Welcome to the Story Clinic hosted by the Institute for Thought Leadership
At the Story Clinic, we help you improve individual stories you’re working on, such as articles you are writing for your LinkedIn profile. Typically, the articles are about 1,200 words and are related to your business, career or side hustle. We do it with:
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A storyline health check
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Feedback on structure
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Suggestions for language use
Our sessions via Zoom are designed to help you improve a particular story or speech you are working on from a structural/writerly point of view. Our goal is to help you find the freshest angle to tell the story – an angle that relates back to your business and expertise.
We do not offer help with grammar, spelling and the likes, except to refer you on to other resources, such as the Purdue Writing Lab’s website. These are coaching sessions about the big picture of your story, such as the audience, your purpose, your logical organization and your angle.
How it works
Process
Your writing coach will ask you these questions to get the session rolling:
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Who are you?
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Who is your audience?
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Why are you writing this piece?
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What is your main point with the story?
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What is your current story angle?
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What is your current structure?
Then we’ll share screens and your writing coach will make comments/ suggestions about parts of your text that we view together in Word. The text may not be longer than 1,500 words.
Together we will articulate your next steps for you to improve your story.
Your coach will not “fix” your story, but he/she will help you understand how to do this for yourself.
As your writing coach, we are not there to judge your writing but to help you improve in your written business communications of a particular type – e.g. blogs and feature-style articles for channels such as LinkedIn.
What we're trying to achieve
Thought-leadership article writing is short-form writing that addresses the needs of your audience by educating them or explaining to them something you know through your own experience. It is written in a journalistic style and is free of marketing language. This type of writing does have a commercial intent. However, that business offering is not a part of your story. It is kept separate.
How to prepare
Bring your draft copy in a Word document as well as any guidance you were given by your boss or other team members about the article.
Note on group projects: If you’re writing a story as a team, all writers should attend the session so that we can line up your story together.
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