The most powerful story, is YOUR story
But, you don’t have to talk about yourself to tell a personal story.
The trick is to make your values, curiosity, and worldview visible through the way you frame the work, not autobiographical details.
Think of it as showing your hands not your face.
(This is also what journalists have to do 99.999% the time, we have to take ourselves out of the story while giving the first-person feel)
Let’s jump in to see how this looks in action….
The 3 archetypes of the personal story WITHOUT the self!
1. The Mirror Narrative 🪞
You tell the story of someone else’s problem that mirrors your own obsession.
Instead of “I started this because I hated waste,”
Try this…
“Every day, labs throw away X tonnes of unused reagents. That waste became our obsession.”
You let the world’s friction reveal your motivation.
2. The Pattern Story ⠟
You talk about what you’ve noticed repeatedly — and what that says about your worldview.
“Across the last decade, every leap in materials science came from people who stopped optimising and started observing.”
You are revealing YOUR way of seeing an industry / concept / problem.
But if all else fails, you can try…
3. The Proxy Hero 🦸🏻♀️
You tell the story through your users, collaborators, or the system itself.
“When a clinician can diagnose in 5 minutes instead of 50, that changes who gets care.”
You’re embedding your values in the outcome, not the bio.
Science Storytelling Workshop - 5th of November
I am completely taken aback by the response to the workshop!
It’s completely free (no offer / no fluff) for anyone that needs to communicate science everyday.
We will cover all the ways to produce high-quality explainers and science-first content, as well as how to attract traditional media attention (pitch to journalists etc.)
How to do this for your story?
Write one story about your work.
Why you started? How you started? People that inspired you to start? What mission are you on?
Take the “I” and “we” away
Can you show the same pathway through someone else’s story? What is the main value that you are trying to showcase?
Rewrite with those values leading the frame.
Think like a journalist that is writing on the topic rather than a profile on you or your company.
Please also … do tell YOUR story!
It’s a scary leap, believe me I know. I am currently doing my Masters in Journalism at Harvard and it’s the first time I have been asked to write about senses, feelings, or opinionsto and and to get out and interview total strangers and quote them… scary stuff!
My thesis was on melanoma brain metastasis (much easier to write about cells dissolving protein barriers).
But sometimes you need to take a leap and do it!
Always learning,
Giota
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