How To Use Storytelling To Build Your Brand

I had this insight to bring, storytelling, that I did in the entertainment business, to champion people and make them better at building their brand and own their voice.

Today I interview Audrey Cavenecia, the Co-producer and co-host for the Amplify Voices podcast, alongside NFL coach Pete Carroll and host of the “Unlikely podcast” on leadership. A talented, storyteller, and visionary Audrey has decades of experience in, leadership development, entertainment production, and content marketing with a focus on championing humanity in all people.

Download the podcast here

https://pdcn.co/e/https://chrt.fm/track/897G7/www.buzzsprout.com/1761155/9928032-how-to-free-yourself-from-the-imposter-syndrome.mp3?download=true

Bio

Audrey Cavenecia is the Co-producer and co-host for the Amplify Voices podcast, alongside NFL coach Pete Carroll and host of the “Unlikely podcast” on leadership. A talented storyteller and visionary Audrey has decades of experience in leadership development, entertainment production, and content marketing with a focus on championing humanity in all people.

She has worked alongside some of the most influential leaders in the world—including speaker and author Tony Robbins and Oracle founder Larry Ellison—to develop and empower new visionaries through stories and insights around authentic human connection. No matter the sector, she continues to build bridges between what is and what can be, with, storytelling, as the scaffolding.

Audrey's back story

Myrna: I know you are an expert, storyteller, what’s your story?

Audrey: Well, you know, it’s interesting because I grew up, I was born in Oakland, California and grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. My parents were pretty much the extreme polar opposites in every sense of the word, my mother is white. And when I say white, I mean white, like blond hair, blue eyes, can't even tan, white from Germany.

She came here to the US when she was about 12. My father is African Latin from South America. He had dark skin, kinky hair, all the features as a black man. So, think of this mixture of German culture and African Latin culture and your get total polar opposites in so many ways.  They meet in church and five children later; we each have a roll of the dice of that race of that mixture of all of that.

So, I think we started out, especially for myself, started out very early, being forced almost to be an observer of society. Because I didn't have my, my tribe. I couldn't point at somebody and be like, oh, you're exactly like me. I couldn't find the Mexican culture and fit in with them. Every single person was like, No, you're a little bit different. You're a little bit on the outside, and maybe it wasn't even them maybe it was just me.

And my own perception of where do I fit when I come from these two narratives that are so different. And then I live inside of my own Americanization while still being pulled into both of their cultures, different languages in the household and all that.

Most of those movies we watched were white people. My dad comes to the United States and marries a white woman.  So, it's another layer for me to look at and be like, Oh, what am I not beautiful? Because my father didn't even marry somebody who looked like me. What does that say about me? My parents owned their own business, like a lot of people that come from other countries. And so my first foray into just self-expression was, storytelling, and finding myself in the theater, because I thought, in that place, I can pretend with, storytelling, because I have no home, I have no tribe, and I can be anything.

Transform Your Mind iHeart Radio
iHeart Radio
Introduction to leadership development

Myrna: I am sure you had problems there as well, not being black enough for certain roles, and not white enough for others.

Audrey: That's right. And but I did have some extraordinary experiences. I toured with the work inside of the African Repertory Theater, and Berkeley toured with plays with individuals was on the Wayans brothers show. So, I had a great time being inside of, storytelling, and that was my lead into, leadership.

So, I went to the, leadership development, in my 20s, I went to the, leadership development, course and there was something about it, it had the beauty of theatrics of being onstage.  It had that spiritual kind of nature of going to church and that physiological kind of feeling that you have in your chest and in your heart when everything opens up that is where, storytelling, is born. I fell in love with, storytelling, as a, leadership development, tool.

I threw myself into it. I dedicated all my time to, leadership. I was single mom at that time as well. And so, I rose through the ranks, I became a really successful leader in that regard and then one woman said something to me.  She said, Okay, great, so what?  You can be a superstar, but can you create other superstars?

I thought to myself, why isn't the whole point of competition to be the best, why would I want to develop people to be better than me?  But it really stirred something in my heart and in my soul. It spoke to something that was way down deep there which was being a champion for humanity.

Sponsored Ad

Song: The Cross by Kevin Carter

This song was a story my grandfather told me many times as a child.

Contact Kevin at 214-986-4510 if you would like to record this for a gospel album.

https://youtu.be/31wLEq4rc7w

Transform Your Mind Luminary podcast
Transform Your Mind Luminary podcast
Storytelling in leadership

Audrey: And now I threw myself into understanding the art of, storytelling, in, training and development. I wanted to do everything possible to help people that have failed.  The people that no one can turn around, the people that have given everything and couldn't find themselves. I trained the shy people introverts the art of, storytelling.

I want to pull all of them up and make them the best, storytellers, in front of crowds. I want to make them the best public speakers. I did just that and that's when people like Tony Robbins and all those others in the, leadership development, space started searching me out and having me work with their, intellectual property.

And then I had this insight and I listened to my heart and my mind, and it said, now bring those two things together, bring, storytelling, that you did in the entertainment business, and bring this, storytelling techniques, to champion people and make them better at their own purpose and voice. Bring them together. Storytelling, and leadership development, is something unique. I opened my own agency, and it took off from there.

I've worked with some of the biggest names out there, I not only champion them and rise them up and help curate and formulate their voice and their audience, all of that, but I combine, storytelling, with their actual content. So now I'm in publishing. I have this media company with Pete Carroll, and we're pulling in people right and left.  Our company it's called “Amplify Voices” for a reason. We're going into the margins of, leadership, with, storytelling. We need to expand what, leadership, is.

Sponsored Ad

In the book Warm Socks: Life Lessons From My Father, by Edna Brown Mark, the author shares that after meeting a stranger in a Medical clinic, she realizes that money and material things wasn’t what she needed to be happy. . She realized it wasn’t what her father had given her, it was what he had taught her.  To have a happy, fulfilled, and purposeful life. These gifts were priceless.

Warm socks: Life Lessons from my father is a captivating memoir you would want to give to anyone you care about. It's a book about a father who didn't give his daughter the materials things she wanted, but he gave her the most important gifts of all – powerful lessons to have a successful, fulfilled, and happy life. It's a page turner. You won’t want to put the book down.

Pick up your copy of Warm Socks: Life Lessons from My Father, by Edna Brown Mark today on Amazon.

What does leadership look like
  • what does it looks like,
  • what size it is,
  • what color it is,
  • what its hair looks like,
  • what his nose looks like,
  • what his what his voice sounds like,
  • where it lives,
  • what it does,
  • its temperament,
  • its emotions, all of that.

We need this more expansive view of, leadership, because there's so much to accomplish in this world.

Myrna: Beautiful, wow. So beautiful. I love how you found your voice through, storytelling,  and entertaining in theater and, and now you're helping people to tell their story through, storytelling.  I love what your definition of what a leader looks like, smells like, tastes like etc.

Sponsored Ad

Having bad credit and being denied credit every time you apply for anything can be extremely frustrating and embarrassing. Bad credit may be a problem, but there is a solution: Back on Track Financial: You can improve your credit scores with Back on Track Financials’ credit development program, which helps you fix and build your credit.

Their number one priority is boosting your credit scores by removing negative items from your credit and educating you on how to establish and manage your credit file. Back On Track has the roadmap to getting your scores within the 700-800 range. Aren’t you tired of fantasizing about the car you could drive, the house you could live in, or the business you could start?

Turn your dreams into reality by getting back on track today. Back on track has experience removing everything from large items such as bankruptcies and student loans down to small items like medical bills collections and hard inquiries. They have removed it all.
Their service is more affordable than ever, give them a call today at 404-694-6569 or visit their website at Go.FicoRush.com

Podfriend Transform Your Mind Podcast
Podfriend Transform Your Mind Podcast
Amplifying voices of the Black community

Audrey: For Amplify Voices, the voices we're focusing now are on podcasts, podcasting. So, I'm on finding particular people out there that have a voice.  We're looking for voices that are timely, that are important. Like for instance, Reza Metacam, is a writer of grandmother's hands African American male, who specializes in, body trauma.

We're asking people to be together;

  • Leaders are asking people to work on their divisiveness,
  • Some are asking people to work in their business environment,
  • Everyone is asking them to be great parents, but we have not confronted the trauma that lives in their bodies, especially black bodies. Black bodies are not the only ones who've experienced trauma, white bodies have trauma as well.  Before black people were enslaved, they were enslaving white people, it's in our history.

And so, our bodies have this pain, this fear of one another.  You look in the world right now we feel resonance, such an important voice. So, what we do is we find people that that are out there speaking when they have a book or they're a public speaker, or they're doing workshops with businesses, or a community leader or something.  I approached them, I have dialogue with them and if I feel there's a real sense of synergy, there is collaboration.

Sponsored Ad

Hey! Are you always scrolling Amazon trying to find the best deals? How about trying something different and head over to happyhourshopping.com Happy Hour Shopping is an online store where you can find the best Amazon products at happy hour prices!
Here you will find interesting, innovative, and high-quality merchandise at reduced prices all in one store.  This online store has a collection of over 5,000 products including luxury, beauty, clothing, electronics, automotive parts, kids toys and much more.

So, enhance your life and save time! Grab the best products any online store has to offer as soon as possible and don’t miss your opportunity to save time and money, because opportunity never knocks twice. That website again is https://happyhourshopping.com/

Transform Your Mind Podcast Player FM
Transform Your Mind Podcast Player FM

At Amplified Voices, we take them over and start developing their content.  We become a support for them, not only in the production process and the postproduction process, but also helping them in shaping their brand through, storytelling, and marketing. We take them through those ranks and then when they get to a certain point, get them right in front of the right people for their book deal, or television show or whatever else becomes the natural progression. There'll also be projects that they'll do independently on their own by nature of this collaboration and some things we'll do together.

Developing authentic human connections

Myrna: Awesome, this is how can we empower, leaders, basic, human connections. We talked a little bit about, storytelling, and what, leadership, looks like.  What is an, authentic human connection? I know that, human connection, is connecting with someone, But I think you probably have a broader definition of it.

Audrey: Actually, I've got a simpler definition for, authentic human connection. It's not actually quite broad. It has depth, but it's quite simple. The very myopic interpretation and narrative we've had around, leadership, and, authentic human connections, is this “sharing yourself.” If you share yourself that is where the magic happens.  Just think of the last three days of your work lives, maybe even your relationships, maybe even with your children. Are there moments where you wanted to say something, and you didn't?  Where you felt like you wanted to reveal something, and you didn't?

Did you want to ask for help or support and you didn’t?  You didn't because of your pride, or shame, or because of the way you were raised.  We do not have the freedom to express ourselves.  As, leaders, we can't tell people “I don't know how to meet payroll at the end of the week”  Leaders, can't tell people “I have an eating disorder, I may be drinking too much because of the stress and the pressure” But it truly is accurate statement to say “bitch this will set you free” Getting rid of the, imposter syndrome, and establishing, authentic human connections,  won't just set you free, It will actually allow people to grow inside your, leadership.  It is the greatest possible thing that you can do.

Myrna: One of the things that people love about Gary Vaynerchuck is that he's very transparent. He made, Storytelling, and, transparency, necessary for all leaders. Transparency is one of the ways to develop, authentic human connections, because you are sharing yourself and letting others see your pain.

Sponsored Ad

It may surprise you to know that over 90% of businesses fail within the first 5 years. That is why Artsy Animate want to help you to scale your business for success. According to business owners, two reasons for failure, are money running out and ineffective marketing. In order to grow your business and shine, you need people to help you grow.

Here at Artsy Animate, we dabble in all of it. Our team of experts all have over 5 years of experience, we develop top quality websites and offer you our best SEO strategies to help you rank and stay ahead of the competition at an affordable price. We will help/guide you reach your ultimate goal – success- bringing in more clients for your business. For more information, visit www.artsyanimate.com OR contact us at [email protected]

Transform your Mind Podcast Index
Transform your Mind Podcast Index
How does Diversity and Inclusion affect Leadership

Audrey: Harvard has done studies behind, diversity and inclusion, this is not a moral compass conversation. This is an economic conversation because we are talking about business.  I know everybody gets like, yeah, we know we need, more Black people.  I'm not talking about a moral compass. What I'm saying is, look, in the world, there are 6.5 billion people, do you think all those people only like white things? They think all those people only want to hear from aggressive, outspoken, black people. Diversity, makes economic sense.

Well, here's the thing. It's the pretend part. That's so damaging. Because you can't pretend, unless I'm hiring you to be an actor and film. There's really nothing beneficial about pretending. Pretending doesn't get you to the other side. Pretending doesn't get you help from the team, pretending doesn't give you an opportunity to experience failure and learn from it.

Sassynchicfashions.com
Sassynchicfashions.com

We carry the biggest collection for church fashions from designer church suits, church dresses, and church hats.

Transform Your Mind PTWWN TV
Transform Your Mind PTWWN TV
Conclusion

Myrna: How can people connect with you on social media and listen to your podcasts?

Audrey:  Okay, well it's very easy to find us at www.amplifyvoices.io. You'll find everything there. Find me all our podcasts on our website and our social media handles. We just won a prestigious award so we're very happy that people have received it so well.

Additional Resources

How to Develop Emotional Resilience At Work

 

 

 

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
LinkedIn
WhatsApp
Email
Facebook

Related Podcast Episodes

  • Download on iTunes

    Transform Your Mind Podcast iTunes

  • Amazon Beauty Products: Get Clinique Products and More…

    Amazon Beauty clinique bonus time

  • Download on Castbox.fm

    Transform Your Mind Castbox

  • Transform Your Mind Podcast Buzzsprout

    Transform Your Mind Podcast

  • Copyright © [2024]. All Rights Reserved.