Our takeaways from Jeremy Connell-Waite, IBM Global Communications Designer at B2B Marketing Live Manchester 2026
TLDR: IBM's Jeremy Connell-Waite made a compelling case that the future of B2B marketing isn't about producing more content faster. It's about telling better stories.
Drawing on neuroscience, speechwriting and 14 years of research, he shared a practical framework for how marketers can use storytelling structure, emotional intelligence, and AI as a coach (not a writer) to genuinely move audiences to act.
5 Key Takeaways
- 3.5% is all it takes — Science shows that just 3.5% of a population, with the right tools and conditions, can start a movement that influences everyone else.
- Think in ink first — Before reaching for AI, slow down and find your own point of view. Your brain recognises patterns better when it's not racing.
- Four words, five lines — Every great story needs brevity, levity, clarity, and charity. You have 75 seconds to capture a B2B audience. Structure is everything.
- The audience is always the hero — We are so obsessed with what we want to say, we forget what the audience needs to hear. Great marketers are guides, not broadcasters.
- AI is your coach, not your ghostwriter — Use it to ask better questions and pressure-test your structure. AI-written content can be detected by its structure alone 93% of the time.
The 3.5% That Changes Everything
How many B2B marketers does it take to change the world?
That's how Jeremy Connell-Waite opened his keynote. No slides. Just a question that hung in the air.
He pointed to the research of Harvard academic Erica Chenoweth, who proved that just 3.5% of any population, with the right message and the right timing, is enough to start a movement that shifts everyone else.
With 300 people in the room in Manchester, he did the maths out loud. Through the network effects of marketing, that group had the potential to reach millions.
It was a deliberate reframe. B2B marketing, done well, is not just a commercial function. It is how you turn moments into movements.
The Art and Science of a Great Story
Most B2B presentations do not work. Not because the content is bad. Because there is no story.
Jeremy borrowed a framework from Ted Sorenson, the lawyer who wrote most of President Kennedy's speeches. Four words and five lines. A headline. A frontline. A bottom line. Sidelines personal enough that only you could say them. And four guiding principles: brevity, levity, clarity, charity.
Worth knowing that Kennedy himself was a terrible presenter when he started out. Squeaky voice, poor eye contact, prone to waffling. What changed was not natural talent. It was coaching, structure, and a willingness to keep refining.
The takeaway is a good one. Great communication is a craft, not a gift. And the frameworks that built the moon speech can absolutely be applied to your next client presentation.
Stop Thinking About What You Want to Say
When did you last walk into a presentation thinking more about your audience than your slides?
"We are so obsessed with what we want to say, we forget what the audience needs to hear."
The Story Compass, built from 14 years of research, found that stories only ever do six things. They inform, educate, inspire, empathise, challenge, or entertain. The mistake most B2B marketers make is rushing straight to inform and educate, skipping the inspiration and empathy that make an audience receptive in the first place.
The shift he is asking for is simple, but not easy. Stop asking what you want to say. Start asking where you want to take your audience.
Because the audience is always the hero. Not you.
AI Is Your Coach, Not Your Ghostwriter
Stop thinking about artificial intelligence. Start thinking about an intelligent assistant.
Jeremy builds custom AI agents trained on his own personality and communication style. He uses them to pressure-test structure, check emotional direction and ask better questions. Not to write for him.
The reason that distinction matters? University of Maryland research shows that while AI-written words are increasingly hard to spot, the underlying structure gives it away with 93% accuracy.
The best stories are still unmistakably human. Messy, unfinished and full of surprise. AI can help you find their shape. Only you can give them a soul.