How your words shape what people think about you

Words are powerful things, and it’s in your gift to use them to shape what others think about you. More than that. It’s your responsibility to do so. This is true of companies, of brands and of organisations, every bit as much as it’s true of people. Because what are these institutions if not collectives […]
On curiosity, repertoire and universal human truths

Ricardo Sapiro has dedicated his career to brand marketing. Training with Johnson & Johnson before moving on to Wyeth Whitehall, both roles in Brazil, he made his reputation during a 15-year tenure at Unilever. With local, regional and global brand marketing roles, he ran the business in Brazil and across Latin America, as well as […]
Why good writing matters

Founder & MD of Insight Agents, Sam Knowles, pens a personal paean to Steve Pinker, Harvard psychology professor, one of the most accessible serious scientists to have crossed over into the mainstream without compromising his academic integrity. In the process, readers lucky enough still to take their summer vacation get a top tip for holiday […]
Finding our inner why

Purpose is the new mission and vision, all rolled into one. Companies that can’t articulate what their higher purpose is – beyond the fiduciary duty they owe to their shareholders to turn a profit – are so last century. Simon Sinek’s Start With Why is an international best-seller, and his TED Talk How great leaders […]
Which party deserves my vote?

It’s the afternoon after the night before. Paxman attacked Cameron on policy, Miliband on personality (that “Are you alright, Ed?” jibe on camera was beneath Paxo, though Ed’s riposte “Yeah, are you, Jeremy?” gave it the contempt it deserved). And Kay Burley? The Twitterverse has said enough about her partiality. But are we any clearer […]
Impactful corporate storytelling demands singular stories, not schizophrenia

Remember when you were a kid? Something had gone wrong. You were involved, and someone was going to be angry. A teacher, a parent or a sibling. But you weren’t seen, and to minimise repercussions you crafted a version of the truth that had an air of plausibility to it that would also get you […]
How to be a better brand storyteller: the five golden rules

This week is the Society for Storytelling’s 15th annual National Storytelling Week. Events to mark this promotion of the oral tradition of storytelling take place in schools, museums, bookshops and pubs across the country. If I get my way, the 16th will take place in boardrooms, too. Storytelling is much in vogue in business. Marketing […]
When storytelling goes bad – a guest blog for PRmoment

(This blog originally appeared on 17 November 2014 as guest blog on PRmoment. Thanks for the platform, Ben!). On this coming Thursday, PRmoment is hosting an event on storytelling: “The role of public relations as a content provider”. And quite right, too. Storytelling is a craft whose time has come. Again. Stories rock. Storytelling is […]
Two dozen things I learned from #TEDxBrighton

Last week’s TEDxBrighton was my first TED event in the flesh. As an aficionado of the form, a passionate advocate of more impactful communication, and a corporate and brand storyteller, I had high hopes of a Halloween well spent. I was not disappointed. I learned a lot last Friday. About new ways of thinking and […]
#TEDxBrighton: a buffet for the brain and a curate’s egg

Long Beach was twinned with Brighton beach (not the nudist bit) on Halloween, as the TED roadshow rolled into town, annexed the Dome, and treated open-minded Sussex folk to a buffet for the brain. Truth be told, it was also the very definition of a curate’s egg. Good in parts – at times exceptional – […]