3 Storytelling Tips For Career Success With ‘Generation Women’

Sometimes, reality is too complex. Stories give it form.” ― Jean Luc Godard

In a time of mass unpredictability, when our career and personal perspectives often waver, one of the most basic yet powerful reminders is that our lives are shaped by time, circumstance, and self-belief. At the core, everyone is simply living out their own unfolding story, shaped by experiences, choices, and interactions. How we draw on these experiences to tell our story to ourselves and others is what makes us truly unique.

As our lives become increasingly consumed by algorithms, harnessing this natural human interaction has become more crucial than ever. Storytelling skills as a professional differentiator are disrupting traditional skills by offering an authentic alternative to capture attention, foster engagement, and inspire action. It is a well-known fact that effective leaders are often great storytellers, using the power of storytelling to make them engaging, relatable, and inspire others with their mission.

The science of storytelling

Yet, although storytelling has existed since the dawn of humanity, its transformative ability in professional development is a more recent phenomenon. For many professionals, storytelling remains an untapped talent. This is particularly true for women whose voices have been historically marginalized and undervalued.

As a skill often associated with confident and extroverted behaviors, it is regularly misconstrued as a learned external action. Yet in reality, storytelling is a natural part of our biology. Research by Uri Hassan from Princeton University shows that as we listen to stories, our brainwaves synchronize with those of the storyteller, highlighting a scientific connection. Stories are to the brain what breathing is to our lungs, something we do without even realizing.

In a world craving human connection, there is a tremendous opportunity in learning how to refine this skill and use it to connect and engage with others for personal and career development. The challenge, however, is knowing where to start?

Generation Women

For renowned novelist and a dynamic force in the storytelling world, Georgia Clark, the answer is simple: through development and practice. She is the creator of Generation Women, a celebrated New York storytelling series started in 2017, which brings together women and nonbinary individuals spanning their 20s through 70s+, to share personal stories on a designated theme.

Born out of a realization that women focus the vast amount of their time with those in similar age and peer groups, she wanted to create a ‘matriarchal campfire,’ where women of all ages and backgrounds could share stories and learn from one another. She highlights that listening to older women’s experiences can be profoundly liberating, offering wisdom and perspective that can be lost to modern pressures.

By curating a show that balances authenticity with structured storytelling, Clark encourages participants to explore the life cycle and the connective force of sharing what she calls ‘simple human truths.’ The aim is to demonstrate the untapped power of storytelling and the impact it has on a woman’s sense of conviction and confidence. A skill that can be transformative in women’s careers.

Clark believes storytelling is a skill anyone can master and offers three essential pieces of advice for beginners:

1. We Are Not As Unique As We Believe

For Georgia Clark, one of the most empowering lessons we can learn to become better storytellers is that “we are not as unique as we think we are.’’ She explains that ‘’stories allow human connection in its most raw and authentic form. We see ourselves reflected in a story or learn something new.’’

She believes that the essential part of any story is not the storyline itself but character relatability, which is created through authenticity and vulnerability. “The best stories are not always perfectly written and framed,” she says, “they are real and raw and maybe even uncomfortable, but your audience is thinking ‘I have done that or I know how that feels. Perfection is never the goal; conveying simple human truths is.” As Antoine de Saint-Exupéry once wrote, “perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.”

2. All Stories Share One Central Storyline

Achieving truth, simplicity, and clarity in storytelling is crucial. Clark believes mastering storytelling involves embracing not its structures or technicalities but its simplicity. While frameworks are an important resource, Clark highlights that a critical hack for beginners is to realize that every story revolves around one central theme; the narrative of change.

“Each narrative, whether personal or professional, involves an external event,’’ she says, “these events trigger internal shifts in thoughts and feelings. It is the impact between these external events and internal transformations that makes stories compelling and authentic, taking the audience on that journey of change using storytelling techniques to create an engaging narrative.’’

She shares an example of a typical interview question -‘Why do you want to work for this company?’’

‘To start use present tense, first person, and a visual image,’’ she explains, “you can provide the standard cerebral answer, ‘I want to work for this company because I have a background in .. and I love the product….’ or an answer where you share your change catalyst with your audience, ‘Well I was sitting at my coffee table, last year, after ten years at my current company… and a realization hit me…’ It’s clear which of these is more likely to capture an interviewer’s attention.” Human beings are incredibly curious, and by framing stories around the narrative of change and learning, you capture attention.

3. To Start -Know Your Own Story

Yet first you must take yourself on a journey, beginning with the most natural yet complex stories of all – your own. Clark shares that this takes conscious effort and can be uncomfortable for many, but self-awareness is the key to understanding your experiences, emotions, and viewpoints and enables you to use your experiences as a profound relationship connector. “It is only after you explore and understand your own life’s stories and feelings that you can convey them in a way that is authentic and engaging,” she says, “this is not always as easy as it sounds, and natural to get caught up in self-doubt and the war in your head, but the only way is to try something/start something.” The magic of storytelling is that the very process itself can be a way to work through those internal conflicts and overcome with newfound confidence.

Georgia Clark’s Generation Women exemplifies how storytelling can bridge generational divides and empower individuals, proving that effective communication is rooted in authenticity and shared experience. Whether in a boardroom or our backyards, mastering the art of storytelling transforms interactions. It drives meaningful connections, proving that the essence of our shared humanity is as powerful today as it has ever been. Storytelling is for many an untapped skill. A potential that, if realized, could have transformative effects on life and careers.