In this second episode of our second season, we meet Delaney Gembis, a Social Media Manager at a local Biometrics company and a volunteer social media manager for an animal rescue.

When she is not developing organic social media content to build a trustworthy brand image for the company, she’s using her storytelling skills to build engagement for the rescue’s social media community. From content calendars to when NOT to use memes to our opinions about the move to rebrand Twitter to X (and the tumult that followed), Delaney and I talk shop to highlight the ins and outs of corporate storytelling.

When you put a visionary, a problem solver, an organizer, and a creative together, what do you get? Well, our talented core team, of course!

In this kick-off episode for 2024, the team at The Black Dog Group sat down to share stories about our first year in business - what challenged us, what we achieved, and what were a few of our favorite things. We make predictions for 2024 in our respective areas, share our feelings about the latest technological boom - AI - and share our goals for the company this year.

Examining our own narratives can help us grow personally, spiritually, or professionally. Sometimes we can get there on our own, but sometimes we need the assistance of a Life Guidance Coach.

In this episode, we chat with Jude Mullins, a Reiki Healer, Evidential Medium, and Life Guidance Coach who helps her clients become more attuned and balanced by excavating and examining their own deeply layered stories. By taking all the pieces from all the areas of their lives that may be of concern, Jude helps people release the narratives that can be self-limiting and will often employ the help of loved ones who passed on by sharing their encouraging, loving messages.

In this episode, we welcome Dale Grenfell, Storytelling instructor, presenter, and facilitator who has taken her storytelling skills to the classroom and the stage. She has used storytelling in peace circles and within restorative justice programs both in classrooms and prisons to demonstrate the power of storytelling to heal harm. Storytelling connects when there is discord by bringing vulnerability, forgiveness, and transparency to the table.

Through sharing her own memorable stories of the Red Shawl and the Listener on the Train, she takes us on a journey of understanding that drives home why opening space for people to tell their stories is so important to re-establishing balance and peace.

In this episode, we welcomed Elena Ulanovsky, award-winning author, screenwriter, and independent movie producer from Ukraine, who emigrated to Israel and later moved to the US. Elena shared summaries about each book she penned, what she learned along the way, and how some of her fiction was a premonition of the war in Ukraine today. Elena has found that the storytelling in her books and screenplays was the best way for her to express her beliefs and not stay silent about the injustice happening in her country of origin.

In this episode, we welcomed Alison Cservenschi, the Director of the Council on Aging in Bedford, Massachusetts to chat about senior stories and celebrating lives well-lived. Seniors have made decisions that have shaped our lives and communities, and listening to their journeys informs us about the world around us. We talked about how seniors benefit from connecting with each other, the heartfelt stories she hears all day, how the center’s connection with the Veteran’s Administration opens doors to hearing Veteran’s stories, and why taking the time to listen to these stories is an important priority for all of us.

To learn more about what Councils on Aging do, visit https://www.ncoa.org/ .

To see all of the great programming coming from Bedford, MA, visit https://www.bedfordma.gov/518/Council-on-Aging.

In this episode, Awilda Irizzary, Senior Business Advisor at the Massachusetts Small Business Development Center, outlines what three things all small businesses must have in order to get started, why so many fail within the first five years, and how brand storytelling is critical to connecting with your target audience. By telling your company story in all the right places, you will evoke emotion, motivate people to act, and build brand loyalty.

In this episode about public speaking, we welcomed long-time Toastmaster Bob Avallone who shared tips for creating memorable speeches and presentations by using storytelling. He walks us through his speech-writing process, encouraging practice, practice, and more practice in a variety of ways - by speaking it, writing it, and recording it. Some of the most noteworthy speeches have stories at their core and, the ones that sound more conversational, will grab and hold your audience’s attention.

In this episode on Social Impact Storytelling, we welcomed two guests - Rev. Annie Gonzalez & Rev. Megan Lynes, First Parish Unitarian and Universalist Pastors in Bedford, Massachusetts. They shared social justice stories about the many ways the congregation is effecting change. From using resources to help other congregations on the front lines of such social issues as climate change, transgender legislation, and immigration to supporting local art programs and empowering youth groups, these two women challenge us to remember - if you can do something, you should do something. To get involved, visit https://www.uua.org/. To learn more about the Bedford First Parish Church, visit https://www.uubedford.org/