Writing Authentic Brand Stories

The One Prompt To Make ChatGPT Write Naturally: (save it for later, to copy & paste) Prompt: "Act like a professional content writer and communication strategist. Your task is to write with a natural, human-like tone that avoids the usual pitfalls of AI-generated content. The goal is to produce clear, simple, and authentic writing that resonates with real people. Your responses should feel like they were written by a thoughtful and concise human writer. You are writing the following: [INSERT YOUR TOPIC OR REQUEST HERE] Follow these detailed step-by-step guidelines: Step 1: Use plain and simple language. Avoid long or complex sentences. Opt for short, clear statements.  - Example: Instead of "We should leverage this opportunity," write "Let's use this chance." Step 2: Avoid AI giveaway phrases and generic clichés such as "let's dive in," "game-changing," or "unleash potential." Replace them with straightforward language.  - Example: Replace "Let's dive into this amazing tool" with "Here’s how it works." Step 3: Be direct and concise. Eliminate filler words and unnecessary phrases. Focus on getting to the point.  - Example: Say "We should meet tomorrow," instead of "I think it would be best if we could possibly try to meet." Step 4: Maintain a natural tone. Write like you speak. It’s okay to start sentences with “and” or “but.” Make it feel conversational, not robotic.  - Example: “And that’s why it matters.” Step 5: Avoid marketing buzzwords, hype, and overpromises. Use neutral, honest descriptions.  - Avoid: "This revolutionary app will change your life."   - Use instead: "This app can help you stay organized." Step 6: Keep it real. Be honest. Don’t try to fake friendliness or exaggerate.  - Example: “I don’t think that’s the best idea.” Step 7: Simplify grammar. Don’t worry about perfect grammar if it disrupts natural flow. Casual expressions are okay.  - Example: “i guess we can try that.” Step 8: Remove fluff. Avoid using unnecessary adjectives or adverbs. Stick to the facts or your core message.  - Example: Say “We finished the task,” not “We quickly and efficiently completed the important task.” Step 9: Focus on clarity. Your message should be easy to read and understand without ambiguity.  - Example: “Please send the file by Monday.” Follow this structure rigorously. Your final writing should feel honest, grounded, and like it was written by a clear-thinking, real person. Take a deep breath and work on this step-by-step." ___ PS: For better results, always use ChatGPT-o3.

Last week, two extraordinary African women, Lupita Nyong’o and Angélique Kidjo, sat down in conversation to mark 25 years of Inside Africa, and what unfolded was a masterclass in agency, identity, and the power of choosing your own narrative. Lupita spoke about her breakout role in 12 Years a Slave with a humility that belies its global impact. She called it a blessing, not just because it earned her an Academy Award, but because it forced the world to see an African woman in her full humanity. And yet, in the most predictable and depressingly typical turn, she revealed that many of the roles she was offered after her Oscar win were… more slave roles. As though an African woman with dark skin could only settle for her womanhood being understood through trauma. That moment, that narrowing of imagination, is exactly what she refused to accept. She spoke candidly about the roles she refused, the tropes she would not accept and the expectations she quietly pushed back against. Because visibility without dignity is not progress and representation without depth is not liberation. From the disbelief of sudden global fame to what she describes as becoming a “joyful warrior,” Lupita revealed how intentional she has been about the spaces she occupies. She has chosen roles that affirm complexity, beauty, power, and history and, in doing so, she is reshaping how the world sees Africans, especially African women. Angélique Kidjo, a legend in her own right, held the conversation with the grace of someone who has spent her life challenging narrow narratives. Their exchange was warm, fierce, and deeply affirming: two women from different corners of the continent reflecting on how far we’ve come, and the work still ahead. And woven through that conversation were three lessons worth carrying: 1. Guard your identity fiercely. If you don’t define who you are, the world will happily define it for you and often in the smallest way possible. 2. Choose dignity over visibility. Not every opportunity is progress. Sometimes saying no is the most powerful act of self-respect. 3. Tell your own story before someone else tells it for you. Narrative power is real. Lupita’s career is proof of what happens when you take authorship of your life. At a time when Africa’s stories are still too often flattened, erased, or sensationalised, this conversation was a reminder that we are not waiting for the world to define us. We are defining ourselves. And doing it strategically, #AfricanConversations #Superstars #Dignity #Narrative #Africa

15 years ago, I wrote "Write Better, Sell Better". The tagline that defined my career. Since then, I've written copy for Fortune 500 companies, projects that made millions, and taught copywriting at the university → Yep, writing is my life. But you don't have all semester long to learn. This post contains my 7 biggest writing lessons: (Save and repost this 60-second class ♻️) --- 1. Clarity is 90% of your writing Clarity beats cleverness 10 times out of 10. Remember: First, write clearly. Then, write creatively. Most focus on "creative" right off the bat = big no. (If you can do both, jackpot) --- 2. Use signposting to showcase authority I teach this technique to every single client. (This sentence you just read was a signpost) Signposts are short "signals" to your expertise and results. Think of them as signs on the side of the road, which allow you to "trust" the journey you're on. Can you notice where else I used it in this post? 😉 --- 3. Too much copy? Make it choppy. Here are 2 examples (the second one is better): Sometimes, we write super long sentences that we have no time to breathe and neither do our readers. Sometimes, we write super long sentences. We have no time to breathe. And neither do our readers. Chop it up! It's easier to read. --- 4. Write unselfishly. Edit relentlessly. Think about it. Writing is 80% editing. You are tweaking, optimizing, and making things sound perfect. One bit of advice: Don't hold back. Edit (ehm, delete) anything that isn't on-topic. I've deleted probably 40% of this post. --- 5. Use sensory words. Add texture to text. That had to hurt! → That had to "sting"! Having a bad day? → Having a "rough" day? A seamless process → A "silky-smooth" process All of the 2nd descriptions above can be "felt". It's how your readers "touch an emotion", not just "read text". --- 6. Never write to "everyone" Remember this for all time: "Everyone" is not your audience. Sales happen when your prospect can clearly "see" themselves in your writing. So how do you go about this? --- 7. The "Dear son" writing method Pick "one" person to speak to → I speak to my son. For you, it could be your best friend, the old you etc. I start everything with "Dear son" and end with "Love, Dad". In the end, I simply delete these 2 parts. Doing so creates such a powerful connection with your readers + a consistent tone of voice. With every word. Where there's connection, there's trust. And where there's trust, there's sales. Words to live by. --- Write Better, Sell Better = that's the whole game! Let me know which lesson you enjoy the most. Professor Jay, out. (Repost this for your network ♻️)

After decades of working with leaders at companies like Apple, Salesforce, and Cisco, we've identified 4 storytelling techniques that consistently work to deliver important messages in high-stakes settings: 1. Start with the unexpected Don’t begin your presentation with context. Instead, begin with the moment that makes people think, “Wait…what?” Instead of something like: “Here’s an update on our September campaign…” Try starting with the most interesting detail: “I broke our biggest marketing rule last month, and it worked.” Lead with the surprise. You can add context later. 2. Let people feel the tension After the surprise, don’t rewind to the beginning. Take your audience to the moment where things weren’t working. Flat numbers. Missed goals. Stalled progress. Instead of: “The campaign was underperforming, and our team went back to the drawing board.” Try:  "We were two weeks out from the end of the quarter. The campaign wasn’t producing results, and the team was out of ideas. That’s when I decided to take a risk...” You don’t need to explain the problem. You need to make people feel it. 3. Use real dialogue When your audience hears what was actually said, they stop listening to you and start visualizing the moment. This helps them connect emotionally with what you’re saying. Instead of: “The campaign manager said team morale was low and they were struggling to find a solution.” Try: “My campaign manager pulled me aside in the hallway and said, ‘We’ve tried everything. The team has been working overtime, and we don’t know what else to do.’” Dialogue brings listeners into the moment with you. It makes the story real. 4. Share the lesson Never assume people will infer the meaning you intended. End your story by answering: - What does this mean? - How should someone act differently now? Example: “Breaking our biggest marketing rule helped us turn this campaign around and hit our numbers. I strongly suggest we revisit our marketing guidelines. We could be leaving a ton of revenue on the table.” Without the lesson being clear, even a good story feels unfinished. These are the same techniques we teach to our clients at Duarte. Try them out during your next presentation and watch how people lean forward and tune in to your message. #ExecutivePresence #BusinessStorytelling #PresentationSkills

B2B doesn’t mean “Boring 2 Boring.” It still means Human to Human. Here’s why most B2B founders, sales leaders, and marketers FAIL at personal branding: • They treat it like corporate marketing. • They talk about services, but not stories. • They stay safe, instead of standing out. Result? They sound like everyone else…and get ignored. How to fix it: 1. Build a Face Behind the Logo People trust faces before they trust brands. Create founder-led, leader-led, or team-led content. Example: “When I started my agency, I had ₹5000 in the bank and 2 rejected proposals. Here’s what changed in Year 2.” Real stories > Corporate slogans. 2. Show Work + Wisdom Don’t just post “We helped XYZ company grow by 30%.” Break down how. Teach mini-lessons inside your wins. Example: “We grew XYZ’s leads by 30% by focusing on these 2 things most businesses ignore: 1. Longer nurturing sequence 2. Humanized cold outreach.” Give away the “what” for free. Sell the “how” through conversations. 3. Relatability Over Formality On LinkedIn today, tone matters more than templates. Talk like a trusted advisor, not a brochure. • Use short, human sentences. • Add relatable micro-stories. • Write how you talk. Brand voice ≠ Jargon. Brand voice = Personality. Lesson Reinforcement: The B2B brands that WIN in 2025 will sound more human, not more professional. Here’s a task for you If you could describe your personal brand tone in 3 words, what would they be? #linkedin

adidas is quietly building the most powerful cultural roster in sports marketing and it's unmistakably Latino. Its latest move, adding Peso Pluma to the lineup, makes the strategy impossible to miss. There's a playbook emerging in the sportswear industry that no one is executing quite like adidas. Adidas appears to be assembling a constellation of Latino voices across sports, music, fashion, and street culture that, taken together, represent nothing less than a unified cultural thesis. With Lionel Messi on the pitch, Bad Bunny on the stage, Willy Chavarria on the runway, and now Peso Pluma in the fold. Each partnership taps a distinct pillar of Latino identity, the elegance and global prestige of South American fútbol culture, the genre-bending creative rebellion of Caribbean reggaetón, the deep roots of Chicano heritage in the American Southwest, and the raw, youthful energy of Mexico's new musical generation. Together, they are forming a 360-degree embrace of a culture that is wildly diverse but united by a shared sense that its moment is now.

I've written over 5,000 comments last year. (trust me, my thumbs know why) Last month, LinkedIn dropped a feature I didn't even know I wanted: Comment Impressions. Now comments show their own views (like your posts). At first, I thought, “Another number to track? Like seriously?” Then I got the why behind it: One comment got me a ₹2 lakh deal. Another got me a TEDx speaking invite. Got me into beta-test a product pre-launch. Now I look at: [in] posts like 18 min on-stage TED talks. [in] comments as 2 min in-office coffee breaks. And I know: Big deals happen over coffee, not on stage. Thank you LinkedIn, for finally proving what I've known for years: Comments ARE content. So, when I write comments: I say what I honestly feel. I add my own thoughts clearly. I use bullet points to write them. I share secrets I'd usually charge for. I add pictures with short stories from my life. I disagree respectfully and tell why without ego. Comments are not just replies → they build your personal brand. Finally, LinkedIn’s comment impressions validate every word matters. P.S. Will seeing comment views change how you comment? ♻️ Repost if you found this helpful. #CommentImpressions #LinkedInTips #PersonalBranding 

I have spent hundreds of hours analyzing design systems. One of the things that confused me for many years is how to structure color scales and tokens. I have experimented with multiple structures at different sizes of design systems, and at a high-level recommend the following approach: 1. Primitive Colors Your design system foundations should always start with a full color scale that is based on your brand identity. We call these colors Primitives, and your variable/token collection should look like this: - purple-600 - purple-500 - purple-400 - And so on.. To create a Primitives palette you will want to start from your main brand colors and use a tool like UIColors, Supapalette, Colorbox to expand to the full scale. (links in comments) This is a great foundation to have, as it gives you a set of shades that can be used in different ways, and ensures all of them have consistent hues, saturation and brightness. However, Primitive colors are simply not effective when used directly in your designs: - They create ambiguity - Their names have no contextual meaning - They are often misused due to similarity If you have had the “why are there 20 different shades of gray?” conversation with an engineer, you know what I mean. So let’s see how we can improve that. 2. Semantic Colors This is my default recommendation to all product design teams that don’t have a highly complex design system. What you will want to do here is create a new variable collection named Semantic, which is what’s visible in your design files, and comprises of: - Brand / Action - Text - Link - Border - Icon - Surface / Background - Bias - Data / Charts Each color should point to a primitive value, e.g. - text-primary → gray-800 - text-secondary → gray-600 - text-tertiary → gray-400 This takes a bit of setting up, but creates immense long-term value. A great example of a simple, theme-level Semantic structure is Shopify’s Polaris (link in comments) 3. Component-level Semantic Lastly, if you are working on a design system with a lot of complexity and, ideally, a dedicated design systems team, you might want to add another level of hierarchy and specify colors at a component-level. In this structure, you would want to create color tokens based on how they are used in each component. - input-text-filled → text-primary - input-text-placeholder → text-secondary - input-text-disabled → text-tertiary This eliminates all guesswork, but also increases the complexity exponentially. It does serve a purpose though. As design systems scale, you may find that: - A theme-level semantic structure is too restrictive - There is still some guesswork - Decisions need to be documented. An example of this is Uber’s Base and Adobe’s Spectrum design system, linked in the comments. I’m curious to know, what structure are you using for your design system and what has worked well for you? — If you found this useful, consider reposting ♻️ #uidesign #designsystems #productdesign

Most founders think storytelling is for marketers. It is not. Storytelling is how you get people to care. Care is how you get people to act. A great story does three things: It builds connection. It inspires action. It makes your message memorable. If you want to get better at it, keep it simple. Start by knowing who you are talking to. Then open with a hook that creates curiosity. Then build emotional depth with one real detail. Then follow a clear arc. Beginning, middle, end. And do not overcomplicate it. The best business stories are not polished. They are specific. A customer moment. A hard lesson. A mistake you fixed. A decision you almost avoided. That is what people remember. Quick checklist I use: 1/ One main message only 2/ One character the reader can relate to 3/ One conflict that creates tension 4/ One takeaway that changes how they think Edit ruthlessly until it is clean If you are building a business, you are sitting on stories already. You just need to start telling them. What is one business story you have not shared yet, but should? ♻️ Repost this if you want more founders to write with clarity P.S. I share my business stories weekly in my newsletter (link in comments).

How Nescafe entered Japan is a case study worth studying for every marketing head. Japan wasn’t a coffee-drinking country. For decades, it was a proud tea nation. Coffee was seen as bitter, Western and Rushed. Nothing like the calm, ritual-driven Japanese tea culture. Nestlé tried everything from Ads. and Discounts to Vending machines, but nothing worked. So they flipped the script. They hired a child psychologist, Dr. Clotaire Rapaille and his insight was brutal but brilliant: “You don’t sell habits. You build them.” Japan didn’t have an emotional memory of coffee. So Nestlé created one. ✅They launched coffee-flavoured candies. ✅Coffee-scented pencils for kids. ✅TV ads that showed children waking up to the smell of coffee at home. The goal wasn’t to sell coffee. The goal was to make coffee feel like childhood. Warm. Familiar. Safe. Years later, those kids grew up and to them, coffee wasn’t bitter anymore. It was comfort. By the 2000s, Japan became obsessed. Cold coffee in cans (a Japanese invention) took over vending machines. Coffee shops became a lifestyle and the per-person consumption jumped to 3.5 kg and Nestlé captured almost 60 percent of the entire market. A $30 billion category built on psychology, not product. This is the part most brands miss: People don’t fall in love with what you sell. They fall in love with how it makes them feel. If you can shape the emotion…the habit follows. Nestlé