KATE HOOPER: 'Being told I couldn't get a job at the BBC, made me want to just do it more'
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Having spent most of my career helping other people tell their stories, I find it incredibly difficult to share my own.
While we all have a story to tell, it doesn’t always come naturally – or feel like the ‘right’ thing to do.
We don’t want to seem boastful, particularly when we come from a Highland background. To quote the words of a client: ‘the typical Highland company displays humility and modesty. It is not in our nature to shout about our strength.’
I would tend to agree with that. Yet our stories are the key to unlocking so much potential; for ourselves, our businesses and our region.
Sharing our stories is a necessity if we want our businesses to grow and flourish, which is why a recent scene in the Highland News & Media office is still making me smile (and cringe).
I’d been invited in by the editorial team to discuss what on earth I was going to put in this first column. I had my plan - strategy and story tips while showcasing brilliant stories of other Highland businesses. I delivered my idea with bursting enthusiasm to be met by a few glances across the table.
“That sounds great Kate, but we think the first column needs to start with the story of you,” explained Sarah Fyfe, head of content.
“Me?!” I spluttered, “who wants to hear about me?!”
Now I was nervous. I fidgeted anxiously with my water glass.
“What have I got myself into?” I thought.
Fast forward a few moments to find Highland News & Media boss, Steve Barron graciously mopping up a stream of water gushing defiantly across their new conference table and flowing shamelessly onto the carpet. I get clumsy when I’m nervous. (I’m still very sorry about that Steve).
But the point is, I get it. It isn’t easy to tell our stories, to put ourselves out there. It is essential, however.
Storytelling is our very human way to connect with other people, whether they are potential customers, staff, colleagues or friends. And there is an art to storytelling. Bards trained for years to earn the privilege of holding the position of chief storyteller.
Nowadays, there is so much spin, so much bland mass media marketing, so much noise. Those stories so often leave us cold. It’s the authentic stories that help us stand out from the crowd, and it’s the way that we tell them that helps us meaningfully connect with others Sometimes we need a little help to be able to do that.
So, why do I care about all this? I think it is largely due to my upbringing.
Born to a Hebridean mother, much of my childhood was spent in a small croft house in Lewis surrounded by a family, who, true to those traditions, loved to share stories. Those stories brought us together, kept us connected. It was about community.
I was raised mainly on the West Coast. A typical Highland story, I grew up in Lochcarron, where my parents ran hospitality businesses.
The house was packed with tourists in the summer and strangely quiet for the rest of the year. When I reached 18 I left because I had to. There was no UHI at the time and I was desperate to pursue a career in the media.
“You’ll never get a job at the BBC, that’s so hard to do,” I was told. That just made me want to do it more. And that is what I did. I loved making programmes, I loved journalism and crafting stories for audiences.
But two things never really left me: Firstly, the call for home, which became even more intense when I had my own daughters. Secondly, the desire to set-up my own business. I had no idea how I could make the first one work, and wasn’t sure I had the guts for the second.
Yet, it seems I did, and here I am.
It took a while but I’ve been back in the place I love for ten years, now doing what I love. Looking back, I now see how important the voicing of my own story was to making that change happen to work with new clients and colleagues and build the business.
It wasn’t easy, but it was worth it. StrategyStory works with businesses, communities and schools locally and internationally. We specialize in digital storytelling and really good, really human strategic communications to help folk achieve their strategies in a way that actually works.
We’re also award- winning and we were delighted to pick up the Digital Innovation award last year (thanks Highland Business Women).
Ultimately, we are on a mission – to wake people up once again to the very human power of storytelling to deliver results and drive positive change.
So, there you go folks, that’s a bit of my story. Thanks Sarah (I think!).
We’ll be back with those tips for strategy and storytelling in future columns, but here is a wee tip to get started: the first rule of good storytelling is to know your audience.
So, dear audience, you tell me…was this story worth reading?
If not, I’ll grab the mop!
About Kate Hooper
- Kate Hooper is co-founder of award-winning, research-led strategy and communications business, StrategyStory.
- Kate was a BBC senior producer and has led content and communication teams in a number of organisations. Kate has worked extensively across online, broadcast and print media.
- She has also led two of Highlands and Islands Enterprise’s Creative Industries networks.
- She is an Ambassador for Women’s Enterprise Scotland, a member of the Scottish Rural Leadership programme, and a non-exec board member for the charity and social enterprise, ILM Highland.
