Welcome to Issue 47 of A Good Reputation, a newsletter about how to become a better storyteller and grow your brand. (Did someone send you? Subscribe here.)

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Hello Reader,

I’m late, as usual, and there’s only one seat left in the circle next to the teacher.

The class has neatly divided itself into two halves. On one side, there’s a group of old, slightly frumpy retirees who, I assume, have enviable amounts of free time on their hands. On the other, a handful of well-dressed stay-at-home moms approaching middle age who are either in-between careers or aspiring to rejoin the rat race. The only outlier is the 20-something-year-old introverted kid in the corner.

All twelve of us are gathered here today, in Room 3 of the Community College at 9 a.m., for a month-long freeform writing class.

After a round of brief introductions, the teacher—a former television writer—gives us our first prompt: “Your doppelgänger is taking over for a short time so that you can take a vacation from your life. What instructions do you give them?”

For the next 20 minutes, we’re required to put our pens to paper and write without stopping. Kind of like journaling, the idea is to let whatever comes up come out.

But unlike a journal entry, you don’t get to keep what you write to yourself.

In order to participate in this class, you must read the things that poured out of you out loud and brace yourself for a round of group feedback.

And that’s when a woman (we’ll call her Martha) from the elderly set takes us through a day in her life that starts with her getting out of bed in her underwear.

A Good Technique

Maybe you’ve noticed, or maybe you haven’t, but if you’ve been reading my newsletter long enough, you’ll know that I rarely write in the present tense. Always the first person, because it’s the best way to strike that credibility balance of warmth + competence, but hardly ever in the present. (It's hard!)

Which, as I was reminded of this week (along with a few other key literary elements), is a subtle yet powerful way to bring people into your story.

When you use the present tense, your audience gets to be in the action with you as it’s unfolding. And if you use just the right amount of tension throughout, then release that tension, you’ll keep us hooked the whole way down.

If you're still reading, it means I managed to do it effectively. And it's what Martha, along with a couple of other seasoned writers in my Wednesday class, did, too.

Using short, punchy sentences, Martha gave us an intimate, funny, and insightful peek into her life.

Her story went something like this:

First, she wakes up in her underwear to feed her adoring cats. Sometimes there are foster kittens in the mix. Sometimes not. They don’t always get along. She tries to make soup at least once a week, because it just makes financial sense, and only likes doing the NYT crossword puzzles on Tuesdays and Fridays, because those days are easier.

Martha, in my mind, unfolded as a character who’s both practical and perfectly content with the way things are going.

Another classmate (we'll call her Linda) took a similar approach. Her opening I remember perfectly:

“Wake up. Put on your bunny slippers. Shuffle to the coffee maker. Dog needs attention—probably a walk. But no, you need coffee first. Just give him a treat.”

As she read aloud, I felt as though I was shuffling around a house—a dark and slightly damp cottage surrounded by redwoods in my mind—in those bunny slippers. I wasn't ready to tend to the dog, either.

Without giving too much detail in her descriptions, I was able to create a movie in my mind of her world, using my own imagination to fill in the gaps. (Another solid storytelling technique.)

Here's what else I learned in class that you and I can apply to our own storytelling for brand building.

A Good List

Along with their masterful use of the present tense, my teacher pointed out that by Martha revealing how she goes about her morning routine in her underwear and Linda disclosing her use of bunny slippers, both introduce a level of intimacy and vulnerability that allows us, the audience, to form an immediate bond.

Now, I know most of us are over here trying to build professional brands. And we can’t talk about walking around in our underwear as freely on LinkedIn as we can in an in-person writing class. (I mean, you do you. But I'm taking it as a metaphor.)

So the question is: How do you create that same sense of closeness and connection online without oversharing or making your audience feel too uncomfortable?

This is how my classmates pulled it off:

1. Find common ground.

Give just enough of yourself for people to recognize themselves in your story.

One man (we’ll call him Ron) shared that he yells at the TV when watching the news. To which Martha responded, “You’re grumpy, like me. I like you.” For Martha, that tiny confession made Ron instantly relatable. For me, the scene reminded me of my dad, which made me feel a little tender affection for Ron.

Offering up these small glimpses into how you operate in the world, like, “I always forget names in meetings,” can create the same effect when brand building. The more honest and specific, the better.

2. Use self-deprecation.

Highlighting your quirks or flaws not only makes you more approachable, it also adds some humor to your story. (Like Ron yelling at the TV.) Actually, brain science shows that humor helps us create an instant bond with the person who makes us laugh.

Another reason this works when brand building is that in a world full of polished thought leadership, admitting that you once sent an email to the wrong client or burned dinner because you were drafting a post makes people like you more because it makes them feel less dumb and more normal.

3. Ground your story in the mundane.

Almost every story in class was about something ordinary, like feeding pets, making soup, or sending kids off to school. But those small, everyday details carried something bigger underneath, which exposed our anxieties, values, hopes, and joys.

More often than not, it’s the small moment—like the client who ghosted you or the sad lunch you took at your desk—that speaks volumes about your values or highlights your perspective.

You can write about something bigger, but grounding us in a detail we can relate to gives us a more approachable way in.

A Good Takeaway

What struck me most in class this week wasn’t just that these storytellers all used great techniques to capture my attention and keep me hooked; it was how easily they built trust and created a sense of closeness in this group of strangers.

Within minutes, Martha and the others were no longer “the retirees and SAHMS in the circle”—they were people I felt connected to.

And while everyone interpreted the prompt differently, each managed to move me, entertain me, and endear me to the person telling it.

You and I have the same opportunity to create closeness and likability when building a brand online.

By taking a first-person perspective, sharing a small but specific detail, and having a little willingness to show a bit of your inner world, you too can connect with the right people—whether you’re writing to clients, pitching investors, introducing yourself at a networking event, or attempting to reach a broader audience.

Because few things are more powerful for human connection than a personal story told honestly. And that’s as true in a community college classroom as it is online.

The first step, as always, is being brave enough to share with the class.

A Few Good Resources

1. Being the queen of relatability isn't the only reason Taylor has reached such heights. It's her masterful storytelling.
2. It's official: I'm running my second short-form storytelling for online brand-building cohort in October. Bear with me as I get the landing page up to snuff. If you're interested in attending this 5-week cohort, please reply directly to this email to let me know.

Hope you have a good one,
Renee