Join me, Terry Brock, as we dive into the fascinating world of visual storytelling with the brilliant John DeMato!
It is more important today than ever to present yourself for marketing in the best possible light.
Recently I had the opportunity to talk with my friend, John DeMato about how “Visual Storytelling” is helping many to look their best online.
Yes, it is imperative that we make the best of how we present ourselves to the world, and John is doing that.
In this interview we talk about using your smartphone and more. He shared some ways that he is helping others in ways I had not imagined.
Boy, am I glad we had this conversation and now, I’m delighted to share it with you.
Catch the full EYE-OPENING video here:
Improve Your Image and Presence With Visual Storytelling
Think your smartphone camera is enough to make you stand out? Think again! In this eye-opening episode, we shatter the myths about personal branding and reveal why those three old headshots just aren’t cutting it in today’s attention economy.
Discover:
- The secret sauce behind a powerful visual storytelling library (hint: it’s way more than a headshot!)
- Pro tips for capturing not just the on-stage moments, but those crucial behind-the-scenes shots that win over event organizers and meeting professionals
- How experts and business owners (not just professional speakers!) can leverage strategic photography to break free from invisibility and become truly unmistakable in their space
- How AI tools like Beautiful AI and Cortex can skyrocket your marketing AND save you hours
- Why your smartphone’s camera is essential—but not the whole show!
Whether you want to look premium, trusted, and in-demand, or simply stop blending into the noise, John’s practical, actionable insights will set you on the path to visual storytelling success.
Subscribe for more cutting-edge strategies and let’s elevate your personal brand together!
Want to learn more from John? Check out his website at JohnDeMato.com and sign up for his newsletter!
#PersonalBranding #VisualStorytelling #AIinMarketing #PhotographyTips #ProfessionalSpeakers #TerryBrock #JohnDAmato #StarkRavingEntrepreneurs
Here are some timestamps that can be useful for you:
Here are the timestamps to help you see what you’ll get in this episode:
00:00:00 – 00:00:41 | Intro & Setting the Stage
Terry Brock introduces the importance of visual presentation, including both video and still photography, even with advancements in mobile phone technology. He introduces guest John D’Amato and teases the value of professional photography.
00:00:41 – 00:01:36 | Meet John D’Amato & His Approach
Terry remarks on John’s strong reputation and unique approach beyond just taking pictures. John provides a high-level view of his work and the strategic role of images for speakers and professionals.
00:01:36 – 00:03:20 | Strategic Visual Storytelling & Photo Libraries
John debunks the “just a headshot” myth, explaining why a wide-ranging, updated photo library is crucial to creating a standout brand in today’s attention economy.
00:03:20 – 00:05:39 | Why Updating & Contextualizing Photos Is Key
Discussion on the importance of current, relevant images and capturing more than just stage shots—John explains the need to visually document before, during, and after an event.
00:05:39 – 00:07:08 | Behind-the-Scenes & Experience-Focused Content
John details the types of candid, behind-the-scenes photos that matter (tech checks, book signings, AV team collaboration) and how they help meeting professionals trust and select you.
00:07:08 – 00:08:22 | The Whole Team & Marketing Process
Terry emphasizes the value of showing engagement outside the speech itself; John expands on how photos advocate for you in decision-making processes even when you’re not in the room.
00:08:22 – 00:11:27 | Incorporating AI & Tools for Visual Storytelling
John describes how he uses the “Beautiful AI” platform to create impactful slide decks, and demonstrates examples of “before,” “during,” and staged branding session photos.
00:11:27 – 00:13:06 | Visual Storytelling Beyond Speaking
The conversation broadens to using these techniques in fields outside professional speaking. John explains visual storytelling as a universal tool for building trust, not just vanity.
00:13:06 – 00:16:11 | Other AI Tools in the Business Workflow
John shares his tech stack, including the Cortex app (“second brain”) and uses of different LLMs (ChatGPT, Claude) for content, business development, and productivity.
00:16:11 – 00:19:17 | Mobile Phones & Capturing Everyday Moments
Addressing smartphones, John confirms their ongoing importance for day-to-day, authentic photo opportunities—especially in team environments where professionals can capture extra content.
00:19:17 – 00:20:26 | Connecting with John D’Amato
How to contact John online, subscribe to his newsletter, and engage via social media. John spells out his website for global audiences.
00:20:26 – End | Closing Remarks & Takeaways
Terry wraps the episode, reinforcing John’s value and the crucial role of strong visual storytelling for professionals today.
And for your convenience, here’s the transcript for this episode, Please let us know what you think:
Terry Brock [00:00:00]:
When you’re presenting yourself to the public, it’s very important that you put your best foot forward, as they say. Very important. And a big part of that, as you know, is video and still pictures. Those still pictures are really important. And the beauty of it is we’ve seen so many cameras developing, getting better today. Looks really good. And I thought, hey, you know, we’ve got something really nice here. I’m using my S24 Ultra from Samsung.
Terry Brock [00:00:25]:
Love it to pieces. I’ve also got my Apple iPhone. I use that as well. They both do real well. I’m thinking we probably don’t need need photographers. But Terry, you would be wrong. Matter of fact, I learned I’m wrong. And the way I learned I’m wrong is from our special guests we have joining us today.
Terry Brock [00:00:41]:
He showed me that and even this jaded journalist jumped on board. His name is John d’ Amato and he’s joining us now. John, thanks for being with us today.
John D’Amato [00:00:49]:
Well, thank you for having me, Terry. The pleasure’s all on this side of the camera. How about that?
Terry Brock [00:00:53]:
Well, I got a bunch over here just being with you because you have a really good reputation and with this, Jane, of journalists here, I mean, in journalism, we sit back and go, yeah, right, sure, you know, and I am impressed because there’s been a lot of people saying how good you are, what you do and not just taking pictures. Yeah, you take pictures, but it’s a whole encompassing presentation of your image and where it is. Tell me a little bit kind of from the 30,000 foot point of view, what you do and the importance of that for those who, yes, as professional speakers, but other professionals who need to put forth the very best, most professional, most appropriate image using videos and photography.
John D’Amato [00:01:36]:
Well, one of the most important things when we’re talking about photos is to dispel this notion that all I need is a headshot or all I need are these three to five photos and I’m done, I’m good. That’s all I need. And then, you know, I can replace them every couple of years and that’ll be fine. And that’s good enough. But the reality is, in this day and age, with the attention economy that we’re in, with AI throwing stuff left right up and down at people, people being distracted at every single turn, the real way for people that are experts, that are business owners, that are the faces of their brands, to be able to stand out, to break free from being invisible, to be one of the 9,000 other people in their space, is to create that Unmistak brand through their photos. And the way you do that is by creating a comprehensive and strategic visual storytelling library. And that library is complete with a lot more than just a headshot. It includes those core assets.
John D’Amato [00:02:50]:
Yes, we need those headshots, the ones where you’re making that direct eye contact with people. But what you also need are images that, that provide the visual evidence that you’ve done the work before, that you’ve done it recently, and that you’ve done it for people just like those that you serve. And you have to showcase that on a ever evolving basis based on who you’re working with, the rooms that you’re in, and the people that you serve.
Terry Brock [00:03:20]:
Yeah, I think you raise a good point on that because that’s something that a lot of my fellow professional speakers haven’t done. And we think, okay, I got that picture. Yes, I took it back in 1735 and it’s still good today. Well, it might be a tad on the old side and we want to update that a little bit. And not only update, and we kind of go, yeah, yeah, yeah, we need to update it. But I think also in tune of in terms of what’s going on in the world, because sometimes we might have a picture that isn’t appropriate based on new things that are happening as well. Tell us a little bit about the importance of updating not only the pictures, but also where the pictures are shot and how they’re done. One of the unique things I think you do so well is you uniquely shoot not just a speaker who’s on stage presenting.
Terry Brock [00:04:05]:
Yes, you do that, but even more. Tell us a little bit about that and why that’s so important.
John D’Amato [00:04:11]:
Absolutely. One aspect, when we’re talking about visual evidence, and for example, if we’re talking about a speaker, right? Speaker goes on the stage, could be five people in the audience, could be 10,000 people in the audience. The. The thought that most speakers have is we need that wide shot that showcases them on that stage with those imags in the background and the audience in the room, and they’re this tiny little peanut and that’s all they need.
Terry Brock [00:04:45]:
Right, but not all we need.
John D’Amato [00:04:47]:
No, that’s. That is the opponent, Right? That is the prerequisite. That is not the objective. Because on top of that photo, while that speaker is on stage, there also needs to be an accumulation of images from all vantage points throughout that entire space. Wide shots, medium shots, close ups, showing the passion, the care, the conviction, the expertise that the speaker has while delivering his or her message of transformation. Right. So we have that stuff during. But the real gap that most experts have that present publicly on a stage is the stuff that happens before their foot hits that stage and the moment it leaves it.
John D’Amato [00:05:39]:
You have to see the before and after showcase, what it’s like during the tech check, going over slides, rehearsing by yourself, working with the AV team, taking photos with the event producers. And then afterwards, if you have a book signing showcase that, if there’s a breakout showcase that if you’re huddling with a bunch of participants who absolutely loved what you presented and they want to take pictures with you and talk with you, you, you need all of those photos as well. Because when it comes to showcasing how you provide an experience, not just for the event organizer, but also the participants in the room, it gives a sense that you’re a team player, that you care about the work that you do, and that you are someone that can be trusted to be on that person’s stage. And that’s what helps the qualifying process with decision makers. Because in a lot of cases, Terry, most of these conversations are happening behind closed doors when the speaker isn’t even involved. Therefore, they need an advocate, they need a marketing team that’s working behind the scenes so that these people, when they are sourcing the right speaker for the event, that they can find you and you stand out from everybody else.
Terry Brock [00:07:08]:
Absolutely. I really like what you’re saying about that. And for those watching this, think about it, it’s not just the moment that you’re on the stage. Yes, that is important. And yes, you do need that widescreen shot of you being there, that you’re speaking to the audience, however large that is, whatever it is, and all that. But the before work, when they can see you’re there, consulting with the AV team, that says a lot to a professional meeting presenter, a person who is working there as a meeting professional, they know what is going on, they’re planning for that, putting it together. And also afterwards, do you stick around enough to say hello, to shake hands, to get pictures with people? That’s a big deal for many meeting professionals that I’ve worked with. They want to know that someone’s going to be there and you’re not just jump on the stage and then gone afterwards.
Terry Brock [00:07:55]:
So I think this is good. And really, that’s a good part of the whole marketing team. John, I like the way you put that, that it’s really about part of that team that’s working with you. And I know part of the. What you’re doing with it also is AI using Artificial Intelligence course at Stark Raving Entrepreneurs. We talk about that a lot and using how that, how are you using AI and what tools are you using to develop that wow image that you create for your clients?
John D’Amato [00:08:22]:
Well, I’m actually looking at it right now. I have a slide deck that I created that was created in beautiful AI.
Terry Brock [00:08:32]:
Beautiful. I understand they have that screen sharing thingy going today in zoom. So why don’t you share your screen? Let’s take a look at that.
John D’Amato [00:08:39]:
Absolutely. Let me share the screen with you really quickly. And then.
Terry Brock [00:08:48]:
Here we go.
John D’Amato [00:08:50]:
So as I was talking about before, this represents some aspects of what the before photos look like. Now if, if you notice, many of these are keynote related. Specifically the top left is a speaker walking the stage mentally thinking while preparing for his tech check. This was right before his tech check. Bottom left is a photo of a speaker going over slides. And then top right is a speaker rehearsing to himself, which I thought was a really funny, funny shot while he’s laughing, looking at a laptop screen. But. And then working with the AV team is bottom right.
John D’Amato [00:09:37]:
And then the photos in the middle one, the top one of the empty room represents a writer’s retreat. And what that is is a before photo before the eight writers, the eight authors go into the room and work with the facilitator. And the middle shot is someone working on a workshop, her story points. And the bottom is from an actual three day conference. And then these are some of the stuff during. Now if you notice here, there are some photos where there are people in the room and then there are others specifically in the bottom left hand corner that are just. Well, actually the one in the bottom, bottom left corner has another person. But basically when we talk about creating images that showcase visual evidence, right in in many cases it’s live events, such as that mastermind in the upper right or the photos that are to the left of it, or that keynote wide shot where we talked about the tiny little peanut thing before.
John D’Amato [00:10:50]:
But the ones below also represent visual evidence, but it’s recreated during a branding session as opposed to done during a live event. So what that basically means is when thinking about how to put together a comprehensive visual storytelling library, a lot of it is captured in real life and some of it is captured in recreated moments during a branding session with a branding photographer such as myself.
Terry Brock [00:11:27]:
Yeah, I like that what you’re doing, because I’ve seen meeting professionals that put it together. They know that it’s more than just what you’re doing on the stage and you are getting into. Into the nitty gritty. That’s important, Very important to see. This is how this speaker does it. She does this. She met with the people here. She sees them afterwards.
Terry Brock [00:11:46]:
You’re showing that you’re a real human being. And I think that’s good in marketing. I can see that that’s also helpful not just for professional speakers. How have you seen some of these used in those areas outside of professional speaking and how others are using that same style and that technique?
John D’Amato [00:12:02]:
Well, visual storytelling is not specific to experts who speak, coach, train, consult, and write books. It is the way that we make meaning as human beings. Right. When it comes to understanding, let’s say you’re looking to hire someone, right? When you’re going online. We see first and then we read second. We are in an age of visual articulation, meaning that while the words are important, obviously the way to get a first impression that actually stops the scroll. For someone to pattern interrupt their day long enough so they can learn whether or not you’re the solution to their problem derives from the way in which you convey your personality, your essence, and how you help others through your visual presentation, through all of these photos. And it’s not a vanity component anymore.
John D’Amato [00:13:06]:
It’s not a nice to have. It is a requirement. If you are looking to build an audience, look like you’re in demand, look like you’re premium, and look like you’re worth every penny that you charge. Otherwise you simply blend into the noise and you lose out on opportunities to work with the right types of people for you and for them.
Terry Brock [00:13:30]:
That’s brilliant. I think we’re looking at the real world the way it is today. We’ve got to stand out speakers and others who are standing out in the world. You’ve got to do it. The world is different. Duh. It has changed a lot. And what you want to do is have more than just the smiling picture on the stage, look at me.
Terry Brock [00:13:46]:
Oh, I’m nice. Or the stilted pictures and those kind of things. Come on. How 1960s now is the time to say we got to take this and do a little bit more with it. Now, John, you talked about using beautiful AI, which is something you’re using for that. Tell me, what other AI tools are you using that you’re finding helpful? Not in what you’re doing here in the photography and image, but also in the work you’re doing in your business.
John D’Amato [00:14:10]:
I’m currently knee deep in several different types of programs. But in terms of my general day today, I have a Notion type app called Cortex, which is essentially a second brain. And what that second brain does is it organizes every single document that I write with regards to any marketing materials I brainstorm with it. And, and by the way, it’s not just like a chat GPT thing, it’s all of the different LLMs within it and I can select based on my preference for the type of project that I’m working on. So it’s called Cortex.
Terry Brock [00:14:55]:
Spell that for us because it can be spelled different ways.
John D’Amato [00:14:58]:
K O R T E X. K.
Terry Brock [00:15:01]:
O R T E X. Thank you, sir.
John D’Amato [00:15:03]:
Yeah, yeah. And it’s an index of like, for example, this morning I was working on a project for some business development and I’m using Claude for one piece, chat GPT for another piece. But essentially what I’m doing is cross referencing a wide variety of like my website language and my brand statement and position. I have all of these different things categorized within the, within the app itself and then I can quick reference everything back and forth. Essentially what it’s doing is saving me a gigantic amount of time in copy pasting and organizing and synthesizing. Because the long story short is it’s shortening the learning curve with trying to get from an idea that I roughed out on a piece of paper to an idea that actually makes sense. And that goes for my content. That’s productivity, that’s other business related matters that I work through.
John D’Amato [00:16:11]:
But I’m using those LLMs every single day, all day. And it has been nothing but a gift really.
Terry Brock [00:16:21]:
I like the way you put that. A gift. Because we’re able to do so much more. We’re amazed as well. Gina and I use this regularly and talk to people about how it’s working, what we can do with it. And I am flabbergasted every day in a good way of what we can do with it in writing, in creating pictures, in doing research. I love the research capability. So it’s not just Terry saying, you know, my gut tells me that this is the way it is.
Terry Brock [00:16:45]:
Well, Terry, with all due respect, your gut can be wrong. And what we need to look at is the evidence and see what’s going on. And so when we look at evidence of what’s working on the stage and a whole visual array of tools, just let people see you before a big event, see you in the event with the other pictures there and with the other people that are there as well as afterwards. What’s this person really like when they’re not on the stage, etc. John, what would you say to that person that is kind of like me before saying, wait a minute, I’ve got a pretty good camera here. I mean, I’ve got. My. Here is my.
Terry Brock [00:17:19]:
My S24 Ultra from Samsung. This is a great little thing. But I realized after talking with you that alone, Terry won’t do it now. Doesn’t mean we throw away our phones. Help me on that. We don’t throw those away, but we use those as part of the whole experience. Is that correct?
John D’Amato [00:17:35]:
Absolutely. And I would say it’s not only don’t throw them away, but they’re an essential component to the entire operation. Because you have to remember, you know, unless if you’re a celebrity that hires a paparazzi following you around 24 7, there are moments in your day that happen that you want to share with your audience, to be able to create that additional connective tissue with the people, to build that relationship. Because ultimately, remember, people hire people. So we’re in the relationship business. And as a result, if something interesting happens during your day to day work or in your personal life, or you have a hobby or you do certain things that’s really relevant and valuable to your audience and you want to share it and there’s no professional photographer around, it’s important to capture those missing details with your phone. It’s also important to motivate the people that you’re working with in real life environments. Say you’re doing a workshop or you’re running a coaching session or a leadership call, a mastermind, whatever, get those people to get the phone out and snap photos of their work, of you working with them, of everybody else, and have them share that with you.
John D’Amato [00:18:55]:
That only compounds on the visual evidence of the professional photos that you have to fill in the gaps to add to the story, to paint that broader picture of who you are and how you help others. But you certainly do not exclude those types of images from your library. It’s an essential component.
Terry Brock [00:19:17]:
I like the way you say that. Very eloquently said, well, we could go on in this interview here for I think another 16, 17 hours. And we wanted. You got so much information. But John, I’m not going to let you get away from here without telling people how they can get in touch with you. Someone listen to that, they go, this guy’s raising some good points there. I’d like to find out more. And I know you’ve got ways you can help people just to understand, here’s what’s going on in the world, here’s how you can use it and they might choose to get in touch with with you, what’s the best way for them to reach you?
John D’Amato [00:19:45]:
The best way is just go on my website, John D’Amato.com and I would encourage folks watching this to want to learn a little bit more about visual storytelling because I dive far deeper into this on my newsletter. You can sign up for it on the website. And of course, I have my social profiles, my LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook on the page, and you can just follow me there as well.
Terry Brock [00:20:10]:
Very good. And for those that are joining us from maybe other countries or they’re listening only with the audio version, please spell that out very carefully and how they reach you.
John D’Amato [00:20:18]:
John Demattle J-O H N D E M A T O.com John, we really.
Terry Brock [00:20:26]:
Appreciate you being here. You’re doing a great job. The word on the street behind your back is you’re fabulous, you’re wonderful. And ladies and gentlemen, as you’re listening to this and watching this, this is someone you want to know about and know about what he’s doing. Know about the trends out there right now. Because in today’s world, what you do and how you present yourself in a visual image and the images, both with video and with stills, really matters a lot. On behalf of John and everyone here at Stark Braving Entrepreneurs, I’m Terry Brock. Thank you very much for joining us.
Terry Brock [00:20:59]:
We’re looking forward to hearing from you.
