1409: The Science of Storytelling: Making Your Message Go Viral Every Time with Researcher and Author Joe Romm

Saturday, August 23, 2025

With so much noise online, even the best ideas can disappear before anyone really hears them. You’ve got seconds—maybe less—to grab someone’s attention, and if your message doesn’t hit the right note, it’s gone. It’s not about shouting louder or saying more—it’s about saying the right thing in the right way so it actually lands. The difference between forgettable and unforgettable often comes down to clarity, emotion, and whether someone feels like you’re speaking to them—not just at them.

Dr. Joseph J. Romm, a physicist and communication expert, is known for his work on climate change and storytelling. He’s the author of How to Go Viral and Reach Millions and co-hosts the podcast Decoding Taylor Swift with his daughter. Today, he breaks down the mechanics of great storytelling—focusing on tension, emotional turns, and the strategic use of “but.” Using Swift’s lyrics and personal anecdotes, he shows how strong narratives can cut through digital noise. His takeaway: if you want to be heard, tell a story that moves people. Stay tuned!

Quotes:

“We're in an attention economy. So if you want to stand out, you're going to have to be very memorable.”

“The most important thing in life, I figured out after studying storytelling for two decades, is you need to be memorable. You need to say things that people remember. Because if people don't remember what you say, it doesn't matter what you say.”

“When a speaker is telling a story, the speaker's and the audience's brain waves are in sync. But when they're not telling a story, they're not—which is the same as saying the listeners' minds are wandering.”