Your story is important and allows you to connect with others, but how are you storytelling in your business? Storytelling strategist, Akua Konadu, joins me in sharing her own journey to storytelling and how sharing her story has given her a platform and the space to impact others. If today’s episode resonates with you and you want to show support for the show, here’s an easy way to do so: Buy Me A Coffee! Akua Konadu is a Storytelling Strategist and Social Media Educator, and Podcast host who empowers and equips entrepreneurs with personalized storytelling strategies that seamlessly integrate with their brand and elevate the message they are always meant to share. Sharing Your Story Akua entered the world of pageantry in 2015, competing for Miss Minnesota USA. During her time in the pageant world, Akua learned about the importance of storytelling and branding yourself. She also gained a skillset in making an impact in a short period of time. Through that experience, she was able to share her own story personal story on domestic violence, which empowered her to impact others that she never imagined impacting. Her story allowed her to connect with and cross paths with people that she probably never would have spoken to, in all walks of life. That perspective gave her the realization of what impact we can make if we all just shared our stories and listened to others. Sharing Your Story in Your Business As a business owner, it can be easy to hide behind your brand and disassociate from it, but you have to remember that people buy from people. You are the face behind your brand, so showing up and connecting is important. Keep in mind though, that you get to decide how open and vulnerable you want to be with your audience. For years, I stayed silent about parts of me that I was nervous to share, but earlier this year, I decided that it was important for me to be open about who I am in a way that was authentic to my audience. Boundaries Around Your Story The process to defining what parts of your story and yourself you want to share can be emotional, yet this process can help craft exactly what you should be sharing in your marketing. In defining these pillars of your story that you plan to share, you will be able to connect with your audience and show them how your journey uniquely equips you to help them. You can instill boundaries around what you want parts of your story you to share in your business with your audience. You don’t have to be an open book, in fact, it’s probably harmful to your mental health to let everyone into every aspect of your life. There will be parts of your life that not everyone deserves to know and you get to set those limitations. Storytelling in Your Marketing If you’ve felt overwhelmed with the changes happening online with marketing platforms and feel like throwing in the towel, there is some good news for you! The one thing in marketing that has always stayed the same is storytelling. Your story will help tell your story, sell your offers, and connect with your audience. The way you show up online and tell your story in your marketing allows people to connect with you. It also removes the weight of selling, which so many of us hate to do. Maya Angelo once said,