Every company = a Media company. If you’re not telling brand stories that impact consumers, you’ll run the risk of losing ground in your market. Valerie Khoo shares the eight stories you must tell.
Valerie Khoo is an award-winning entrepreneur who is founder and CEO of the Australian Writers’ Centre, one of the world’s leading centers for writing courses.
Valerie is also an expert in storytelling for businesses. She is author of Power Stories: The 8 Stories You MUST Tell to Build an Epic Business. She is a keynote speaker and consults to businesses on how to tell better stories.
She is a prolific content creator for her own ventures but also as a commissioned expert for major brands and household names. As an experienced journalist and small business commentator, Valerie is sought after as an influencer and consultant.
As co-host of the podcast “So you want to be a writer”, her podcast has been named as one of the Top 30 Most Outstanding Writing Podcasts in the world. She is also co-host of the podcast “So you want to be a photographer”.
Valerie is a mentor to business owners in the Key Person of Influence accelerator program and the HerBusiness community, Australia’s largest network for businesswomen.
Icebreaker
I’ve met Will Smith, Jon Bon Jovi, Matt Damon, Britney Spears, Christian Slater, Simon Baker, Hugh Jackman, Cindy Crawford and many more. But my dream would be to meet Lin Manuel-Miranda.
Think Like A Journalist Quote
Stories are not indicators, they ARE the organization. David M. Boje, Professor of management at New Mexico State University
Success Quote
[5:01]…people and businesses and companies…the power of stories and storytelling.
[6:10]…that data…unless it was told with the story…
Career Highlight
Valerie is an avid writer and reader. She specializes crafting stories for businesses. At a young age she read the newspaper’s small business section because she loved that entrepreneurs had ideas and made them happen. She started her career as an accountant, public relations, and then a journalist for the media.
Her career highlight is having the courage to leave her accounting job to pursue journalism and storytelling.
When It Didn’t Work!
8 Stories You MUST Tell To Build An Epic Business
Passion Story: why do you do what you do? Why you’re excited about the work you do. Audience: team, consumers, affiliates/trade people.
Business Story: could be similar to your passion story. Summarize your business in two sentences. You don’t always need to tell the origin story. Tell what the business is today so people understand what you do right away.
Customer Story: not a testimonial but a story about a customer which is about their experience but it has a transformation (beginning, middle, end). Think of it as a journey…a transformation story. Don’t forget to share your customer story with your own team.
Pitch Story: a story that you can use to partner with people, get funding, or to the media. Tailor the story to the person your pitching. Don’t use the same story over and over. Research the person you’re pitching and what’s in it for them. Include that in the new pitch.
Product Story: don’t just list the specs and benefits. Tell a product story. Paint a picture.
Leader’s Story: vital when you have a team and/or community. Your passion might be part of this but this is really a story about the leader’s vision and why it’s important to achieve it.
Media Story: the story that you tell the media. The biggest [28:58] mistake people make. It that they adopt the “spray and prey” approach.
Your Story: the story that you’re telling yourself about your life. The classic example: is the glass half-full or half empty? What’s your inner dialogue. Believe the story that you want to achieve. If you don’t believe it, get help to believe it’s popular and can happen.
What is one piece of technology, video or multimedia equipment, or app that you just can’t live without?
Smartphone
One book, documentary, or Internet Channel to watch?
The Tony Robbins Documentary: I Am Not Your Guru
It’s all about changing your story.
Contact
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