Podcast Summary: Stories Over Surveys—Unlocking Human Truths About Work and Life
Podcast: Work For Humans
Host: Dart Lindsley
Guest: James Warren, Founder & CEO of Share More Stories
Air Date: September 30, 2025
Episode Overview
This episode explores the transformative power of stories in the workplace, particularly as tools for understanding employee and customer experiences more deeply than traditional surveys and numerical data. Dart Lindsley speaks with James Warren, whose company Share More Stories is at the forefront of integrating personal narratives and digital platforms to generate genuine insight and drive organizational change. Discussions center on why stories matter, how to structure prompts for real vulnerability, and the challenges—and profound benefits—of inviting employees and leaders to share and reflect on personal experiences.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
The Limits of Surveys vs. The Power of Stories
- Surveys provide summary statistics but lack emotional texture and the "why" behind experiences.
- Stories allow for nuance, emotional connection, and authentic insight.
- According to Warren, many employees have never truly been asked about their experiences, which creates a pent-up desire to share:
- “Because nobody ever asked me what I thought. And that, to me, is a huge opportunity and travesty.” — James Warren [00:03 / 29:08]
The Journey to Story-Centered Experience Design
- Warren’s background in storytelling and curiosity about sharing life experiences led to founding Share More Stories.
- The initial idea was a “better Facebook”—a place for authentic connection rather than opinion-sharing.
- Key early insight: People connect more deeply through the exchange of experiences than through exchanging opinions.
- The platform was co-created with the help of industry insight leaders seeking to uncover not just "what" and "how," but "why" people feel the way they do.
From Workshops to Scalable Technology
- Early methods featured in-person workshops focused on personal story writing, which created profound silence and engagement in participants [30:33].
- COVID-19 accelerated a shift to scalable, digital story collection—revealing that online, people were often even more vulnerable and introspective.
- Technology (IBM Watson, then custom LLMs) is used to analyze stories for emotional content, but interpretation remains human-centric and tailored.
Crafting Effective Prompts for Deep Reflection
- Specificity in prompts encourages deeper, more focused storytelling rather than “boxing people in.”
- Example prompt: “Tell us about a time you really belonged here or you didn’t. What was the situation? What were the signals?” [14:41]
- Dual framing of prompts (positive/negative) gives emotional "room" and allows respondents to navigate the full spectrum of experience [16:00-17:16].
What Counts as a Story?
- Stories can range from micro-incidents to macro life experiences; context matters.
- The platform encourages sensory recall (“What did you smell, see, hear?”) to evoke emotion and detail [17:37-19:44].
- Key reflection questions include:
- How did this make you feel?
- Of all possible stories, why did you share this one?
Storytelling as a Pathway to Emotional Truth
- The highest value of a story isn’t in factual precision but in relaying the emotional truth as remembered by the individual.
- “The most important thing they can tell us is not these are the 10 things that happened in order. It’s describing the experience in general and saying this is how it made me feel.” — James Warren [22:19]
- For brands and employers, what people remember happened shapes perceptions and loyalty more than what was “objectively” true.
Vulnerability in Leadership and Organizational Change
- Leaders are often uncomfortable with personal vulnerability, but their openness can unlock organizational transformation [36:08].
- “Just one act of vulnerability... can sometimes break something open that allows more to happen. It’s a fun thing to watch, especially with senior executives.” — James Warren [36:08]
- Group story-sharing uncovers universal experiences and builds empathy within teams, even when lived circumstances differ.
Translating Story Insights into Organizational Action
- Analysis provides three core outcomes:
- What kinds of experiences are people having with you?
- How do those experiences make them feel, and why does that matter?
- What should you do about it? [51:18]
- The challenge is finding leaders who value emotional insight and can translate findings into change, often at the senior or "experience" level of organizations [54:15-55:00].
- Organizations most ready for this work often have leaders with titles like Chief Experience Officer or CHRO.
The Deeper Promise of Story-Based Research
- For Warren, the work is never just about offering data to improve products or cultures; it’s about helping people see their own experience as valuable, giving hope and recognition as a core outcome [61:12].
- “I want people to experience more hope and revelation... there is something valuable in my lived experience.” — James Warren [61:12]
- Stories help people process and reveal what’s often “crushing” when left untold—referencing Dr. Maya Angelou:
- “There’s no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside of you.” [70:09]
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
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On why stories matter:
- “Surveys that generate summary ratings and averages... rarely tell us what it really feels like to be a human at work. Stories do.” — Dart Lindsley [00:26]
- “We probably have more opportunities to connect just as humans through really understanding and valuing one another’s experiences than we ever have... if we’re just trading opinions.” — James Warren [05:20]
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On leadership and vulnerability:
- “We tell leaders: Start from a place of vulnerability... because the impact you seek is actually going to require you to get in places that you’re very, very uncomfortable with, starting with yourself.” — James Warren [58:49]
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On scaling story collection:
- “When we moved workshops online, my biggest fear was we’d lose that impact... But [online] people were more vulnerable. They didn’t have to worry about judgment.” — James Warren [30:33]
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On the emotional cost of storytelling work:
- “I have to role model almost daily, all day, a vulnerability that I get kind of used to. But every now and then, I’ll feel exhausted by [it].” — James Warren [65:52]
Key Timestamps
- 00:03 / 29:08 — James recounts the importance of simply being asked and being heard, and the untapped opportunity it creates.
- 05:20 - 10:32 — Origin of Share More Stories; shift from “better Facebook” to storytelling as research/discovery.
- 13:42 — Surprising effectiveness of specific prompts for vulnerable storytelling.
- 17:37 - 19:44 — How to structure story prompts and what constitutes a “story.”
- 22:19 - 25:48 — The subjective truth of memory and emotion’s role in shaping brand perceptions.
- 30:33 - 36:44 — The transition to digital; the increased vulnerability of online storytelling.
- 51:18 - 54:15 — Translating rich, emotive story data into organizational decisions and the importance of “empathy at scale.”
- 54:15 - 58:49 — Who needs to own story-driven insights in the organization; role of leadership vulnerability.
- 61:12 - 62:50 — James’s personal mission: giving hope and revelation through storytelling.
- 65:52 - 67:40 — The emotional and existential cost of doing vulnerable work.
Takeaways for Listeners
- Stories go beyond numbers—they surface the reasons, motivations, and feelings that truly drive behavior and decision-making at work and in the marketplace.
- Leaders who embrace vulnerability and foster storytelling can unlock powerful insights and catalyze meaningful, personal, and organizational growth.
- Digital tools can scale emotional insight without losing depth, so long as the human element remains central.
- Storytelling is not just for consumer-facing brands—employee experiences, too, are made tangible and actionable through shared narratives.
Learn More
- Share More Stories: sharemorestories.com
- James Warren (LinkedIn): James Warren Seek
This episode offers a compelling blueprint for organizations seeking to go beyond metrics, listen at scale, and design work—and workplaces—people truly care about.