The Future Belongs to Storytellers — Here Are 9 Ways for Your Stories to Beat the Machines.
Your truth and how well you see the world matters more than ever
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“It’s clear you know how to write a listicle. Go learn something else.”
My friend Niklas Göke said this to me three years ago after I started to get some traction.
I’m glad I listened and I immediately threw myself into getting as good as I possibly could at writing quirky personal stories.
I never would have imagined how far that decision would take me.
Despite growing up shy with a severe stutter, I now teach storytelling, leadership, and presentation skills at a globally ranked MBA program, coach executives at places known for storytelling like IDEO and Apple, and this past year I’ve helped three people doing a lot of good in the world to get their stories to sing in their own books.
Stories are the great human connector.
There is no stronger bridge.
If you can learn how to tell your story in a way that makes people want to follow your flag — or better yet, carry it with you — it’s amazing how many doors open up to you.
Since AI just flipped the writing world on her head, learning how to tell stories that only you can tell became more critical than it already was.
The good news is that you’re already an expert in this category.
There is only one you and there will never be another you.
That means your job going forward is to lean into yourself and be curious about the people around you.
And the best part is you don’t even have to have life figured out. You just need to focus on learning how to hit that sticky mix of bravery and vulnerability that the best storytellers seem to do so well.
If you’re interested in writing stories that beat the machines (for now), here are nine of the dozens of tips and tricks I’ve picked up since choosing a life of stories.
1. Collect your “micro-stories”
When I began writing, I was eager to share my big stories — the ones that…
