The truth is, your voice can become part of your brand by choice or by accident.  Your voice comes through on your website, sales letter, email messages, and blog posts.

But you often notice it more when you’re getting ready to tell a story.

.The way you tell a story often comes closer to the Real You than the way you promote an idea or share facts. When you’re sharing facts, that’s what people hear: the facts. They don’t hear your voice. They don’t care how you present the facts unless you’re unclear and the facts are murky.

Here are 3 ways to recognize and develop your own storytelling voice.

1 – Look at the email messages you receive from others and identify your most favorite and least favorite.

Which ones do you enjoy? Which ones set your teeth on edge so you keeping thinking, “I really should unsubscribe…”

You’ll most likely see a pattern.

Do you resonate more with down-to-earth, conversational, straightforward messages? Or breezy, super-cool messages with lots of offbeat metaphors and strong language?

2 – Practice writing as a character.

Writing for AppSumo, Neville Medhora built his style around the Sumo logo – the big Sumo wrestler cartoon. He created a character who was fat, brash, and politically incorrect. He kidnapped people to convince them to give the “Sumo-lings” a better deal.

So Neville could write playfully, “I currently have Drew Houston of Dropbox tied up in the trunk of my car…..and won’t let him out till he gives the Sumo-lings 85% off a year subscription to DropBox.”

Here Neville’s brand inspired his voice — and vice versa.

You can practice by writing in the style of characters in movies or television programs. Or you can create a character or persona and write from their perspective.

3 – Listen to the voices of your favorite clients.

Are they breathless or thoughtful? Do they speak slowly or a mile a minute? Do they have accents? Do they tell a lot of jokes? Punctuate their conversations with colorful language?

Skip the stereotypes. Some people over 50 – and over 80! – swear like sailors. Some young people – and young sailors – speak in thoughtful, measured tones and frown on four-letter words.

What phrases come up repeatedly in their conversations?

When asked, “Did you just get back from downtown?” they might answer, “I sure did!” or, “I did,” or, “You betcha.”

Finally… 

(1) Don’t worry if your voice is different from other peoples. Not everybody likes the light-hearted, breezy, funny copy laced with words I can’t use in an email system.

Most audiences respond well to humor, and most aren’t thrilled with somber pessimistic tones.  But some will favor a “just the facts ma’am” style and others will want you to embellish with personal touches.

Second,  you may not recognize your voice out of context. More than once, a client has asked me to please incorporate a specific paragraph, word-for-word, into a sales letter.

Every time I’ve followed instructions, they’ve come back with, “Where did you get that paragraph? You’ve got the tone all wrong! I’d never say that.”

Finally, when you’ve got a strong message, your readers and listeners aren’t paying a lot of attention to your voice. They’re so intently focused on “What’s in it for me?” they’re not noticing the package. They just hear “benefit….benefit…REAL benefit.”

Sometimes you need an outsider’s perspective to develop your brand and your writing voice. My one-time Power Hour consultations help you find answers without committing to long-term coaching or copywriting.  Click here to learn more and sign up.

This week I’ve been reading an excellent book with a misleading title: Performance Breakthrough: A Radical Approach To Success At Work.

The author, Cathy Salit, works with a performance ensemble for executive and personal development projects.  Her book focuses on using elements of theatre — especially improvisational acting — to frame business interactions.

One of Salit’s key points is that being authentic isn’t about finding the Real You. We have many authentic selves and we can draw on those selves in different situations.

Often it’s easy to identify with one identity and fall back on using that self in all situations. Yet growing into new careers — and new business opportunities — often calls for finding new selves and new ways to respond.

In other words, change the character you play in your story. Or create a new story to fit the character you want to be.

Some ways to do this:

(1) Tell a story as a character — someone as different from yourself as possible.

When practicing in a safe space, you could try some of Salit’s recommended exercises.  

Practice telling a story as if you were a fiery preacher … or as if you were sharing a secret with a few close friends … or as if you were down at the bar with a few of your closest friends, where you felt totally comfortable.

If you see yourself as a shy introvert, play the role of an extroverted sales rep.

You won’t be this character when you’re working with clients, making a presentation, or writing your copy. But you’ll be more open to showing a different side of yourself.

(2) Choose your self-disclosure persona.

Salit is a big fan of self-disclosure. She encourages executives to share their personal stories with colleagues, to develop closeness. The idea is that people have to buy into you before they buy into what you’re selling.

I bring a different perspective. I’m more concerned with setting boundaries. If I had to pick one right that was most important to preserve, it would be privacy.

So it goes against my core values to say, “You MUST tell everyone about your abusive mother or your alcoholic dad or your daughter’s run-in with the law.”

Salit shares a lot of stories about executives who bravely shared sensitive experiences. In her book, all the stories end on a positive note. Audiences respond enthusiastically — in one case, with a three-minute standing ovation. But it’s likely that some self-disclosures end less happily, especially without the kind of intense coaching Salit gives her clients.

I once told a story about going to the gym. I wanted to be “up close and personal.”

Now you have to realize I actually love going to the gym. As a child, I was a wuss and skipped as many PE classes in high school as possible. (The gym teachers marked me “present” sometimes because they were so happy I wasn’t there.) But now I’ve held a gym membership for most of my adult life: Zumba, weights, yoga … you name it.

When I told this story to one audience, the air went cold. It took me a while to realize that most of those people positively hated working out. They resented every bicep curl.

I learned. Just the other day I posted on Facebook, “Trying to convince myself that a cucumber salad is just as satisfying for an afternoon snack as a blueberry muffin with butter and coffee.”

That resonated. You have to pick your stories.

(3) In a new situation, come up with a listening role.

Whether you’re networking or participating in a sales conversation, think of yourself as an explorer. In the language of improv comedy, an “offer” is an opportunity to take the scene in a surprising new direction. 

What “offers” are you getting? What is your “scene partner” saying that could lead to a whole new story? What can you dig into with more questions?

If you’d like to explore these ideas further, join me for a one-on-one consultation. We’ll explore the ways you can expand your marketing … and maybe add some stories to fit your strategy.

“Behind every successful business is a good story.”

But that’s just the beginning. Many people do not realize that Walt Disney was a teller of tales, not a creator of stories.

These days as a marketer you’re trying to reach an audience that’s already feeling overwhelmed. More and more, they’ve also heard a lot of stories.

Starting with a good story — a story that supports your business strategy — is just the beginning. You have to communicate your story.

I’ve seen some compelling, suspenseful stories presented like paragraphs from a badly written college textbook. And I’ve seen good-enough stories presented so enthusiastically, the audience hung on every word — and remembered the speaker, too.

How does one become a good storyteller? What are small nuances that turn a story from so-so to suspenseful? What are must-have standards? What extremely positive examples must be taken as inspiration?

These 7 techniques will help you get started as you seek to tell stories that will get your audience to say, “Tell me more!”

(1) Make Your Story Come Alive.

Many writing courses emphasize the “Show, don’t tell” rule, especially in any kind of narrative writing. Your challenge is to help the reader feel they’re living an experience, not listening passively.

So instead of, “He was clumsy,” you say, “He banged into the table and knocked over a chair.” You go heavy on action words, description, and details and light on the adjectives and adverbs.

(2) Don’t be too easy on your hero.

Unlike the classical “beginning, middle, and end” stories, marketing stories begin with a problem.

But to keep your audience engaged, marketing stories need to incorporate an element that’s common to most good stories: conflict.

Here’s a story from Gloria, a home schooling mom:

I’ve stayed home with my own kids since my first son was born ten weeks early. It took a LOT of time for me to prepare preschool activities for my boys.

“When I started home-schooling, I would spend at least 4 hours prepping each day. I was totally exhausted and frazzled by noon…and was getting by on just a few hours’ sleep. My husband and my other kids were feeling neglected.

“People told me to forget about homeschooling and send my son to a regular school…”

That’s the first conflict. Gloria had a second conflict:

“Even when I found an activity they loved, I still wondered if it was the right activity to support their educational development. Or was it just a fun way to spend some time together?”

When I first heard the story, I found myself wondering: “Will Gloria find an answer? Did she give up?” And I don’t even have kids.

(3) Think like a mystery writer.

Fans of murder mysteries will recognize this pattern. Around page 240 the hero seems to solve the mystery. As a reader, you start to relax and wait for the fun part of wrapping everything up.

But you’ve got another 75 pages to go. That’s way too long to celebrate the victory.

Sure enough, just as you and the hero get ready to say “The End,” the author introduces a twist.

You thought the butler did it, but he’s got an airtight alibi. And the heroine’s boyfriend is acting mighty suspicious.

From our earlier example: Gloria found a solution to her son’s learning needs…

but now she faces a new plot twist: How do you adapt this popular Montessori program — designed for groups of children nursery schools — to the chaotic home environment of a busy mom?

After you solve the first problem, you’ve got an even tougher problem…and that’s the story that sells.

(4) Replace “Get Personal” with “Relate To Your Audience.”

Recently a business owner told a rather long story about the insights she’d achieved at a yoga retreat in one of those five-figure cruises to a South Seas destination.

Her whole life was transformed. Events that would have turned her into a nail-biting mess now leave her calm and confident.

But will this story resonate with her readers?

This type of retreat isn’t just expensive. It requires a level of intensity, commitment, and fitness that will be beyond the level of many readers.

I’m currently trying to do yoga myself, via online classes. I go for the easy poses and plan to stay at the beginner level for the rest of my life. So the story held some relevance.

A year ago? I wouldn’t have gotten past the first sentence.

(5) Get your audience involved.

During a traditional theatre presentation, the actors rarely try to break the fourth wall. You can bring your audience into your business story with lines like, “Imagine you were looking over my shoulder.”

Or, “Picture yourself on an airplane and I’m sitting in the seat next to yours.”

(6) Create empathetic characters.

There’s no stock formula for characters, beyond having a protagonist. An adversary

adds interest. You can engage your audience by providing details about the characters and giving them distinct personalities.

When you’re the hero of your own story, you have to present yourself as likeable — not a know-it-all, not someone preaching to your audience from a superior position.

Here’s a tip: Create heroes who resemble your ideal client.

If you want to work with financial planners on designing websites, make the hero a financial planner who needs a website.

(7) Commit to your characters with dialogue.

If you want to work with moms of young children, make the hero a mom and give her some kids with carefully chosen ages and temperaments. Do you teach moms how to handle kids who resist parenting…help them get their angelic brilliant children into Ivy League schools?

Dialogue makes your character come alive. When you change your tone and vocal style to match the characters, you show commitment to your characters. Ideally, your audience will recognize “Uncle Jim” and “Harry the business owner” just by their speaking style.

Dialogue grabs attention, whether written or spoken. You don’t need to be funny. You can be dramatic, serious or playful.

Bonus tip: Use stories that reinforce your brand.

Business owners can feel pressured by the advice to, “Tell a story…any story!” So they create a story that’s entertaining but doesn’t support their brand..

Tell stories in a style that will match your brand.

Your brand evolves as your business grows. You’ll need to find new stories to match your new brand.

I hope you can apply at least one of these tips in the near future. When you do, please drop me a line and let me know what you did. What was your audience’s reaction? How did you benefit?

Most of these tips come from my Amazon Kindle book, Grow Your Business One Story At A Time. You can download it here.

Check out my course – How to give a memorable 5-minute talk.

You’ve probably heard the classic “Tale of Two Young Men” Wall Street Journal story. Some consider it the greatest sales letter ever written. It sold $2 billion worth of WSJ subscriptions between 1975-2003. And it’s in almost everyone’s swipe file. For a good analysis, click here.

Essentially, two young men graduated from the same college with similar grades and similar demographics. They went to work for the same Midwestern manufacturing company. Twenty-five years later, one managed a small department; one was company president.

The difference? One read the WSJ.

You can read more about the “two paths” format in my book on storytelling, Grow Your Business One Story At A Time. It’s free for Kindle Unlimited subscribers, which many of us are.

And here’s a challenge. What would your company’s “two paths” story look like?

The template goes like this.

Two services offered X.
Service A did this.
Service B did that.
Service B delivered value far more than Service A.
Or
People who chose. Service B are far better off, in measurable ways. 

For instance, several years ago I was getting ready to buy a new home. I talked to two Realtors. Anne, the first agent, did the usual things. She came over, looked at my place, made some “fix-up-to-sell” suggestions, and then began sending me listings of properties.

But then I ran across Mark’s website. Mark didn’t have the usual photo gallery. He wrote about specific buildings where he’d sold homes. It was clear he knew the local market inside out.

After I called Mark, he said, “I’m not going to come visit your place till we’ve done some preliminary work.” He knew several of the buildings I asked about. And he didn’t send me a single listing: he wanted to meet me first.

Guess who’s probably going to be my agent, if I decide to move forward.

Another “two-paths” story comes from a client whose testimonial appears on my Story Consultation page.

To summarize: “I was looking for help with my branding. I wanted to send a consistent message. The first two consultants I hired were focused on branding in the traditional way. It took three months to get my colors.

“Then I hired Cathy. Within 3 minutes after we got on the phone, Cathy figured out the story archetype I needed to build my brand…and I got some copywriting tips for my sales page too.”

That’s my ideal “two paths” story. What’s yours?

Can you come up with two paths — one where most people end up and one where you’re the winner (or where you help someone win big)?

Reply to this message with your own story. How do you feel when you tell this story? Do you sense that you share

It’s a good way to share your story in a professional way without boasting. And it’s a good way to get a fix on the way you’d like your clients to appreciate you.

Want help writing this story? Get the 3 story templates to write the 3 essential stories you need to sell — including this one.

They invited professional fiction writers to create short fictional stories about each object. For example, author Mimi Lipson wrote about a mug with the word “Halston” on the lower edge:

Halston was having a birthday party for the Dupont twins, so I glued myself together and cabbed to the Pierre to pick up Bianca ($5). She’s still mad at Victor about the sweater, but I think it’s really because she found out that he went to Mick and Jerry’s black-and-white party at Mr. Chow’s. Bianca’s [posterior] is really getting too wide to wear Halston.

The full story is here.

Armed with stories, the experimenters sold $128.74 worth of thrift-store junk for $3,612.51. The mug, bought for thirty-nine cents, went for $31.00.

Of course, the stories were revealed as fictional. Buyers received the object they purchased, along with a copy of the story.

The authors cataloged the results in detail on the website.

What We Can Learn From This Project

Unlike these writers, business owners and marketers can’t invent histories and stories about what they sell. But you can let your imagination roam freely as you focus on how objects might be used.

One man wanted to sell a pair of leather trousers on eBay. His listing went viral:

You are bidding on a mistake. I can explain these pants and why they are in my possession. I bought them many, many years ago under the spell of a woman whom I believed to have taste. She suggested I try them on. I did. She said they looked good. I wanted to have a relationship of sorts with her. I’m stupid and prone to impulsive decisions. I bought the pants.”

Many people feel emotional about their coffee (I sure do), so you could say something like this:

“This coffee was made for meeting your friends for intimate conversations. The hearty flavor encourages you to linger over a second cup as you bond even more deeply…”

Real estate pros tell stories that allow prospective buyers to imagine themselves in the home.

“Imagine having breakfast in this sunny area near the window …and then going to your home office in this lovely room overlooking the garden, where your enthusiasm will lead you to write brilliant stories and design one-of-a-kind programs…”

I’ve even seen copy for a VIP day with a star mentor:

“You get picked up in a limo and you go to my office with a magnificent view.  For lunch, we can order something special or go to one of the delightful cafes where we can sit outside all year round…”

What are the characteristics of these stories?

These stories aren’t just randomly put together. They’re not stories of hardship and struggle. They’re not always personal.

They inspire a certain emotion in the reader: desire, wistfulness, and even a little healthy envy.

They get the reader to say, “I want what they’re having.”

In the case of the thrift shop objects, the reader says, “I want that unique, one-of-a-kind experience I can get. I want to hold this story in the palm of my hand.”

These stories perform alchemy. They transform whatever’s being sold into a valuable, unique object that is highly desirable – and equally hard to get.

Once you become aware of these stories, you’ll notice them everywhere …and you can create your own, for your own products, services, and programs.

Start with these  “17 Surprising Ways To Use Stories To Grow Your Business”  – click here

When you’re looking for guidance on how to tell your own story, check out my course: Build Your Brand One Story At A Time.https://cathygoodwin.com/storybrandcourse  The introductory price will be changed soon, so grab it while you can.

If you’re a solopreneur or small business owner, you’ve probably been asked this question more times than you can count:

“How did you get into this line of work?”

It’s a simple question. But most of us answer it the wrong way—off-the-cuff, rambling, or full of irrelevant details. We tell the truth, but not the useful truth. We don’t realize that this moment—when someone’s genuinely curious about your journey—is an incredible opportunity to demonstrate value and connect.

Your origin story isn’t just about you. It’s a strategic tool. Done well, it shows how you’re qualified, how you understand the problem your audience is facing, and why you’re the right person to solve it.

But here’s the catch:
An origin story should never be just a list of milestones. It should answer a deeper question for your audience.

“Why should I trust you with this problem?”

The story becomes powerful when you frame your turning points not just as personal wins, but as moments that built your insight, credibility, and commitment. When someone hears your story, they should think, “That’s exactly who I want to work with.”

So if you’re still telling your story like a resume—or skipping it entirely—it’s time to rethink.

In this week’s podcast, I walk you through how to craft an origin story that attracts clients, builds trust, and makes your marketing feel more natural.

Listen here on your favorite platform.

When you offer a service, storytelling helps you sell yourself. When your story becomes the focus of your About Page, your story becomes your brand. Therefore you need to manage your story, just as you would create your logo, colors, and tag line.

When storytelling, it’s not a good idea to lie or falsify your story. It’s too easy to be discovered and your reputation will be damaged, sometimes beyond repair. However, you can be selective in the story you choose to tell and the way you tell it. That’s the most effective and most ethical form of “spin.”

No Story? Here’s why. 

Challenge #1: “I don’t have a dramatic story.”

For example, Beth started a business while she was working full-time. She simply put out the word that she was available to organize kitchens, offices and cluttered closets.

Beth didn’t have much of a story. She’d always enjoyed organizing since she was a child; she didn’t have a story of her own clutter. She didn’t have a business story because her business grew almost effortlessly by word of mouth.

Challenge #2: “My story makes me look bad.”

Stan could be Beth’s shadow self. He was trained as a therapist and was not naturally gifted for business. He spent years trying different side hustles but kept a full-time day job. He was beginning to achieve success as a relationship coach, but he didn’t feel clients would be reassured by a story of “struggling for many years…”

Challenge #3: “My story doesn’t have a happy ending.”

Anita was a gifted seminar leader and speaker but her business was growing slowly. She believed she needed a story that ended, “I’m now speaking to large audiences and enjoy a six-figure income …” However, she was still growing her business and her accountant advised her not to divulge her income anytime, ever.

Stories To Tell When You Don’t Have A Good Story

Beth, Stan and Anita don’t want to share those stories. Here’s what can they do instead.

Solution #1: Instead of “How I Got Here,” they can write, “What Makes Me Uniquely Qualified To Serve My Clients.”

For instance, Beth might share, “Even when I was a kid, I loved putting my toys away in little boxes. As a college freshman, I was the one who helped everybody figure out how to live in a tiny dorm room – we even found room for our refrigerators. My job as a financial analyst called for organization of 500 separate pieces of paper that contributed to our annual report. So the third time a neighbor asked me to help organize her closet, I decided it was time for a business. And here’s what I can do for you…”

These stories lend credibility, especially if you’re in a field where you want to stand out.

Solution #2: Instead of “My Story,” share what you have done for your clients.

Even a few successes will have impact. For instance, I like to tell the story of a client who said, “Clients used to insist on face-to-face meetings; now they feel they know me so we set up a contract over the phone.”

From the above examples, Anita would share a story about how she responded to a challenge in a seminar that led to life-changing moments for the participants.

“At one seminar on crisis management, people were reluctant to contribute their experiences. I took a break and discovered the corporate culture frowned on admitting a mistake. I created an exercise on the spot to help the participants feel more comfortable and also showed them a way to describe their experiences that would be consistent with the culture.

“I’m still getting emails about the impact of that event.”

If you’ve helped at least one client — free or paid — you’ve got a success story. When I work with clients on copywriting, I ask for 3 success stories. Thee stories become the foundation of their websites and sales letters.

Solution #3: Instead of a “what happened” story, share a “why” story. 

A lot of business owners publish a story of “why I’m in this business.”  Those stories will support your message if they lend credibility to your offers. For instance, several business coaches share stories along the lines of, “I began as a life coach. I was so successful, other coaches asked me to help them, and they offered to pay. I started working with them and now focus exclusively on helping service-oriented businesses find unconventional paths to growth.”

The most impactful “why” story answers a slightly different question: “Why are you so passionate about what you do? Why do you go the  extra mile?”

For example, let’s return to Stan, the relationship coach.  Stan watched his best friend go through a bitter divorce and then struggle with the midlife dating scene. He ended up helping his friend and realized many newly-divorced people were struggling to build new relationships. They needed coaching, not therapy. Stan’s story showed why he cared and why his unique brand of coaching was particularly helpful.

By the way, are you frustrated with coming up with your own story — the best story for your brand? Check out the Strategic Intensive.

  Check out this FREE report:  Stories to Build a Brand and Stand Out from the Crowd.  Click here for immediate access. 

My book, Your Mess is Not Your Message, is now available on Amazon. Get a story framework for branding your small business.  Click here to get access and download.

We’ve all heard it: “Storytelling is powerful.”
And it’s true—stories can captivate, connect, and inspire. But if you’re using stories in your business, there’s a more pointed question you should be asking:

Do stories make you money?

Because in business, likes and follows are great—but they don’t pay the bills. So let’s get real.

Why Most Business Stories Miss the Mark

Too often, business owners focus on two kinds of stories:

• Stories that are fun (or emotional) to tell
• Stories that reveal something about you

There’s nothing wrong with that—until your story turns into a memoir instead of a marketing tool.

If your stories aren’t aligned with your strategy, you’re telling bedtime stories to a business audience. And those don’t convert.

Stories Can Make You Money—If You Use Them Right

Here’s how it works. Stories drive revenue in two distinct ways:

1. Indirectly: Stories as a Marketing Power Tool

Think of stories as high-performance tools in your marketing toolbox. When used strategically, they help you:

• Plan better. You’re not just checking boxes—you’re giving your plans texture and purpose. I even created a workbook to help business owners do just that.
• Clarify your strategy. The stories you tell (or don’t tell) reveal how you position your brand. Want to show you’re client-focused? Share a story where a client succeeded because of your process.
• Explain a concept. Abstract services can feel slippery—until you anchor them in a story. For instance, if you offer a space-booking app, tell a story about someone trying to find a last-minute birthday venue that wasn’t a hotel or a restaurant.
• Understand your client’s world. When you build your client’s “before” story, you speak their language. You write copy with empathy, not ego.

2. Directly: Stories That Sell

Now let’s talk ROI—Return On Story.

Yes, a great story can lead directly to a sale. But it’s not just any story. It has to be:

• Relatable. Your audience sees themselves in it.
• Emotional. Not sappy—just resonant.
• Visionary. It casts a picture of what’s possible.

One business coach I know sells high-end VIP days. She doesn’t start by listing deliverables. She starts with this:

“Imagine yourself having breakfast on a sunlit terrace. No distractions. Then we dive into your business challenge with fresh clarity…”

That story creates space. It isn’t pushy. It invites the listener to step into a better version of their day—and their business.

That’s the power of a well-told sales story.

So… Are Your Stories Making You Money?

If you’re not using stories yet, you’re probably leaving money—and connection—on the table.

If you are using stories but they aren’t converting, it might be time to rethink your approach. Are you telling stories that entertain…or stories that sell?

Strategic stories do more than sound good. They drive results.

Use stories to sharpen your strategy.
Use stories to build connection and open the door to a sale.
And always, always ask: What’s the purpose of this story?

Want a second set of eyes on your story?

If you’re not sure whether your homepage, about page, or landing page is telling the right story, I offer video reviews that give you personalized, honest feedback—with a marketing strategy lens. Click here to learn more and sign up.

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Subscribe for more insights on how to use storytelling as a business tool—not a bedtime routine.

In today’s digital world, where AI can write a blog post in seconds and content is everywhere, the one thing that still sets you apart is your ability to tell a great story.

And not just any story—a strategic one.

That’s why I’m excited to introduce Cathy Goodwin, a true expert in the field of strategic storytelling.

Cathy has built her brand around helping entrepreneurs and small business owners tell stories that connect, convert, and grow their business.

In this episode, we’ll dig into why storytelling is more than just a buzzword, how it can shape your brand, and why it’s so important that your customer—not you—is the hero of the story. If you’re ready to stop telling stories that fall flat and start sharing ones that truly move your audience, this episode is for you.

Go here to listen.

Back when I lived in Seattle, a speaker opened his talk with, “I’m sure you’d rather be outside on this beautiful day when we’re not having rain for a change.” Suddenly everyone’s focus shifted from the speaker (who was pretty good, by the way) to a rare view of Mount Rainier.

That speaker just lowered his own value in the eyes of 100+ people attending the event. Up to that moment, he was viewed as an authority, even a thought leader. After all, he’d been invited to speak to the crowd.

This one casual remark blew his cover. He admitted to us, “I’m the default option — the place you go when you don’t have a choice. You’re dining at a fast-food chain because you don’t have access to a 5-star restaurant.”

If you attend business events, you probably know this one-sentence opening isn’t unusual. Even established, high-profile business people are reluctant to promote their personal brand. They’ve been brought up with sayings like:

“The nail that stands out gets hammered down.”

“If you’re really good at what you do, the world will find you.”

“Humility is a virtue.”

These ideas make sense in a purely social or personal setting. If you’re joining your family for a holiday dinner, you probably won’t tell a story about how you helped your kid get into Harvard on Early Decision. You won’t share the story of how you created a 5-step program to help your rescue mutt stop chewing up the sofa after three obedience schools gave up and handed you a dog biscuit as a consolation prize.

You won’t talk about your successes; you’ll be modest and humble as you compliment Aunt Jane on her pumpkin pie.

In a professional setting, when you don’t share your success, your audience will feel awkward and even alienated. They will actually be insulted when you suggest they should be spending their time elsewhere. You’re suggesting that, by choosing to be here, they’re exercising very poor judgment. Or you remind them, “You didn’t have a choice. You’re stuck.”

The truth is, when you’re selling yourself, your marketing success depends on your ability to brag – without sounding like a used car salesman. The best way to do this is to find your unique stories and share them in all the right places.

If you’re a productivity pro, you probably have a story about helping a client find an extra five hours a week without sacrificing her goals. If you’re a dog trainer, you’ll have people on the edge of their seats when you share how you replaced your chewed-up couch with a beautiful new one — and it’s still looking good five years later.

A life coach? Share how you helped a client conquer fear of heights and go on to climb Mount Rainier. You could even share how you climbed a small hill, if you can make that story fit your purpose.

Exercise: Expand your opening into a purposeful story. When you try to make a story out of, “You’d probably rather be somewhere else,” you’ll most likely realize there’s no story here. And if you find one, why on earth would you want to share it?

One comment I hear often is, “It’s SO hard to talk about myself!” So I created this affordable short Bragging 101 program to get past the barriers to promoting yourself and enjoy attracting clients who will be eager to work with you.

Click here to claim yours now… and take the first step to claiming your bragging rights without giving in to hype, sleaze and unprofessional copywriting.

And if you’d like me to work with you on your own story, let’s set up a one-to-one consultation. We can use the time to review a copywriting project, find your story (and brainstorm the best way to tell it), strengthen your message, or deal just about any challenge you’re facing now. Click here to take your first steps to your marketing breakthrough.

And claim your FREE download – 7 Common Storytelling Mistakes Most Business Owners Make (And How To Fix Them).