Don’t Optimize Stories. Optimize Relationships.
Why true storytelling takes time, listening, and the courage to let go of control.
Everyone is hiring storytellers right now.
It’s suddenly the hottest job in the building. I recently read a piece by The Wall Street Journal’s Katie Deighton that explores this growing obsession, how companies, especially in tech, are desperately seeking people who can help them regain control of their narratives. They want to attract investors, customers, and talent. They want long-term growth. Meaning. Relevance. Connection.
What struck me wasn’t the demand itself.
It was the irony.
Storytelling is being treated like a shiny new skill, when in reality, it’s one of the oldest roles in human history. Long before brands, decks, data, or algorithms, there were storytellers. Not to inform, but to connect. Not to explain, but to help people make sense of themselves and the world around them.
And yet, here we are.
Because the truth is simple, and uncomfortable:
Most people tell stories, but very few people actually storytell.
The Difference We Rarely Name
Telling a story is relatively easy.
You recount what happened. You line up the facts. You move someone from point A to point B. There’s a beginning, a middle, and an end. It’s clean. Efficient. Often impressive.
Storytelling is something else entirely.
Storytelling requires remembering the person on the other side. The listener. The reader. The human carrying their own experiences, emotions, and context into whatever you’re sharing. When you’re truly storytelling, you’re not just focused on the events, you’re thinking about how those events will land. You’re asking yourself what this story might unlock, soothe, validate, or shift for someone else.
That’s the difference.
Telling a story is reciting a script.
Storytelling is creating resonance.
And resonance doesn’t come from precision alone.
It comes from presence.
Where Stories Start to Feel Empty
This is where so many brands, and people, get it wrong.
They become so focused on the story they want to tell that they forget who they’re telling it to. The result is something that may be technically “good,” but emotionally empty. People hear it. Maybe even remember it. But they don’t feel connected to it. And eventually, they don’t remember you.
Humans don’t connect to information.
They connect to meaning.
They connect to moments that feel familiar. To stories that help them see themselves more clearly, or feel a little less alone.
It’s not about the plot.
It’s about the feeling you leave behind.
And that’s why storytelling isn’t a science.
Storytelling Is an Art
Storytelling is an art. Not a formula. Not a system you can automate and scale overnight.
Like any art form, and like any real relationship, it takes time.
You don’t build trust in a single interaction.
You don’t create connection in one moment.
Storytelling unfolds. It deepens. It changes as people engage with it, respond to it, and bring their own lives into it.
No one has all the answers. And anyone who claims they do probably isn’t listening closely enough.
The Reset That Led to Momentos Peluche
I’ve spent my career in communications, building narratives, shaping messages, helping some of the most innovative brands in the world find language that connects.
And even with all that experience, I didn’t fully live the depth of storytelling until I created Momentos Peluche.
It didn’t start as a show.
It started as a feeling.
A quiet realization that we’re moving too fast, consuming too much, and rarely stopping long enough to notice the heart of what’s happening right in front of us.
I didn’t want to talk about burnout or modern overwhelm. I didn’t want to list facts or offer commentary. I wanted people to feel what slowing down could look like. To remember the human values we’re not practicing enough, without being preachy, negative, or moralizing.
That’s why Momentos Peluche isn’t just something you watch.
It’s something you experience.
A Story Designed to Be Felt, Not Explained
The structure of Momentos Peluche is intentional, but not rigid.
Each episode follows an arc: the reveal, the core moment, the story behind the story, and the humanity behind the scenes. Not because structure is the point, but because experience is.
And this is just the beginning.
Storytelling is a living, breathing practice. We pay attention to how people respond every single day, across platforms, formats, languages, and moments. We listen closely. If something resonates more than expected, we follow it. If something we love isn’t landing, we pivot immediately.
No ego.
No attachment.
Sometimes people respond deeply to moments we didn’t anticipate. Sometimes they’re quiet where we expected noise. Those cues matter.
We’re not pushing a narrative.
We’re listening for it.
That, to me, is real storytelling.
Five Ways to Reset From Telling Stories to Storytelling
If you’re building a brand, a business, or even a life, the shift isn’t about becoming louder or more polished. It’s about becoming more intentional.
Here’s what that looks like in practice:
Center the Human: Always ask who you’re speaking to, not just what you want to say.
Design for Emotion: Information informs. Emotion transforms.
Clarify the Purpose: What should someone feel, understand, or carry with them after engaging?
Layer the Experience: Storytelling lives across voice, visuals, pacing, silence, and repetition.
Create Space for Recognition: The best stories allow people to see themselves inside them.
These aren’t steps you complete once. They’re intentions you return to, again and again.
Because storytelling isn’t a moment.
It’s a relationship.
What Comes Next
There are deeper layers to this work, especially when storytelling happens at a global scale. Language. Cultural context. Nuance. Translation beyond words.
That’s a conversation for another post.
For now, what matters is this:
Storytelling isn’t about control.
It’s about connection.
And connection, especially now, isn’t optional.
The full Momentos Peluche experience is live today.
Watch it here!
And if this resonates, join us live on our YouTube channel on December 23rd (details to come). Let’s continue the story together.
Thank you for being here.
You are not just reading.
You are helping build a more intentional life.
For more information visit: MomentosPeluche.com