035 Authentic Storytelling: Transforming Brands (and Careers) with Becky Rawlings

Keywords

Dyslexia, Authentic Storytelling, Imposter Syndrome, Writing, Personal Branding, Confidence, Communication, Financial Services, Creativity, Emotional Intelligence

Summary

In this conversation, Jacqueline Stockwell and Becky Rawlings explore the intersection of dyslexia, communication, and personal branding. Becky shares her journey in the financial services industry, emphasizing the importance of authentic storytelling and how dyslexia has shaped her unique perspective. They discuss the challenges of imposter syndrome, the vulnerability of writing a book, and the significance of finding one's voice. The conversation concludes with practical advice on building confidence and tackling imposter syndrome through self-compassion and authenticity.

Takeaways

Dyslexia can be viewed as a superpower that enhances creativity and problem-solving.

Authentic storytelling is crucial in cutting through the noise in communication.

Imposter syndrome is common and can affect anyone at any stage of their career.

Writing a book requires vulnerability and can be a daunting task.

Taking small steps can help build confidence in pursuing goals.

Finding your unique voice is essential for personal branding.

Consistency in messaging builds trust with your audience.

Being compassionate to oneself is key in overcoming self-doubt.

It's important to connect with your audience by being authentic.

Building a personal brand can help articulate your value and solutions.

Titles

Dyslexia: A Superpower in Communication

The Art of Authentic Storytelling

Sound bites

"Dyslexia is a superpower."

"You have to take small steps."

"Consistency builds trust."

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Storytelling and Branding

04:32 The Power of Authentic Storytelling

09:35 Dyslexia: Challenges and Superpowers

16:45 Imposter Syndrome in Organizations

19:15 Building Confidence and Personal Branding

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:04

Hello and welcome to today's show. I'm Jacqueline Stockwell, CEO and founder at Leadership Through Data. I inspire and motivate information leaders across the world. Hello and welcome to the show. Now, Becky, you are not an information manager. However, we have connected via LinkedIn about a podcast that I did with Beyond the Bio with Sophie Milliken. Today I'm going to talk about your experience with storytelling, branding, and dyslexia. And also you got you're thinking about writing a book as well. Please tell the listeners who you are and what you do.

SPEAKER_01 0:44

Thank you. I'm Becky. I'm just so so pleased to be here. And thank you for having me on. So I actually work in communications. I worked in communications for about 20 years and I'm now sort of specialise a little bit and I work with financial services brands. And I help them build trust through authentic, consistent storytelling, as you said. And the reason I do that really is because I'm really passionate about financial services, but I'm also really passionate about helping people make more of their money and understand money a little bit more and you know make it work as hard as it possibly can for them. So through my work with brands, um, that sort of allows me to sort of distill some of this jargon and this um, you know, quite complicated industry into something a bit more simple that people can really relate to. I reached out to you because I heard you on a podcast, um, and weirdly, everything you said just really resonated with me. You talked a lot about your book and sort of the work that you've been doing, sort of the speaking opportunities that you do, and the the things that you've sort of overcome, I guess, to get to that point. One being dyslexia, and the other you talked a lot about imposter syndrome, and it really sort of struck me because there are things that I really want to do. And then I realised the reason I'm not doing them is exactly because of those those barriers. And I was just really sort of inspired by how you've sort of overcome that and what a great job you've done. And it made me think actually, maybe I could possibly do that too. So thank you.

SPEAKER_00 2:11

You're welcome, and absolutely anybody can do it. You've just got to take that one foot in front of the other. Or I kind of work on imposter syndrome that's stairs, so you just take one step, and then from another step, there's always going to be somebody higher than you and better than you, but you've just got to gradually keep on walking up those steps, and then you'll find you're in the middle, and then there'll be people underneath you that will be in the same position that you guide along, and that's kind of where we're here today. So good analogy. Yeah, um, what I found really interesting about our industries is financial services and information management. You talk about the complexities of tone and the different kinds of wording and kind of breaking it down so people can make an understanding using storytelling. That's one of the big things in our industry. It used to be like a very carrot and stick, I always think that's the right thing, carrot and stick, that um, you know, if we don't do this, we'll get fined. But there's a real shift recently that those techniques are working. So I'm very much around the storytelling and the branding aspect of information management. So can I just take from your experience the whole storytelling? So why do you focus so much on authentic storytelling?

SPEAKER_01 3:19

I think mainly because there's so much noise. Um, you know, as a, I mean, I'm talking to consumers, you're talking probably more, you know, in a business context, but there's so much going on and there's so much sort of information being thrown at people. And I truly believe it's really hard, and maybe, you know, this is uh something I've sort of learned over the years, but it's difficult for people to understand things unless you put it into some kind of context and something that sort of really resonates with them. So I think the storytelling is really important. I think being authentic is so important because again, how do you stand out? How do you create something that's interesting and resonates with people that they want to engage with when there is that all that noise that you're sort of trying to cut through? So I think it's about making things accessible, interesting, make things resonate, and then suddenly you start to get that cut through and you start to get the you know, the awareness that I guess that um we're all trying to sort of achieve in these sorts of industries. I mean, you're right, regulated industries typically struggle with this, and there's a lot of nervousness. Um, you know, I obviously work in financial services, I'm working with brands who are highly regulated. So they're a little bit slower to adopt some of these techniques because they are nervous essentially, but I really feel like there's been a shift over the last few years, and I think our industry's been massively disrupted with um, you know, fintechs and challenger brands, and I think that's obviously been a really good thing because it's shaken up the industry a little bit and it's made people realise that they have to do things slightly differently.

SPEAKER_00 4:44

Yeah, and it's and it's it's interesting, isn't it? Because it's that authentic storytelling that can really drive that emotional impact that get people to buy into what you're what you're doing. So talking about authenticity, you said that you were dyslexic. So I strongly believe dyslexia was a superpower and it should never hold you back. How has dyslexia influenced your career path? Um I mean, considering I'm a dyslexic, I have chosen a rather strange career path.

SPEAKER_01 5:12

And also when I was at school, I did English literature and history, which were all written, you know, essay-based subjects. So I was always a l I loved writing, and then I went into communications, which is obviously a lot of written communications through um, you know, lots of different types of writing. Um, so it's always but it's always been a challenge. So I don't really know why I did that because I could have made life a lot easier for myself and gone into something completely different. But I think that I've just always been drawn to that sort of um the writing part of the job. So it has been challenging, and I, you know, I am not the best speller uh in the world. I think I've really sort of trained myself to keep checking, so I over overcompensate definitely with the you know, check three, four or five times because I'm just being mortified if anything went out to clients, particularly with you know with the mistakes. But to your point, I think that there's some amazing opportunities for people with dyslexia, and especially in the sort of my industry, it's quite, you know, it's a creative industry, essentially. And I think you know, we sort of over-indept definitely on the on the creativity and it's problem solving. And I think we have a really unique way of finding different solutions to challenges that potentially other people might not see. So I think that you know, looking at a brief for me, um, I can sometimes see that very differently to other people in my team, and I might have a different approach to that, which actually is is a absolutely is a superpower and something that I think is really unique and valuable, especially in my um my industry. The other thing I would say is I think we have pretty high EQs. So I think emotionally we're pretty intelligent, like we spot stuff, we've got a sort of sixth sense for things, and I think that's not even just in the workplace, I think that's relationships in general. Like we know when something's off and we know when something's great, and I think you know we're very sensitive to that sort of thing. So again, I'm at you know I'm client services, so I think that's a massive help. I can I can sense sometimes when what when something needs to happen that maybe some other people wouldn't potentially pick up on. So I'd definitely say now it's an asset, maybe 20 years ago. I might have thought a bit differently, but I uh yeah, I'm definitely now in the I wouldn't change it, put it that way, if I had the opportunity to change my brain, switch my brain.

SPEAKER_00 7:17

I don't think I would. And I told I totally resonate with kind of what you're saying there from an emotional standpoint, but I just think it's amazing the way you're describing and talking about dyslexia as such a you know a benefit and an asset, I think. And it's interesting you said about the writing, because actually I really enjoy writing, but it's getting the ideas from my head into that that is I find the most challenging. So once I'm in a writing mood, you know, obviously you said I've I've read a book, I'm like bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang. Um, that helps with my ADHD though, yeah in the hyper focus. But once I'm in it, I'm in it, you know. So I think it's it's kind of that. But I think it's amazing you've gone into that, and I think it really shows that dyslexia, you know, should as long as you've got the right support in place, dyslexia shouldn't actually stop you doing anything. So I think that's brilliant. You've talked about imposter syndrome, and you've talked about like organizations not want to move from carrot and stick to storytelling. Do you think organizations have their own imposter syndrome type? Oh no, I can't do that, the fear of kind of getting it wrong.

SPEAKER_01 8:23

100%. I totally do. I think it's, you know, I think actually this is something I've learned from the financial services industry. Sometimes um, when people don't really know what to do, it's just easier to do nothing. So you, you know, that inertia is is so rife. You know, people don't really understand how to, you know, move their money, so they just don't move it and they'll just leave it there. And I think that happens quite a lot in businesses, especially sort of potentially bigger, you know, bigger industry businesses. So the sort of the really big banks where you know there's lots of different stakeholders, and sometimes it's difficult to, you know, make a change and do things slightly differently because you know that you're you're sort of putting yours you're putting yourself out there, and if it fails, it it come it comes down on you. I I think back to imposter syndrome. I'm pretty sure everyone feels it at some point in their career. I can't I can't believe that anyone goes through their entire career not having it. I'm sure it's a spectrum and a scale, but I I'm pretty sure that people must sort of tackle that quite often.

SPEAKER_00 9:22

And I think it's have you ever read the book The Chip's Paradox? The chimp's paradox? So it's like good chimp, bad chimp, and it's just how you tame the chimp. And I think it's there's the same similarities really. Can you describe what the feeling sounds like in your head, particularly when you think about something ambitious, like you want to write a book, which is what you want to do? What does that feel like in your head from the imposter syndrome to you know trying to get that book written?

SPEAKER_01 9:47

I think it I mean it comes down to that sort of you know, the the classic imposter syndrome is I'm gonna get found out and I'm actually, you know, I'm not not as good as people might think I I might think I am or I'm perceived to be. And I think writing a book is like the ultimate vulnerability, isn't it? It's like you are putting yourself out there and it's not an easy thing to do. So you're you know, you're you're really challenging yourself, and then the output is something that feels quite vulnerable. So how then, you know, I think that that must hold so many people back because you're just you know what that fear of failure, I guess it comes down to, doesn't it? What if no one likes it? What if no one reads it? What if they do read it and they you know they go in touch with me and say this is absolutely ridiculous? What you talk, you know, what are you talking about? I think you you sort of catastrophise a little bit about all the things that could possibly go wrong. And that sort of starts the negative thoughts, and then you and back to that inertia point, it's like, well, yeah, that sounds a bit not sure about that. Maybe I'll just, you know, I'll keep thinking I'm gonna do it, but I'm I won't do it. So you just you you know you don't make that change.

SPEAKER_00 10:50

Yeah. And one of the key things that I've done is used um a software called bookmagic.ai to help me structure the values of the book, chapters.

SPEAKER_01 11:02

I've seen it actually, it looks really good, and I think that's exactly it, it's the structure. Like I've got the content that it's like, how do you put that into something that's cohesive and interesting and keeps people engaged?

SPEAKER_00 11:13

Yeah, and it kind of works you through a methodology. I find it I kind of really found it really simple. So had it for a couple of months, and then you basically uh populate it. Um, it's not looking at a white piece of paper that you've just got to chuck stuff in. It was really, really useful to kind of frame that up, and then you can download it into Word, and then it was from Word. I was like, oh god, I've I've got loads of stuff now. Because I was pulling in blogs that I've written and kind of all those things, and then I just got back to kind of rewriting it. So so that I found like super useful. The way you described the will anybody like it type thing is mine hit when it hit Amazon. Oh my god, I bet you were absolutely I was freaking out. At this time it was published, people had started reading it, I'd had good feedback, like all of this. I I couldn't bring it back, but I like obviously you have beta readers, people that read it before, and they give you testimonies about it, and they'd all said how great it was and it was gonna change the industry, and such good feedback. As soon as it hit Amazon, I was like, Oh my god, like people aren't gonna like it, and exactly, exactly how you described it. And then one of my friends was just like, just get over it. Like, there's nothing you can do about it now. People don't like it, they don't like it. They'll probably won't tell you that they don't like it, but people will love it. Yeah, because it's really good for the industry, and it's actually started to change our industry, and it's had such good feedback. So don't hold back with the concept of someone else is gonna do it, just do it. And it was really as a big word for megathartic, I think that's the right word, writing it because it was just nice to put everything that I'd learned over the last nine years into one book, which is a framework that people people go and use.

SPEAKER_01 12:53

So I was amazing. I'm what's go and do it, Becky. I know. Do you know what? I have written a thousand words, Jacqueline. So I have started it. Yay! Yay! I know, I know. I was like, God, I just need to just do this and just put something down. Um and so I have actually got the the beginnings quite, you know, a bit of a way to go, but it's a start, right? And I think that's that's an important step, isn't it? Just having that sort of, you know, like just go for it. And you know, I mean it probably I just wrote to be honest. I didn't even I haven't read it back particularly, or I haven't sort of edited it. I've just literally just wro just wrote and you know, I think that's that's hopefully a good starting point, and that'll motivate me. Just having something on paper makes me feel like I've started and it's gonna get easier.

SPEAKER_00 13:41

100%. And one of the best advice that I had is that you do it an hour every day, but you literally rock up out of bed, no coffee, nothing, and you just get into the writing mood, you just get it done, do it early, and that's how I kind of I got I got through it, and I'd set myself a deadline for the first draft, which was three months, just to get the first draft. Like you just go back and read it after. But I was doing started it in October, I'd finished it by January, editor by May. I mean, it was back breaking, it was the most amazing experience of my life now that I've done it. During that time, it was um a huge challenge. So I really want to talk about your unique voice. Yeah. So um I want to know for someone like you who's inspired to elevate your career, what do you think the biggest challenge is in finding the confidence to use your own unique voice? Good question.

SPEAKER_01 14:32

I think it's hard, but I feel like I tell this is what basically I'm telling my clients that they have to do. So I think it's a little bit rich if I don't sort of do it myself. I think being in communications as well, you are always behind the scenes, especially from an agency perspective. You never really, you know, the client is the forefront and they are the ones in the spotlight. And your job is to make them famous. So actually, sort of finding your own voice is quite hard because you're always that person that's looking for somebody else's voice. And it's very easy, you know, it's always the same, isn't it? It's easy to give other people advice. It's really hard to take your own advice. So I've tried actually really hard to be a bit more visible and to find my voice a little bit more. And I think you know, if I'm telling brands they need to be authentic, then I need to be authentic as well, and I need to sort of practice what I preach a little bit. So I'm really trying to do that. Um, and you know, things like this are amazing, right? Because this is totally me. Um, this is you know, it doesn't get much more authentic than this. So I think trying to kind of put yourself again, put yourself out there a little bit. I'm trying to do more things that make me feel a bit uncomfortable, and I think that's the key. I think it's you know, you're never gonna grow really unless you do stuff that pushes the boundaries and makes you, you know, feel a little bit out of your comfort zone. So that is what I'm trying to do. I think I know what my voice is, but I think I just have to have the confidence to share it more widely and be more authentic and just be me. And you know, I take this to my my nine-year-old daughter, you're not gonna be for everyone, and that's fine. That's okay. You've got to just you find your tribe and you find the people that resonate with what you have to say, and that sort of, you know, they they're the people that you want to make a connection with. So that's that's why being authentic is so important.

SPEAKER_00 16:10

Amazing. I love that analogy. And how are you gonna how are you gonna build your confidence to do that, Becca?

SPEAKER_01 16:16

I think it's just try trying to get like to your to your point on the steps, it's like taking that first step and just trying to do small, take small steps, and that just really helps, doesn't it? Just build your confidence a little bit. Like if you can do, you know, I wrote my first thousand words and I'm like, okay, that's great. Now I can I can build on that, and I think that's that you're never gonna go from you know baseline to top of the mountain. You've got to you've got to take it slowly and you've got to build your confidence along the way. And I think those little steps really do help to to build your confidence and to make it feel more comfortable and to kind of get you on the right path to where you want to go. So that is my plan. Just small steps, take it, you know, take it slowly. Just do do what feels natural and authentic to me, and then hopefully it'll take me where I where I want to go. So I think 2026 is gonna be scary but exciting year.

SPEAKER_00 17:07

I just want to talk a bit about branding. What is your so in our industry? I'm very passionate about we sell services, same as yourself, and we need to create a brand that we can actually sell to the business because you know people can't see information, they can't see kind of the superpower of what we do, and they're similar industries. Um, so I'm very much like create your own brand, and then you can sell the brand back to the business so they can at least buy in. What advice could you give um listeners today from your experience?

SPEAKER_01 17:36

I think from my experience, it would be about showing outcomes. So I think you know, people want to buy something that they think is going to solve a problem or make life easier or benefit them in some way. So I think if rather than selling the product, it's selling that, you know, in my industry, I would say selling the lifestyle or selling, you know, whatever that might be. But I think from potentially your industry, you know, what is the outcome? What can they expect from that? And then sort of packaging that into the brand and trying to, you know, back to that point around sort of finding your niche and being different, find, you know, what is it that you offer that potentially others don't? And how can you sort of what outcomes can you deliver in a different way or in a better way, or whatever it might be, and how can you sort of articulate that and sort of I talk a lot about consistency, and I think is that message over and over again, you know, I think people that that builds trust. And then if people see that message again and again and again, then they'll say, Oh, I know that brand. And I've caught up, yeah, that's what they stand for because I've heard them say it for the last six months or 12 months or whatever it might be. And that's how people really sort of start to buy into you and understand what you're there for and how you can help them. I think that's uh and then you start that conversation, don't you? And it's always difficult. Selling never happens overnight, but it's just that it it does take time, and I think that's why brand is so important because if you build a brand that does build trust, um, and there's lots of research out there about sort of you know the sales curve and how people buy from trusted sources, and I think if you you know if you can do that brand building piece, it's really valuable from a longer-term sort of strategic positioning.

SPEAKER_00 19:12

And there's also that elevation of your own personal brand, isn't it? Um so if you could give one piece of advice right now about tackling imposter syndrome and starting a book, um, it would be what would it be?

SPEAKER_01 19:27

So it would be, I think it would be about being more compassionate to yourself. So I kind of have started to think about what I would say to my best friend if she was in my position, had all my years of experience, and said to me, I want to do this, but I can't do it because I'm not good enough. And I would say, What are you talking about? Of course you are, you're amazing, you're gonna be great, give it a go. And I just think we're so harsh on ourselves, and you know, we we sort of really beat ourselves up about stuff, and I I'm gonna try really hard to reframe things and think, well, if this was my friend, what would I say to her? And I'd I'd I'd encourage her and I'd give her, you know, everything I could to give her the confidence to go for it. So I think that's what I'm gonna try and do for myself and try and build that in a little bit more to try and make myself, you know, a bit more a bit braver in the future.

SPEAKER_00 20:17

I love that, I love that. And I say be bold, be brave, and be beautiful. Becky, this has honestly been uh you know, it's so uh inspiring. How come listeners reach out to you? So I'm on LinkedIn at Becky Rawlings. Beautiful, beautiful. Well, thank you so much. It's been sensational. Honestly, it's been great. And I wish you every success with your book.

unknown 20:40

Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 20:41

Um, I want to know the title as well, so I can definitely keep in touch.

SPEAKER_01 20:44

I will.

SPEAKER_00 20:45

Um, yeah, it's been thank you so much for sharing your knowledge. Thank you. Thank you for listening to the journals of the information entrepreneur with me, Jacqueline Stockwell. I hope you found this episode inspiring and helpful and have some takeaway tips that can be useful to you. If you liked this episode, please like, review, and share it with your friends. Your support helps us reach more information leaders to stay inspired and listen to great content. Want to test out your strengths and weaknesses and measure it against our empowered framework? Please complete the scorecard. It's a great way to improve and evaluate your skills. You can find the scorecard at the end of the description of this podcast. Stay tuned for a new podcast every Thursday and remember to be bold, be brave, and be beautiful.