"Thanks a lot, Mr Glowsticks"
Stories With Heart – a fortnightly round-up of the best storytelling, for people and organisations wanting to win hearts and minds by telling better, richer stories.
Hello story lovers, Sam Lightfinch here. Welcome to Stories With Heart.
As a strategic storyteller and speaker, I use strategy, ideas, and creative executions to craft and share narratives that resonate with people and drive organisational success.
Are you ready to eagerly dismiss the final intro of the year (I’ll be back in Jan), like throwing out all the hole-riddled socks after getting a bumper score for Christmas? Me too. Let’s plunge our feet into the fresh, tightly elasticated foot gloves, and begin.
🏆 Story of the week 🏆
Perfect is Personal | Brook | TBWA\London
It’s campaigns like this that remind me why I’m in this game. There were so many soundbites I wanted to lift for the title of the newsletter from these three videos – each one aiming to destigmatise imperfect sex, and champion open and honest communication around copulation.
Why’s it a great campaign? Raw authenticity. Real stories make complex issues relatable, helping people feel seen and validated.
Takeaway: Humanising difficult topics and leading with vulnerability inspires empathy, builds connection and drives engagement.
Book of the week
On Reading | Nick Parker
If written stories are your thing, then get familiar with Nick Parker – a writer and language strategist with a very successful studio and newsletter.
This is one of those rare books that’s concise, fun AND packed to the spine with insight. It invites writers to explore how they approach the act of reading, and offers thought-provoking prose to inspire more intentional habits.
Takeaway: Think about the power of intentionality. Small shifts in perspective or practice can unlock deeper engagement and enjoyment in stories – in you and your audience.
Article of the week
How the Right Words Impact Your Bottom Line | Orlaith Wood | Reed Words
Turns out, words impact numbers. Wood unpicks how effective brand stories boost business outcomes by deepening salience, engagement and sales.
There are some great examples in here (I also talk about the Significant Objects study in the video at the end) of how strong narratives and precise language create value. Go drink in everything Reed Words do, they are fantastic.
Takeaway: Well-chosen words get people in the feels… and the pockets.
Video of the week
Karma | Animalife | Havas Worldwide Portugal
Someone once said that enough monkeys with enough typewriters could crack Shakespeare. We’ll never know if that’s true, because AI can make a monkey of anything now.
Instead, here’s a symbol of hope for human creativity. Because AI would write an animal rights ad that looks just like every other animal rights advert in between episodes of Loose Women. Slow piano. Sad eyes. A phoneline CTA.
The look in his eye at the end when the penny drops is delightful, and the reason that humans will always be the best storytellers.
Takeaway: Leave the expected at the boarding gate.
LinkedIn post of the week
“Growing a Business is Tough” | With Love | Chris Roberts
LinkedIn is only ever a few ghouls away from turning into a Scooby-Doo door gag. Jaguar hot take. To WFH or not. Podcast. Jaguar. How to 10x your sales. Podcast. WFH. Don’t WFH. Jaguar. 10x. 10x. Podcast.
This lil’ story stopped me in my scrolling tracks because it’s clean, simple and beautiful. Chris takes a visceral situation we all know (turbulence) and uses it as an analogy for hiring.
Takeaway: The thing you want to talk about + a seemingly unrelated topic + neatly drawing a surprise comparison = rich and memorable storytelling.
My story of the week
Please mind the taste gap
This isn’t about the difference between what I believe is an acceptable jumper for my dog versus what everyone else thinks. No, the taste gap is something Ira Glass spoke about, and it is this…
We have good taste when we start out at an endeavour, but our skills don’t match that taste. We're trying to be good, but if the talent pool is a three-legged race, we’re still tying ourselves to another limb while the elite cross the line. We’d get the Taking Part trophy.
The problem is our taste knows our work isn’t fantastic. And it’s this gap – the taste gap – that kills so many ideas and passions. Because we quit. We know our work doesn’t have that special thing. We sulk and curl our bottom lips and give in.
Glass said, “It’s only by going through a volume of work that you will close the gap, and your work will be as good as your ambition.”
Our tastes won’t (and shouldn’t) change, so we’ve got to chip away at the hard end – and time and practice are the only tools to narrow the gap.
So maybe next time we want to launch a painting in the bin, delete a document or trash a load of photos, we should remember that even failure is a step forward. Sure, we might be moving at the speed of the Central line during rush hour, but hold your breath, huddle in, and remember that we’re slowly getting closer to our destination.
THE END(ISH)
Hopefully, you’re here because you like stories and not because you’re trying to avoid a festive deadline.
If it’s the former, I’d appreciate it if you A) share this newsletter with someone who might like it, or B) check out my website.
If it’s the latter, take a deep breath and crack on. The only things you need hanging over you for the rest of the year are mistletoe and that ever-present climate anxiety.