S08 E19: The Internal Navigation of Storytelling

In preparation for his upcoming two-part conversation with emotional researcher and author Karla McLaren, Michael McRay explores why emotions are the fundamental architecture of all storytelling. Drawing from his work with David Hutchins in the Storytelling Leader program, Michael addresses the common pitfall of leaders who shy away from emotion in their stories, mistakenly believing that emotional storytelling means crying in front of their teams. Michael shares how Karla's work revolutionized his understanding that every emotion exists because we need it - fear as a signal, sadness as a release, anger as an alarm, and shame as an alignment check. He challenges the common emotional trinity of "happy, mad, and sad" and advocates for emotional fluency as both a survival skill and essential component of narrative intelligence. In this episode, he also discusses:

• How emotion serves as the GPS of narrative, telling us where we are in a story and what matters most
• The revolutionary concept that there are no positive or negative emotions
• Why viewing emotions as trustworthy guides instead of obstacles to overcome changes how we navigate the narratives of our lives
• How emotional language reveals the invisible threads that connect events into stories we can feel and relate to

Coming Up Soon

• A two-part conversation with Karla McLaren, researcher and author of "The Art of Empathy" and "The Language of Emotions"
• STORY 2025 - October 9th and 10th in Nashville, TN at the Schermerhorn (use code PODCAST100 for $100 your ticket)
• Experiential Narrative Practice certification training - October 6th-8th
• Michael's book "The Wild Way: Navigating the Space Between the Old Story and the New" releasing in October

Resources Mentioned

• The Storytelling Leader
• Join The Circle