1320 – How to Share a Story with Word Write PR’s Paul Furiga

On today's episode of The Thoughtful Entrepreneur, we are so excited to speak with Chief Storyteller and President at Word Write, Paul Furiga!

Author of Finding Your Capital S Story, he gives an overview of his work. Paul shares how he started in journalism, then worked in the public relations agency industry, and then created Word Write a few years later and now focuses on Story, or the Capital S. He shares that the Capital S Story answers these fundamental questions: 1) Why would somebody buy from you 2) Work for you 3) Invest in you 4) Partner with you. He shares what he calls Capital S because it stands before everything else as a business leader.

Paul discusses how we are all wired for narrative, in his book he explains the biology, sociology, and psychology of stories. Don’t forget to listen to our next episode, where we recap all the great insights that Paul Furiga offered!

Key Points from the Episode:

• Your Capital S Story
• Storytelling as the most portable means of communication
• How the brain works in communication and success in business

About Paul Furiga:

Paul Furiga is president and chief storyteller of WordWrite. Since its founding in 2002, WordWrite has grown into one of the Pittsburgh region’s largest independent public relations agencies. A perennial top-ranked firm in the annual O’Dwyer’s national rankings, WordWrite posted the fourth-greatest growth among 123 ranked agencies in 2017. In 2019, the Pittsburgh Business Times named WordWrite one of the region’s 50 fastest growing companies. WordWrite has become the region’s go-to crisis agency. In any given year, the firm handles 12 major crises, two that make the news and 10 that do not. Recent engagements have included major bridge fires, mold deaths in hospitals and rare book thefts. In 2013, Paul was honored by the Pittsburgh chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) with The Renaissance Hall of Fame Award. The chapter’s highest honor is presented to a veteran public relations professional who has made a substantial impact in the Pittsburgh region. WordWrite has received numerous awards for its work, from PRSA, IABC and other professional organizations. Its work has also appeared in PR News books as case studies of excellence. Paul’s passion for storytelling inspired him to form WordWrite and to write a book on the importance of storytelling in business, Finding Your Capital S Story, available on Amazon. An organization’s Capital S Story is the story above all others that explains why someone would work for the organization, buy from it, partner with it or invest in it. The book builds on WordWrite’s trademarked storytelling process, StoryCrafting®. Before founding WordWrite, Paul was a vice president at Ketchum Public Relations, where he served clients including Alcoa, Bridgestone/Firestone and Rutgers University. Previously, Paul spent two decades as a journalist. He edited the Pittsburgh Business Times from 1994 to 1998. Paul was an editor and correspondent for the Thomson Washington, D.C. bureau from 1988-1993, where he covered Congress, the White House and four presidential nominating conventions. He also was senior editor of OhioWeek and a reporter for The Cincinnati Enquirer. As a Congressional Fellow of the American Political Science Association in 1986-87, Paul was an aide to U.S. Sen. Paul Simon of Illinois and later, issues director for Simon’s 1988 presidential run, leading a staff handling speechwriting, debate preparation and opposition research. Paul graduated from Miami University in Ohio in 1980 with a degree in mass communication. He is an Accredited Business Communicator (ABC) through IABC and is active in the community, serving as vice chair of the River City Brass, and on the board of The Rivers Club. He has also served on boards for the Silk Screen Asian American Film Festival, the IABC Pittsburgh Chapter and the Japan-America Society of Pennsylvania.

Tweetable Moments From this Episode:

01:51 - "The capital S story answers these fundamental questions: why somebody would buy from you, work for you, invest in you and partner with you?"

09:23 - "If people don't understand that what they do on a daily basis is a component of the overall story and success of the organization, you're missing a huge opportunity."

12:43 - "Storytelling is the original communications medium."

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Links Mentioned in this Episode:

Want to learn more? Check out Paul Furiga’s website at https://www.wordwritepr.com/our-team/paul-furiga