe and drop us a review! It helps more founders, execs, and brand leaders find the tools to make their messaging impossible to ignore. Thanks for listening to The Storyteller's Edge.

    12 min

  6. 10/03/2025

    The Work You Do vs. The Story They Tell

    You’ve probably been told: Do great work and you’ll get noticed. But here’s the truth—great work whispers unless you give it a microphone. In this episode of The Storyteller’s Edge, Ginger Zumaeta breaks down the gap between the work you do and the story people tell about it. She explains why visibility—not just merit—drives careers forward, and how to make sure your impact travels without feeling like self-promotion. Here’s what you’ll learn: → Why meritocracy is a myth (and why great work doesn’t always speak for itself) → The 3 hidden levers of visibility: Narrative, Sponsorship, Political Skill → How imposter syndrome shows up even in the most capable leaders—and how to fight it with evidence → The SARCA framework (Situation, Action, Result, Credibility, Ask) that turns your wins into stories that spread → A simple 30-Day Visibility Challenge to put it into practice Here’s your challenge for this week: Pick two upcoming meetings or reviews and script out your story using SARCA. Identify two people who can amplify your message and tailor your story for each. Drop your narrative into existing touchpoints instead of waiting for a perfect moment. Because if people can’t retell your impact in one crisp sentence, your work stays invisible. And invisible doesn’t get promoted. --- Storyteller’s Edge isn’t just a podcast—it’s also a newsletter. Get the insights delivered weekly to your inbox. Same sharp takes, fresh frameworks, (GPT prompts) zero fluff. Subscribe at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.motive3.com/newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Want to work with us contact us at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.motive3.com/contact-us ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Connect with Ginger: LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@gingerzumaeta⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ---- Subscribe and Review If this episode gave you clarity, sparked an idea, or made you rethink your message, don’t keep it to yourself. Hit subscribe and drop us a review! It helps more founders, execs, and brand leaders find the tools to make their messaging impossible to ignore. Thanks for listening to The Storyteller's Edge.

    13 min

  7. 09/21/2025

    3 Steps to Finding (and Keeping) the Right Audience

    Before you sign off on the next marketing budget. Are you absolutely certain your dollars are going toward the buyers who actually move the needle? In this episode of The Storyteller’s Edge, Ginger Zumaeta unpacks one of the most strategic calls you’ll ever make: choosing your true audience. She shows why some companies win (Canva) and others stall (Slack, JCPenney) not because of product quality, but because of audience clarity. Here’s what you’ll learn: → The 3 questions that reveal your real core audience → Why the competitors your board obsesses over may not actually matter → How segmenting buyers makes your message sharper, not more complex → The “single narrative, multiple lenses” method to tailor messages without losing consistency Here is a 4-question Audience Alignment Audit to run with your leadership team. Compare answers across marketing, sales, product, and finance: What category are we trying to own? Who do we really lose to? Which audience delivers the highest ROI? Where are we spreading too thin? If the answers don’t line up, you don’t just have a messaging problem—you have a strategy problem. --- Storyteller’s Edge isn’t just a podcast—it’s also a newsletter. Get the insights delivered weekly to your inbox. Same sharp takes, fresh frameworks, (GPT prompts) zero fluff. Subscribe at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.motive3.com/newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Want to work with us contact us at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.motive3.com/contact-us ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Connect with Ginger: LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@gingerzumaeta⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ---- Subscribe and Review If this episode gave you clarity, sparked an idea, or made you rethink your message, don’t keep it to yourself. Hit subscribe and drop us a review! It helps more founders, execs, and brand leaders find the tools to make their messaging impossible to ignore. Thanks for listening to The Storyteller's Edge.

    10 min

  8. 09/12/2025

    Why Repetition Is the Secret to Being Remembered

    We all resist repeating ourselves. It feels boring. Stale. Maybe even inauthentic. But here’s the truth: repetition breeds familiarity, and familiarity breeds belief and trust. Our brains run on patterns. Sirens mean pull over. Smoke means fire. A swoosh means Nike. None of those are accidents, they’re associations deliberately built through repetition. In this episode of The Storyteller’s Edge, Ginger Zumaeta reframes repetition as pattern ownership, and shows how leaders can use it to make their message unforgettable. Here’s what you’ll learn: → Why repetition and the mere exposure effect make messages stick → How to decide what you want to be known for (and stick to it) → A 3-tier system to repeat your message without sounding stale Framework Highlight: Think of your message as a pyramid: Core Line (the non-negotiable pattern you want remembered)Variant Language (different ways to say it for different audiences)Proof & Stories (rotating examples that reinforce the same point)--- Storyteller’s Edge isn’t just a podcast—it’s also a newsletter. Get the insights delivered weekly to your inbox. Same sharp takes, fresh frameworks, (GPT prompts) zero fluff. Subscribe at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.motive3.com/newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Want to work with us contact us at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.motive3.com/contact-us ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Connect with Ginger: LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@gingerzumaeta⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ---- Subscribe and Review If this episode gave you clarity, sparked an idea, or made you rethink your message, don’t keep it to yourself. Hit subscribe and drop us a review! It helps more founders, execs, and brand leaders find the tools to make their messaging impossible to ignore. Thanks for listening to The Storyteller's Edge.

    15 min
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5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

If they don’t understand it, they won’t write a check for it. Most business messages are too long, too vague, and too forgettable. If your audience doesn’t get what you do in 30 seconds or less, they’re already gone. Welcome to The Storyteller’s Edge—the podcast that helps you turn big ideas into sharp, clear, high-impact messages that drive real business results. Hosted by ”Ginger Zumaeta”—3x Emmy Award-winner, business messaging strategist, and author of ”Deckonomics®—this show delivers battle-tested storytelling techniques, real-world case studies, and expert insights.

Information

  • Creator
    Ginger Zumaeta
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    27
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Ginger Zumaeta
  • Show Website
    The Storytellers Edge