Disruptive Influence: The Storytelling, Communication & Executive Presence Podcast
If you know what you do but struggle to talk about it in a way that lands — this podcast is for you.
Most founders, creators, and leaders have the expertise…but not the story, clarity, or communication skills to express it with confidence, conviction, and influence.
Disruptive Influence is the storytelling, communication, and executive presence podcast for founders, solopreneurs, and LinkedIn-era leaders who want to communicate with more clarity and power - in meetings, in pitches, in content, and in everyday conversations.
Learn how to:
- turn lived experience into clear, compelling stories
- communicate with clarity, confidence, and executive presence
- build a strong POV that attracts the right people
- sell your ideas, your value, and your vision with conviction
- unlock the mindset shifts behind real influence and high-performance communication
Hosted by Jeff Abracen - executive storytelling coach, former agency creative director, and creator of the Disruptive Influence™ system - each episode reveals how exceptional thinkers shape narratives, build presence, and communicate in ways that create opportunity.
Through a mix of solo tactical episodes and deep conversations with founders and creators who are disrupting and influencing their industries in their own way, you’ll learn how real leaders think, speak, and tell stories that move people.
If you're building a company, growing a personal brand on LinkedIn, leading a team, or simply want to communicate with more confidence and conviction — this podcast gives you the tools and perspective shifts to become the most influential person in the room.
➞ Subscribe and learn how to tell stories that sell - and speak with clarity, confidence, and conviction.
➞ Connect with Jeff Abracen on LinkedIn to continue the conversation.
Disruptive Influence: The Storytelling, Communication & Executive Presence Podcast
How to Live, Laugh, Brand with Alana Sparrow
Albany-based Alana Sparrow, Brand Strategist, Visual Storyteller, Founder of The VIB, and Chief Brand Officer & Co-Founder of The Foundry for Art, Design + Culture, joins Jeff Abracen to dig into why storytelling is the ultimate tool for branding success, the rapid rise of personal brands in corporate spaces, how confidence is built through action, scaling a business without sacrificing freedom, the impact of authenticity on trust and growth, embracing Ikigai to align work and life, why entrepreneurs need to stop sprinting and start sustaining, shining a light on your strengths to unlock your full potential, how personal brands will shape the future of business in 2025…and so much more!
Chapters
00:00 – Intro
00:32 – Alana's Path to Brand Strategy
03:15 – Leaving Higher Ed for Entrepreneurship
05:21 – COVID’s Impact and Business Pivot
07:23 – Personal Branding for High Earners
09:21 – Authenticity in Branding and Marketing
11:15 – Early Influences on Entrepreneurial Mindset
15:26 – From Fine Art to Brand Strategy
17:21 – Time Freedom vs. Hustle Culture
18:30 – Slazy™ – A Smarter Work Approach
22:31 – Finding Purpose and Profit with Ikigai
28:23 – How Personal Branding Drives Growth
32:26 – Confidence, Mindset, and Taking Up Space
36:59 – Client Breakthroughs and Business Shifts
38:45 – The Future of Personal Branding in 2025
43:09 – LinkedIn vs. Instagram for Brand Growth
45:00 – Quality vs. Quantity in Social Media
46:56 – Connect with Alana Sparrow
Connect with Jeff Abracen on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffabracen/]
If you are or know a disruptive influencer who would make a great guest, we'd love to hear from you.
Every Like, Share, Subscription and Review means a lot.
Cover art by Daniel Devoy
Music by Stephen Voyce
©2024 The Disruptive Influence Podcast - Jeff Abracen