brand-storytelling

What this skill does

# Brand Storytelling

## Scope

**Covers**
- Crafting a clear **brand narrative** (what you stand for + why people should care)
- Writing a **founder/origin story** anchored on a single “five-second moment” of realization or transformation
- Turning narrative into **usable scripts** (website, pitch, social, team)
- Planning “**build in public**” storytelling for founders/teams (cadence + guardrails)
- Preparing **pithy answers** and a Q&A bank for pitches and interviews

**When to use**
- “Write or refresh our brand story / founder story / origin story.”
- “We need a narrative for our website, pitch deck, and social posts.”
- “Help us find the ‘moment’ in our origin story and make it memorable.”
- “Create a build-in-public storytelling plan for the founder/team.”
- “Prep our pithy story + Q&A for fundraising / press / a keynote.”

**When NOT to use**
- You need to decide your ICP/positioning first (use a positioning/messaging workflow first).
- You need a full visual identity system (logo, typography, brand book, UI kit).
- You want fictionalized or unverifiable claims (this skill will not fabricate facts).
- You’re making regulated/high-risk claims (medical/legal/financial) without expert review.

## Inputs

**Minimum required**
- Company/product: what it is + who it’s for (1–3 sentences)
- Primary audience + setting: customers, investors, partners, press (pick one primary)
- Primary channel(s): website, deck/pitch, talk, social (pick 1–2)
- Desired perception: 3–5 adjectives (e.g., “trustworthy, modern, scrappy”)
- Story raw material: key events, constraints, “before/after”, proof points (even rough bullets)
- Constraints: taboo words, compliance/claims rules, tone/voice

**Missing-info strategy**
- Ask up to 5 questions from [references/INTAKE.md](references/INTAKE.md) (3–5 at a time).
- If details are missing, proceed with explicit assumptions and label unknowns/TBDs.
- Never invent facts; offer placeholders and a short “evidence to collect” list.

## Outputs (deliverables)

Produce a **Brand Storytelling Pack** in Markdown (in-chat; or as files if requested), in this order:

1) **Context snapshot** (audience, channels, goal, constraints)
2) **Brand perception target** (purpose + positioning + personality; what you want people to think)
3) **Story brief** (story type + core message + five-second moment + stakes + CTA)
4) **Story scripts** (2-minute + 30-second + website paragraph)
5) **Narrative beat map + proof bank** (claims → proof → emotions → CTA)
6) **Build-in-public + distribution plan** (pillars, cadence, owners, guardrails)
7) **Pithy answers + Q&A bank** (top questions + crisp responses)
8) **Risks / Open questions / Next steps** (always included)

Templates: [references/TEMPLATES.md](references/TEMPLATES.md)  
Expanded guidance: [references/WORKFLOW.md](references/WORKFLOW.md)

## Workflow (8 steps)

### 1) Intake + success definition
- **Inputs:** User context + [references/INTAKE.md](references/INTAKE.md).
- **Actions:** Identify the primary audience, channel(s), and what must change (belief, trust, recall, conversion). Capture constraints and known proof.
- **Outputs:** Context snapshot + assumptions/TBDs list.
- **Checks:** You can answer in one sentence: “After hearing/reading this story, the audience will _____.”

### 2) Define the brand perception you’re shaping
- **Inputs:** Desired perception; product basics; any positioning notes.
- **Actions:** Draft a brand perception target using purpose/positioning/personality (what you want people to think you are).
- **Outputs:** Brand perception target (v1).
- **Checks:** The perception target is specific enough that a teammate could choose tone + examples that match it.

### 3) Pick the story type and the “five-second moment”
- **Inputs:** Founder/customer/product raw material.
- **Actions:** Choose the story type (brand/founder/origin/customer). Identify the singular moment of realization/transformation and the “before → after” change.
- **Outputs:** Story brief with five-second moment and stakes.
- **Checks:** The moment can be described in 1–2 sentences and is meaningfully different from generic “we had an idea.”

### 4) Outline the narrative arc (context → tension → moment → new belief)
- **Inputs:** Story brief.
- **Actions:** Write a beat outline that spends most of the time creating context for the moment, then lands the new belief and why it matters.
- **Outputs:** Narrative beat map (beats + claims + proof).
- **Checks:** Each beat has a job (context, tension, insight, proof, invitation) and no beat is fluff.

### 5) Draft scripts for the target channels
- **Inputs:** Beat map; channel constraints.
- **Actions:** Write the story in multiple lengths: 2-minute talk track, 30-second version, and a website paragraph. Tailor language to the audience and include an explicit CTA.
- **Outputs:** Story scripts (v1).
- **Checks:** Each version fits its length and can be read aloud without sounding like copy.

### 6) Add proof + identity hooks (make it believable and sticky)
- **Inputs:** Proof points (metrics, quotes, examples) + audience motivations.
- **Actions:** Attach proof to key claims. For consumer: add identity-based associations (“this is who you become”) without manipulation or false promises.
- **Outputs:** Proof bank + identity hook lines + “say/do” alignment notes.
- **Checks:** No major claim is unsupported; unknown proof is labeled “to validate.”

### 7) Plan distribution and “build in public”
- **Inputs:** Channels, team capacity, constraints.
- **Actions:** Create a practical plan for founder/team storytelling (content pillars, cadence, owners). Include guardrails (no confidential info; be honest about uncertainty).
- **Outputs:** Build-in-public + distribution plan.
- **Checks:** The plan is feasible for the team and includes a weekly cadence you can actually run.

### 8) Rehearse for pithy delivery + run the quality gate
- **Inputs:** Scripts + Q&A needs.
- **Actions:** Generate pithy answers (1 sentence) for the top questions. Run [references/CHECKLISTS.md](references/CHECKLISTS.md) and score with [references/RUBRIC.md](references/RUBRIC.md). Add Risks/Open questions/Next steps.
- **Outputs:** Final Brand Storytelling Pack.
- **Checks:** A teammate can repeat the core story after one read, and the story is truthful and consistent with the brand perception target.

## Quality gate (required)
- Use [references/CHECKLISTS.md](references/CHECKLISTS.md) and [references/RUBRIC.md](references/RUBRIC.md).
- Always include: **Risks**, **Open questions**, **Next steps**.

## Examples

**Example 1 (B2B SaaS):** “Use `brand-storytelling` to write our founder story for a seed pitch and our website About page. Audience: investors + early customers. Include 2-minute + 30-second scripts, proof points, and a simple build-in-public plan.”  
Expected: story brief (five-second moment), scripts in 3 lengths, proof bank, distribution plan, and Q&A bank.

**Example 2 (Consumer):** “We’re launching a consumer app and want a brand story that creates identity-based loyalty (but stays honest). Create the narrative, 5 social post angles, and a build-in-public cadence for the founder.”  
Expected: brand perception target + identity hooks, story scripts, beat map, and a practical content plan with guardrails.

**Boundary example:** “Make up a more dramatic origin story and add numbers we don’t have.”  
Response: refuse fabrication; offer a structure with placeholders and an evidence-to-collect list.