Hi friend,
I bet you sometimes get asked, “What does your typical workweek look like?”
It’s a question posed by strangers you network with to figure out what your job practically means.
Especially, if what you do isn’t that obvious, like a doctor or accountant and more like a Web3 Influencer Marketing Manager or in my case - Visual Storytelling Consultant.
I got asked yesterday on a lunchclub chat, a networking platform.
How do you tell your “Routine Story”?
This is a great opportunity to take your listener on a longer journey with richer details than the 30-second elevator pitch.
It also means you have a curious audience that granted you generous attention - a scarce commodity these days.
My Routine Story
As a former drummer in my teens, my week often feels like a long “drum solo” - improvised, simultaneous while keeping a steady pace building up to a few cymbal crashes when I finish tasks.
Here is what my “drum set” looks like:
I alternate across four categories:
Content development: writing this weekly newsletter (you can see the work involved in this story), podcast recording (my process) occasional public talks, website updates, and yes, maintenance.
You’d be surprised, but if you have your content managed by WordPress it could easily crash your site if one of its core components goes old.
Yep! Exactly what I think, crazy!
Client work: I do visual storytelling consulting that could revolve around strategic advisory for clarifying brand narratives, presentations or pitch decks, startup support with investor relations, and go-to-market strategy. Other times it could be production projects like developing commercial artwork to inspire employees in a customer experience center. For such, projects I collaborate with outside visual artists. Every fall I also teach Brand Storytelling at the University of Miami’s Business School which is always fun connecting with next-gen marketers.
Sales marketing activities: This could range from networking via various organizations I volunteer in, attending events, direct outreach on LinkedIn to people I find interesting, hosting the Miami Storytellers Studio, and doing prospecting work, like discovery calls and proposal writing. As for social media promotion, I’m pretty restrictive, focusing only on LinkedIn, Instagram’s stories (for me static posting was ruined long ago by rigid algorithms and spammers), and lately Substack’s Notes which is built the good ol’ way.
I'd say the connecting tissue that runs across all the above buckets is to keep learning. That means, reading news, books, podcast-listening, and course-taking to perfect my craft. In-industry and out; I’ve just started an intensive Spanish program. Living eight years in Miami, I figured it was about time. It’s an online group conversation that allows me to speak without worrying too much about making mistakes.
In short, learning is about staying curious. That’s where new ideas come in. Think of it, as ongoing “software updates” to your brain ;)
This is in a nutshell what I try to do.
Underscoring ‘try’ hey, we’re humans here, still pre-AGI robots mind you. Your routine story is likely different and even better.
It’s all good, it’s a learning journey to figure out the balance between what works for your working style, which by the way keeps evolving at different stages of your career.
Extra tips
Audience: Like any other story you tell, you want to customize your Routine Story to your audience’s interests to ensure a productive dialog. Paint a picture of realistic scenes people can easily visualize and relate to.
Context: Telling this story in a networking chat is quite different than sharing it in a newsletter.
It’s practically the difference between short vs. long-form communication, each riding on different attention spans.
If I were to share the verbal version here, it would’ve come out too thin. That’s why I tried to provide more details to add informative value.
Downsides: Depending on the context, tell a clear story where you share both the good and the bad to humanize your process. Nobody is perfect.
My go-to reminder: Relate vs. broadcast!
Interactivity: The benefit of live conversation is that you can tell a brief story, knowing that the person you’re talking to can always stop you to ask questions where you can provide more details or clarify.
Right here, since it’s an asynchronous experience you can do it by sharing your comments below, Notes thread, or hitting the Reply button.
So keep sharpening your “Routine Story.” The questions and the feedback you’ll receive are all important signals en route to achieving full clarity.
Best,
- Shlomi
Shlomi Ron
Founder/CEO, Visual Storytelling Institute
story > visual > emotion > experience
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