storytelling isn’t your Problem. Storyfinding is.

A bad joke is still a bad joke, no matter how well it's told. A great joke? See image below. It just lands. The same is true of stories.

I don't know if you've noticed, but storytelling has suddenly become one of those words everyone uses. According to LinkedIn, U.S. job postings mentioning "storytelling" have doubled in the past year. A skill once associated with journalists, filmmakers and writers is now showing up everywhere, from corporate strategy to executive job descriptions.

But if you don't know how to find your story, it doesn't matter how well you tell it. That's because, as so many journalists know, finding the story is the hard (sometimes excruciating) part.

Cut to: sitting in countless newsroom editorial meetings, trying to figure out the lead for tonight. Or being the producer pitching to your editor and facing the inevitable question: "But what's the story here?"

It's also the part almost no one teaches. For many journalists, it simply becomes instinct. So when we work with founders and leadership teams, we don't start by asking how they want to tell their story. We start by asking questions.

Who are you?

Not your elevator pitch. Who are you in the story? Which archetype best describes you? Are you the underdog? The challenger? The reluctant hero? The guide? The rebuilder? The insider changing the system? Journalists instinctively look for these patterns because audiences already understand them. They're emotional shortcuts that help people grasp not just what you do, but why your story matters.

Why should anyone care?

It sounds like a brutal question (and one every journalist has heard countless times), but it's also the most important one. Does your story connect to something bigger than your business? A cultural shift? A frustration people already feel? A hope they recognize? If your audience can't see themselves—or someone they know—in your story, they probably won't remember it.

Why now?

Timing is a huge part of storytelling. The same story can feel inevitable one year and irrelevant the next. (I mean, do you like hearing the same story from your partner over and over again?) So ask yourself—and be tough on yourself—what's genuinely new here?

Sometimes it's a new product. Sometimes it's a change in the world around you. Sometimes it's realizing your company isn't the main character. It's one character in a much larger story that's already unfolding. That's often where the strongest narratives are hiding.

Yes, storytelling still matters. And I love that it's finally getting the recognition it deserves. But the best storytellers aren't just good at telling stories. They're excellent at finding them first.