563. The Courage to Be Original with Jay Acunzo
From Get Yourself Optimized® by Stephan Spencer
April 30, 2026 · 59 min
About this episode
Jay Acunzo discusses the importance of resonance over reach in storytelling and public speaking.
You've been told to grow your reach. But what if the real problem is resonance? Jay Acunzo spent years at Google, HubSpot, and a VC firm before building a keynote speaking career from scratch, only to lose it all in five days when the pandemic hit. What came out of that reinvention was something far more powerful: a clear mission to help experts stop being commodities and start being irreplaceable. In Episode 563 of Get Yourself Optimized, Jay pulls back the curtain on the craft of storytelling, resonance, and what it actually takes to make people care in an age defined by noise. What we got into: → Why being a great speaker is the closest thing to an "increase the odds of success" button → The "That's the thing about" device, a single phrase that turns a good story into one that inspires action → Align, Agitate, Assert, Invite, the four-part story structure that moves people from where they are to where you want them to be → Why your competitive edge will never come from a $20/month AI subscription tool → The two things every great interviewer must master to capture real, specific, powerful stories If you have something genuinely worth saying, this episode will help you say it…
People in this episode
Host: Stephan Spencer
Guest: Jay Acunzo
Topics covered
- storytelling
- resonance
- public speaking
- personal branding
- communication skills
Keywords
- storytelling
- resonance
- public speaking
- communication
- personal branding
- interviewing skills
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Google, HubSpot, VC firm, getyourselfoptimized.com, jayacunzo.com
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