This episode of PR After Hours is all about storytelling, not the soft, hand-wavy kind, but the kind that actually works.
My guest is Tom Mulligan, longtime PR After Hours favorite and a sharp thinker on how stories drive persuasion, especially in sales, marketing, and leadership. We dig into what it really means to flip the script when you’re trying to engage an audience, whether that audience is a client, a boardroom, or a reader.
We talk about why every good story needs a clear ending, not just a strong opening, and how too many pitches fall apart because the storyteller hasn’t decided where they’re going. Tom pulls examples from books, real-world sales conversations, and his own writing to show how structure creates confidence.
We also get into AI, specifically its role as an editor rather than a creator. If you want honesty, Claude will give it to you, mercilessly. We discuss why AI works best as an additive tool, helping sharpen structure, expose weak spots, and force clarity, rather than pretending it can replace judgment or voice.
Along the way, we cover:
Why storytelling is a sales skill, not a creative indulgence
How knowing the ending changes everything that comes before it
The difference between subtractive and additive storytelling
What AI does well, what it does badly, and why it doesn’t care about your feelings
How to use structure as a form of respect for your audience
And because it’s the season, Tom’s short story “Dusty Boxes”, which is destined to be a Christmas classic, is available to read here:
https://substack.com/home/post/p-181930222
Smart, practical, and just opinionated enough to be useful, this is an episode for anyone who tells stories for a living, or needs to get better at it fast.
Pour a drink. Press play.
WATCH THE VIDEO INTERVIEW HERE.
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This episode was recorded and mixed at Green Shebeen Studios in beautiful Kansas City, Missouri. Copyright 2025, all rights reserved. No reproduction, excerpting, or other use without written permission.We are an Amazon Associates seller, and some of our links may earn us a commission.
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed on the podcast are solely those of Alex Greenwood and his guests. The views stated do not imply endorsement or policy of Alex's employer.