Meet the tutor: Anthony ‘Tas’ Tasgal

How did you get into brand storytelling? Is it something you’ve always been interested in, or is it something you saw the importance of later in your career?
Before I started in the ad industry, I was a classicist. I spent a lot of time with Homer, not the yellow one, Virgil, not the Liverpool one, and Nero, not the coffee chain. I adored and admired the power of Greek and Roman mythology and some of the great orators like Cicero.

When I watched clients, research companies and even people in advertising present and devise communications, I thought - why are most of them formal and cold? Couldn’t we all learn something from great storytellers?

So, I started applying storytelling myself. I set up a training programme to evangelise the value of storytelling and gradually began lecturing and releasing my books.

It can be tempting to use complex words and ‘impressive’ language in our communications - how important is it to be clear and concise for persuasive writing?
I have an exercise in my upcoming Masterclass and my new book “The Storytelling Workbook” called Junk the Jargon. To paraphrase someone (if in doubt, Hemingway), smart people make complicated things simple. Dumb people do the opposite. We have a faux-veneration of management consultancy speak, which can act as a mask against meaninglessness. Use basic, human, emotional language: it’s the precursor to using storytelling properly.

Who or what inspires you the most and why? Are there any particular brands or public speakers you admire?
Comedians are my heroes. From Aristophanes to Woody Allen to Bill Bailey, they show us the world with wit in both senses and emotional resonance. My other domains of interest are Behavioural Economics and insight.

As for brands, I’ve got to go with Apple, Nike, the Royal Albert Hall, a client of mine, and Specsavers who just get it.

For anyone starting in your field, what three tips would you give them to cut through the noise?
Firstly, realise your challenge is to get through what I call “attention spam” [sic]. Our brains are machines designed to filter out and ignore most of the incoming messages they receive. So, how do you get through?

Related: Harness the power of storytelling to transform your communications

Find your Golden Thread. The biggest mistake you can make is to build a compendium of facts without anything to hold it together. The brain runs on coherence, so you need something that weaves ideas together - what I call, after the Theseus and Minotaur myth, the Golden Thread. Think about how much the language of weaving permeates communication: we often forget the word ‘text’ comes from the same root as ‘textile’.

Finally, develop your own voice, character and personality. Communication is not just what you say but how you say it: good brands like the ones I mentioned above know the importance of personality and tone.

What’s something most people may not know about you?
Most who know me are familiar with my reliance on Earl Grey, my obsession with etymology and my love of puns. Less well-known is that I am taller on Zoom.

We love reading recommendations, so tell us, what are you currently reading or have recently read?
For non-fiction, ‘Antony and Cleopatra’ by Adrian Goldsworthy, ‘Emotional’ by Leonard Mlodinow and the latest by Derren Brown.

Recent fiction books I’ve read include all of the classical myths re-interpreted by Madeleine Miller, Pat Barker, Jennifer Saint and the joyous Natalie Haynes.

I also loved ‘Lessons in Chemistry’, ‘Creatures of Passage’ and Franzen’s ‘Crossroads’. I also unexpectedly devoured ‘the Anomaly’, an airport thriller infused with French philosophy. But my major discovery is Steve Toltz; hysterical, existential and propulsive.

Finally, what do you hope attendees of your October masterclass will be able to take away with them?
The understanding that presentations, speeches and documents don’t have to be boring and that storytelling can make you a more powerful, persuasive and effective communicator. And happier, too.

Join Tas for his online masterclass, Harness the power of storytelling to transform your communications, on Wednesday 26 – Friday 28 October 2022.