"You were the most interested person in the room, and you're gonna get love." - Maury Rogow

Maury Rogow is all about storytelling. He is the CEO of the Rip Media Group and creator of the Story2Sales methodology that's generated over $150 million in trackable revenue for clients. I appreciate the tag line, "Your brand will thrive or die, based on the story you tell."

Maury's unique journey spans high-tech success and Hollywood storytelling. He built his business career at companies like Avaya, Lucent Technologies, and GeoTel—a startup that sold to Cisco Systems for over $1 billion. He then pivoted to Hollywood, serving as executive producer for feature films like "Bedrooms" and "Enter The Dangerous Mind," and working with industry legends including the creator of the Batman franchise.

Today, Maury combines business acumen with cinematic storytelling to help Fortune 1000 companies like Comcast, Kaiser Permanente, and Ben & Jerry's create compelling brand narratives. His approach recognizes that in our noise-filled marketplace, every company must master storytelling to survive and thrive.

Maury has proven that great stories don't just entertain—they sell. He's written several books, with his latest on the horizon being "Your Story Can Be Your Superpower - Selling in an AI world." He has been featured in Forbes, Inc., and Entrepreneur magazines.

In this episode of Curated Questions, host Ken Woodward engages with Maury Rogow, CEO of RipMedia Group, to explore the transformative power of questions in both personal and professional contexts. Maury shares pivotal moments in his career, from telecommunications to Hollywood, emphasizing how a single question can change a transactional relationship into a meaningful connection.

The discussion covers the importance of storytelling, the benefits of embracing unique traits, the impact of framing on emotional responses, and effective strategies for leveraging questions in sales and daily life. Maury also offers practical advice on finding balance in business, the role of AI in asking the right questions, and shares key resources and techniques for developing better questioning skills. Listeners are encouraged to take on an audience challenge to spend a day asking only questions and to reflect on the impact it has on their interactions.

This Curated Questions episode can be found on all major platforms and at CuratedQuestions.com.

Keep questioning!

"It is much safer to be vulnerable than you might think." - Ashley Kirsner

Ashley is the founder and director of Skip the Small Talk, and believes in the efficacy of high-quality person-to-person interaction for improving psychological health. She has conducted research with professors at prestigious organizations such as Cornell University, the Harvard Decision Science Lab, and the Harvard Business School, on social and clinical psychology topics ranging from decision-making and implicit biases to facial expressions in borderline personality disorder patients.

Ashley gained hands-on therapeutic experience as a suicide hotline phone responder and as a peer counselor at Cornell. Ashley received her B.A. in Psychology from Cornell University and turned down acceptances to doctorate programs in order to devote her time to Skip the Small Talk. She received a fellowship from the Harvard Divinity School for individuals who have demonstrated a social impact in the domain of creating meaningful communities. Skip The Small Talk events are regularly held internationally, as well as an online options.

In this engaging episode of 'Curated Questions,' host Ken Woodward sits down with Ashley Kirsner, the founder and director of 'Skip the Small Talk.' They explore the transformative power of meaningful conversations, the science behind vulnerability, and the surprising benefits of structured social interactions.

Ashley shares her experiences from the suicide hotline, her inspiration for starting 'Skip the Small Talk,' and how intentional question design can foster deeper human connections. The conversation also delves into the physiological benefits of social interactions, ethical considerations in community building, and the importance of creating safe spaces for vulnerability. Tune in to learn how these insights can help you build stronger, more authentic relationships in your own life.

This Curated Questions episode can be found on all major platforms and at CuratedQuestions.com.

Keep questioning!