├── storytelling-prompts-by-julia-schuerer ├── README.md └── index.md ├── CITATION.cff ├── CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md └── README.md /storytelling-prompts-by-julia-schuerer/README.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | index.md -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /CITATION.cff: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | cff-version: 1.2.0 2 | title: Thought leadership writing 3 | message: >- 4 | If you use this work and you want to cite it, 5 | then you can use the metadata from this file. 6 | type: software 7 | authors: 8 | - given-names: Joel Parker 9 | family-names: Henderson 10 | email: joel@joelparkerhenderson.com 11 | affiliation: joelparkerhenderson.com 12 | orcid: 'https://orcid.org/0009-0000-4681-282X' 13 | identifiers: 14 | - type: url 15 | value: 'https://github.com/joelparkerhenderson/thought-leadership-writing/' 16 | description: Thought leadership writing 17 | repository-code: 'https://github.com/joelparkerhenderson/thought-leadership-writing/' 18 | abstract: >- 19 | Thought leadership writing 20 | license: See license file 21 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /storytelling-prompts-by-julia-schuerer/index.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # Storytelling prompts by Julia Schuerer 2 | 3 | https://www.thesocialstoryteller.club/tssc 4 | 5 | These storytelling prompts are designed to: 6 | 7 | * Ignite Your Creativity: Never be at a loss for words again. Each card is a wellspring of ideas waiting to be explored. 8 | 9 | * Foster Genuine Connections: Tell stories that touch hearts and minds, building lasting relationships with your audience. 10 | 11 | * Drive Engagement and Conversions: Turn your followers into clients with stories that highlight your expertise and empathy. 12 | 13 | * Streamline Your Content Creation: Overcome overwhelm with ready-to-use prompts that make content planning a breeze. 14 | 15 | ## Prompts 16 | 17 | Reveal your core values and how they impact your client interactions. 18 | 19 | Share a vulnerable moment and what it taught you about your work. 20 | 21 | Explain how a client's feedback improved your services. 22 | 23 | Unpack a quote that deeply resonates with your brand's mission. 24 | 25 | Discuss a mistake you've made and the lessons it imparted. 26 | 27 | Share how you go above and beyond for your clients. 28 | 29 | Dive into a client transformation—before, middle, and after. 30 | 31 | Tackle an industry taboo and give your authentic viewpoint. 32 | 33 | Share a meaningful interaction that reminded you why you started. 34 | 35 | Discuss a real-life application of your product or service that surprised you. 36 | 37 | Share your mission and how it aligns with your audience's needs. 38 | 39 | Tell the story of a failure turned success. 40 | 41 | Share what you wish your younger self knew. 42 | 43 | Explain a complex aspect of your job and how you navigate it. 44 | 45 | Introduce your daily rituals that ground your business practice. 46 | 47 | Debunk a common myth and share what actually works based on experience. 48 | 49 | Relate a personal anecdote that reflects your brand's essence. 50 | 51 | Unveil a current challenge and ask for community input. 52 | 53 | Detail your vision for your business in the next five years. 54 | 55 | Share the essence of your brand in a single story. 56 | 57 | Give a behind-the-scenes look at a project aligned with your core values. 58 | 59 | Share an "aha" moment that changed your business. 60 | 61 | Discuss your most-used tools that also align with your values. 62 | 63 | Reveal a recent win and the struggle that preceded it. 64 | 65 | Dive into a case study, emphasizing the human aspect. 66 | 67 | Launch a new offering with a story that led to its creation. 68 | 69 | Share a tried-and-true method for staying focused and inspired. 70 | 71 | Unearth an industry blindspot and provide your authentic solution. 72 | 73 | Discuss how you maintain work-life harmony. 74 | 75 | Share the boldest move you've made and its impact. 76 | 77 | Talk about a near-quitting moment and how your community helped you. 78 | 79 | Explain how you stay innovative and true to your audience's evolving needs. 80 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | 2 | # Contributor Covenant Code of Conduct 3 | 4 | ## Our Pledge 5 | 6 | We as members, contributors, and leaders pledge to make participation in our 7 | community a harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of age, body 8 | size, visible or invisible disability, ethnicity, sex characteristics, gender 9 | identity and expression, level of experience, education, socio-economic status, 10 | nationality, personal appearance, race, caste, color, religion, or sexual 11 | identity and orientation. 12 | 13 | We pledge to act and interact in ways that contribute to an open, welcoming, 14 | diverse, inclusive, and healthy community. 15 | 16 | ## Our Standards 17 | 18 | Examples of behavior that contributes to a positive environment for our 19 | community include: 20 | 21 | * Demonstrating empathy and kindness toward other people 22 | * Being respectful of differing opinions, viewpoints, and experiences 23 | * Giving and gracefully accepting constructive feedback 24 | * Accepting responsibility and apologizing to those affected by our mistakes, 25 | and learning from the experience 26 | * Focusing on what is best not just for us as individuals, but for the overall 27 | community 28 | 29 | Examples of unacceptable behavior include: 30 | 31 | * The use of sexualized language or imagery, and sexual attention or advances of 32 | any kind 33 | * Trolling, insulting or derogatory comments, and personal or political attacks 34 | * Public or private harassment 35 | * Publishing others' private information, such as a physical or email address, 36 | without their explicit permission 37 | * Other conduct which could reasonably be considered inappropriate in a 38 | professional setting 39 | 40 | ## 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Permanent Ban 108 | 109 | **Community Impact**: Demonstrating a pattern of violation of community 110 | standards, including sustained inappropriate behavior, harassment of an 111 | individual, or aggression toward or disparagement of classes of individuals. 112 | 113 | **Consequence**: A permanent ban from any sort of public interaction within the 114 | community. 115 | 116 | ## Attribution 117 | 118 | This Code of Conduct is adapted from the [Contributor Covenant][homepage], 119 | version 2.1, available at 120 | [https://www.contributor-covenant.org/version/2/1/code_of_conduct.html][v2.1]. 121 | 122 | Community Impact Guidelines were inspired by 123 | [Mozilla's code of conduct enforcement ladder][Mozilla CoC]. 124 | 125 | For answers to common questions about this code of conduct, see the FAQ at 126 | [https://www.contributor-covenant.org/faq][FAQ]. Translations are available at 127 | [https://www.contributor-covenant.org/translations][translations]. 128 | 129 | [homepage]: https://www.contributor-covenant.org 130 | [v2.1]: https://www.contributor-covenant.org/version/2/1/code_of_conduct.html 131 | [Mozilla CoC]: https://github.com/mozilla/diversity 132 | [FAQ]: https://www.contributor-covenant.org/faq 133 | [translations]: https://www.contributor-covenant.org/translations 134 | 135 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /README.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # Thought leadership writing 2 | 3 | Thought leadership writing tips for content creators, bloggers, authors, and editors. 4 | 5 | Contents: 6 | 7 | * [Introduction: what is thought leadership?](#introduction-what-is-thought-leadership) 8 | * [Prologue: Never Call Yourself a Thought Leader](#prologue-never-call-yourself-a-thought-leader) 9 | * [The Value of B2B Thought Leadership Survey Results](#the-value-of-b2b-thought-leadership-survey-results) 10 | * [Mission.org: The Best Thought Leadership I’ve Ever Seen](#mission-org-the-best-thought-leadership-i-ve-ever-seen) 11 | * [Business Writing Tips for Professionals](#business-writing-tips-for-professionals) 12 | * [Writing checklist for web content](#writing-checklist-for-web-content) 13 | * [The Storytelling Spine](#the-storytelling-spine) 14 | * [Pixar story basics](#pixar-story-basics) 15 | * [Writing analysis tools](#writing-analysis-tools) 16 | 17 | 18 | ## Introduction: what is thought leadership? 19 | 20 | Thought leaders are go-to people in their field of expertise. 21 | 22 | When people say they are a thought leader, they are saying they take the time to help others by doing good work, and also working to package it up via blog posts, slide shares, conference talks, and the like, so that other people can learn. ([Credit](https://www.inc.com/sangram-vajre/3-reasons-you-should-never-call-yourself-a-thought-leader.html)) 23 | 24 | In business, thought leadership is when your customers look to you for advice about big questions, and 25 | when you share your perspectives and recommendations. Thought leaadership can be especially helpful with inspiring ideas and innovative insights. 26 | 27 | Thought leadership writing is challenging because the goal is clear communication about complex topics. To help with thought leadership writing, this page has tips that we use to help our teammates. 28 | 29 | 30 | ## Prologue: Never Call Yourself a Thought Leader 31 | 32 | Source: [3 Reasons You Should Never Call Yourself a Thought Leader](https://www.inc.com/sangram-vajre/3-reasons-you-should-never-call-yourself-a-thought-leader.html) 33 | 34 | 1. The title of "thought leader" is an honor to be earned. "Thought leader" is a term other people use when referring to truly visionary people. They shouldn't use it about themselves. 35 | 36 | 2. Calling yourself a thought leader makes you unrelatable. Telling someone you're a thought leader is like telling people you're rich; it usually means you aren't, and it's gauche. 37 | 38 | 3. "Thought leader" is becoming an overused term. Other overused nicknames are maven, visionary, guru, rock star, game changer, ninja, entrepreneur, and the like. 39 | 40 | 41 | ## The Value of B2B Thought Leadership 42 | 43 | Source: [Grist value of B2B Thought Leadership Survey](https://www.slideshare.net/Grist_Ltd/grist-value-of-b2b-thought-leadership-survey-102649247) 44 | 45 | We surveyed the C-suite at FTSE 350 firms to find out what they expected from thought leadership, how and when it was consumed, and what would make it better. 46 | 47 | * Senior executives are positive about thought leadership effects, saying it has importance in: adding value to their role (84%), staying up to speed on key business issues (79%), decision making (76%) and taking a view on the future (76%). 48 | 49 | * Follow-on action: motivated to research the topic in more depth (72%), discuss it with peers or colleagues (67%), implement the suggestions (63%). 50 | 51 | * Content pros: thoughts of clients (57%), industry experts (53%), professional services firms (44%), the public (42%), peers (36%), and inspirational individuals outside the industry (36%). 52 | 53 | * Content cons: too generic (63%), lacks original insight or ideas (58%), promotes the advisor rather than addressing client need (53%). 54 | 55 | * Format preferences: short articles of 800 words (63%), blog posts of 300–500 words (57%), feature articles of 1,200+ words (45%), and white papers and research reports of up to 4,000 words (28%), video (26%), audio, (25%), infographics (20%). 56 | 57 | * Top sources: professional services / advisory firms (44%), industry events (43%), and online search (40%). 58 | 59 | * What content would be most useful in the future? 80% said that they wanted content that they – and their peers – were involved in developing. 60 | 61 | * Monday lunchtimes matter. Two thirds of senior executives seek out thought leadership on a Monday. The two hour slot between 12 noon and 2pm is the single most popular time. 62 | 63 | 64 | 65 | ## The Best Thought Leadership 66 | 67 | Source: [Mission.org: The Best Thought Leadership I’ve Ever Seen](https://medium.com/the-mission/the-best-thought-leadership-ive-ever-seen-2331ae07783b) 68 | 69 | 1. Present an Arc — With a Transformation, a Journey, or a Conflict. The one thing most publishers should take out of hours of drawn-out literature classes is the universality of the narrative arc. There’s an exposition, rising action, a climax, and falling action to a resolution. This structure is universal because anything else is just boring. Try transformation stories, The Hero’s Journey, Man vs. Man, Man vs. Society, Man vs. Nature, Man vs. Self, etc. 70 | 71 | 2. Give the Readers Incentive to Read, Deliver Obvious Value. The reason somebody picks up any kind of thought leadership story is to learn something and to apply it. You must deliver obvious value to them and give them an incentive to keep reading. This goes beyond promising a great outcome (more on that below) and goes towards understanding the psychology of the reader. Understand your audience. Flip the script. Paint a dark picture of ignoring your advice. Paint a bright picture of heeding your advice. 72 | 73 | 3. Paint a Transformative Conclusion and Give them a Promised Land. After delivering value to your reader, and painting the pictures of your advice, then give your reader something to strive for through the reading. Be as vivid as you can. Engage their imaginations and empathy. Move from the realm of their fears into your world of opportunity. 74 | 75 | 4. Give Clear Action Items and Make Reading Feel Worthwhile. Action items come in many forms — tools for self-improvement, thought experiments, mental models, and mantras by which to live — and run the gambit from explicit business content to self-help to philosophy. If your readership is expecting something more abstract, give them mental models and psychological tools for thinking about the subject matter in your work. Charts and graphs are fantastic tools for concretizing abstractions. 76 | 77 | 5. Don’t Feel Bound to a Formula / Treat Your Thought Leadership as A Startup. Take a lesson from the startup world: test, test, test. Use beta readers. Get your content out there early. Get feedback. Understand what works. Do less of what doesn’t. Engage an email list. Publish on a prominent platform. Teach classes and give lectures on the topic. Run a podcast interviewing people on the topic. Write, publish, test, pivot. 78 | 79 | 80 | ## Business Writing Tips for Professionals 81 | 82 | Source: [Business Writing Tips for Professionals: Ten easy ways to improve your business writing skills](https://www.amanet.org/articles/business-writing-tips-for-professionals/) 83 | 84 | * State your most important point up front in the first sentence. 85 | 86 | * Be clear, concise, to the point. 87 | 88 | * Use a strong active voice, not an impersonal passive voice. 89 | 90 | * Write in a conversational tone-- unless you're writing to an audience that wants formality. 91 | 92 | * Replace hyperbole with solid facts and reputable testimonials. 93 | 94 | * Replace your company acronyms/buzzwords/jargon with words that your audience knows. 95 | 96 | * Read your document aloud, to help you find any awkwardness and fix it. 97 | 98 | * Write from your customer’s perspective. 99 | 100 | * Convert features into benefits to engage your customer emotionally. 101 | 102 | * Know your goal: who is your target audience and what is your target result? 103 | 104 | 105 | ## Writing checklist for web content 106 | 107 | Our team checklist in priority order: 108 | 109 | * Readers skim. Write sentences that are short, simple, and direct. 110 | 111 | * Readers snip. Write one highlight point per sentence, and per paragraph, and per section. 112 | 113 | * Readers scan. Minimize participle phrases, prepositional phrases, subordinate clauses, appositives, litotes, etc. 114 | 115 | * Readers want action. Prefer active verbs vs. passive verbs such as "is", "be", "was". 116 | 117 | * Readers want immediacy. Prefer near (e.g. here and now) vs. far (e.g. there and then). 118 | 119 | * Readers respond to recommendations. Prefer imperative present tense (e.g. "create") vs. past or passive. 120 | 121 | * Readers respond to proof. Prefer evidence (e.g. quotes, citations) vs. opinons (e.g. conjectures, specultations). 122 | 123 | * Readers have ranges of languages. Prefer direct words vs. allusion, connotation, hyperbole, sarcasm, irony, etc. 124 | 125 | * Readers have ranges of cultures. Prefer direct meanings vs. allegory, personification, onomatopoeia, etc. 126 | 127 | 128 | ## The Storytelling Spine 129 | 130 | Source: [6 rules of great storytelling as told by Pixar](https://medium.com/@Brian_G_Peters/6-rules-of-great-storytelling-as-told-by-pixar-fcc6ae225f50) 131 | 132 | * Once upon a time, there was [blank]. 133 | 134 | * Every day, [blank]. 135 | 136 | * One day, [blank]. 137 | 138 | * Because of that, [blank]. 139 | 140 | * Until finally, [blank]. 141 | 142 | 143 | ## Pixar storybasics 144 | 145 | Source: [Storybasics I've picked up in my time at Pixar; by Emma Coats](https://storyshots.tumblr.com/post/25032057278/22-storybasics-ive-picked-up-in-my-time-at-pixar) 146 | 147 | 1: You admire a character for trying more than for their successes. 148 | 149 | 2: You gotta keep in mind what’s interesting to you as an audience, not what’s fun to do as a writer. They can be v. different. 150 | 151 | 3: Trying for theme is important, but you won’t see what the story is actually about til you’re at the end of it. Now rewrite. 152 | 153 | 4: Once upon a time, there was ___. Every day, ___. One day, ___. Because of that, ___. Because of that, ___. Until finally, ___. 154 | 155 | 5: Simplify. Focus. Combine characters. Hop over detours. You’ll feel like you’re losing valuable stuff but it sets you free. 156 | 157 | 6: What is your character good at, comfortable with? Throw the polar opposite at them. Challenge them. How do they deal? 158 | 159 | 7: Come up with your ending before you figure out your middle. Seriously. Endings are hard, get yours working up front. 160 | 161 | 8: Finish your story, let go even if it’s not perfect. In an ideal world you have both, but move on. Do better next time. 162 | 163 | 9: When you’re stuck, make a list of what WOULDN’T happen next. Lots of times the material to get you unstuck will show up. 164 | 165 | 10: Pull apart the stories you like. What you like in them is a part of you; you’ve got to recognize it before you can use it. 166 | 167 | 11: Putting it on paper lets you start fixing it. If it stays in your head, a perfect idea, you’ll never share it with anyone. 168 | 169 | 12: Discount the 1st thing that comes to mind. And the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th – get the obvious out of the way. Surprise yourself. 170 | 171 | 13: Give your characters opinions. Passive/malleable might seem likable to you as you write, but it’s poison to the audience. 172 | 173 | 14: Why must you tell THIS story? What’s the belief burning within you that your story feeds off of? That’s the heart of it. 174 | 175 | 15: If you were your character, in this situation, how would you feel? Honesty lends credibility to unbelievable situations. 176 | 177 | 16: What are the stakes? Give us reason to root for the character. What happens if they don’t succeed? Stack the odds against. 178 | 179 | 17: No work is ever wasted. If it’s not working, let go and move on - it’ll come back around to be useful later. 180 | 181 | 18: You have to know yourself: the difference between doing your best & fussing. Story is testing, not refining. 182 | 183 | 19: Coincidences to get characters into trouble are great; coincidences to get them out of it are cheating. 184 | 185 | 20: Exercise: take the building blocks of a movie you dislike. How d’you rearrange them into what you DO like? 186 | 187 | 21: You gotta identify with your situation/characters, can’t just write ‘cool’. What would make YOU act that way? 188 | 189 | 22: What’s the essence of your story? Most economical telling of it? If you know that, you can build out from there. 190 | 191 | 192 | ## Writing analysis tools 193 | 194 | [Datayze](https://datayze.com/) [writing tools](https://datayze.com/index.php?category=writing): 195 | 196 | * [Readability Analyzer](https://datayze.com/readability-analyzer.php): Estimate the readability of a passage of text using the Flesch Reading Ease, Fog Scale Level, Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, and other metrics. 197 | 198 | * [Passive Voice Detector](https://datayze.com/passive-voice-detector.php): Automatically detects passive voice in a block of text. 199 | 200 | * [Difficult & Extraneous Word Finder](https://datayze.com/difficult-word-finder.php): Identify possible weak points in your prose, to help you write clearly and concisely. 201 | 202 | * [Thin Content Checker](https://datayze.com/thin-content-checker.php): Analyze a website and the percentage of unique content on each page. 203 | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------