Cara Jones is a former TV journalist. She shares why optimistic storytelling is so important to our world and our business. Find out why your stories should lead with characters and other key storytelling principles.
Cara Jones is a multiple Emmy Award winning reporter, producer, and speaker with vast experience in using video to tell compelling, inspiring human-interest stories. She has more than a decade of experience in broadcast journalism and has reported for network affiliates in Southwest Florida, Boston and the San Francisco Bay Area. Cara started telling inspiring stories as a way to balance out the tragedy-focused ones she was assigned in the news industry. The perspective and personal transformation she experienced while creating those stories inspired her to start Storytellers for Good in 2009. She, and a talented team of producers and videographers, have since been creating short films that move and inspire as well as raise awareness and support for world-changing people and organizations. Cara also leads regular storytelling workshops throughout the Bay Area, blogs for the Huffington Post, and has shared her expertise at conferences. She has solo-backpacked around the world, teaches yoga and recently learned to surf while creating a short film on India’s first surfer girl.
Think Like A Journalist Quote
“Storytelling is important; part of human continuity.” –Robert Redford
Success Quote
You must be willing to step into the void in order to see success.
“The future of the world depends on our ability to find and tell the optimistic stories.”
Career Highlight
Creating an event for her own company that turned out to be a huge success. Find out what the event was and how it helped build her brand and launch Stories For Good.
When It Didn’t Work
Find out what Cara did when she found herself in Kenya working for a client and nothing seemed to be working out with the planned story.
Cara shares a second When-It-Didn’t-Work story. Hear what happened when she teamed up with a partner but didn’t pay close attention to her gut feelings.
The Art Of Optimistic Storytelling
- Always aim for the heart: tell emotional stories.
- Let characters lead: use people in the story.
- Remember to have a beginning, middle, and end.
- Have a message or lesson that can be shared through the story to make it more memorable.
“If I look at the mass, I will never act but if I look at one, I will.” –Mother Theresa
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Resource Links
The brand Phoebe mentioned in the show is:
Liberty Mutual, The Responsibility Project
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