At a time when generative AI can churn out content in seconds, corporations are finding themselves going back to basics with storytelling.
The format is experiencing its moment in the spotlight, with some of the world’s largest tech companies shifting resources toward narrative-driven communication. Major corporations have been hiring “corporate storytellers” to build trust in an otherwise AI‑saturated landscape.
But while storytelling feels buzzy today, in reality, it’s been steadily humming in the background for ages, never really fading away. As the pace and volume of communication — and simply, content — feels exponential, a turn to storytelling offers something a machine can’t replicate: emotions, meaning, and human-centered voices.
To get a better grasp on this moment in time, we spoke with Anne-Marie Blake, FICPR, FPRCA, co-founder of True and chair of the IABC Heads of Communication Shared Interest Group. She helps us understand how the context around storytelling is changing, why communicators are uniquely poised to rise to this moment, and where AI can play a supporting role.
What’s your take on the resurgence of storytelling as generative AI becomes mainstream?
One of the first things I find myself asking when people talk about the “return” of storytelling is: Did storytelling ever really go away?
Storytelling is one of the oldest forms of communication we have. Long before organizations, brands, or even written language, people used stories to pass on knowledge, explain the world, and help communities make sense of events.
If you think about your earliest memories, many of them are probably stories — a parent reading a bedtime story, a teacher explaining something through an example, or a relative sharing something that happened to them.
Storytelling has always been there. What’s changing now is the context. As generative AI makes it easier to produce information quickly and at scale, organizations are rediscovering that information alone isn’t enough. People don’t just need content; they want meaning.
Behavioral science helps explain why stories are so powerful. When we hear facts, only the language-processing part of the brain activates. But when we hear a story, multiple areas of the brain engage, including those linked to emotion, memory, and sensory experience. That’s why stories are far more likely to stick with us.
Stories help organizations explain not just what is happening, but why it matters and how people fit into the bigger picture.
How should communicators think about storytelling skills in the context of their careers?
For communicators, storytelling is not about becoming a novelist. It’s about helping people understand complex issues through relatable experiences.
The strongest communicators I know can connect strategy to human reality. They can take something complex and explain it through the experiences of real people inside the organization.
So storytelling is really about developing three capabilities: curiosity, listening, and translation. Curious to notice the stories happening around you, listening to understand what people are experiencing, and translating to connect those experiences back to the organization’s wider narrative.
Those are skills that make communicators much more valuable in an environment where information itself is increasingly abundant.
Trends can be a double-edged sword. How can communicators set themselves apart when thinking about storytelling?
The risk with trends is that everyone starts using the same language without necessarily changing how they work. Simply saying “we tell stories” isn’t enough.
What sets communicators apart is the ability to connect storytelling to purpose and strategy.
That means understanding the organization’s narrative: where the organization has come from, where it is going, and what that means for employees and stakeholders. Individual stories then bring that narrative to life.
Another differentiator is authenticity. The most powerful stories are rarely the most polished ones. They are the ones that reflect real experiences, real challenges, and real progress.
What does good storytelling look like in practice?
In practice, good storytelling is usually much simpler than people expect.
It often starts with a real moment: someone describing a challenge they faced, a team explaining how they solved a problem, or a colleague sharing something they learned along the way.
A simple structure often helps: setting the scene so people understand the context, introducing a challenge or tension, showing what changed, and then connecting the story back to what it means for the organization.
Importantly, storytelling is not about replacing facts with emotion. It’s about combining them.
What’s your advice for communicators looking to build a communications strategy around storytelling?
The first step is recognizing that storytelling is not just a content technique.
Rather than asking “what stories should we tell?”, communicators might start by asking “where are the stories already happening?”
Some of the most credible stories in organizations come from employees — people adapting to new technology, solving customer problems, or finding new ways of working. Research consistently shows that people trust “someone like me” far more than they trust senior leaders or corporate messaging.
Part of the communicator’s role is to surface those stories and connect them to the organization’s wider narrative. That requires listening, curiosity, and creating safe spaces where people feel comfortable sharing their experiences.
It’s less about producing stories and more about enabling them.
What role do you see AI playing when it comes to storytelling?
Used thoughtfully, AI can help communication teams work more efficiently by repurposing stories across different formats, turning an employee conversation into a short video, an article, or translated content for global audiences.
But the starting point still has to be human experience.
The organizations that will communicate most effectively in the future won’t necessarily be the ones with the most sophisticated tools. They’ll be the ones who understand the stories already unfolding inside their organizations and help people see how those stories connect to a bigger shared narrative.
Ann-Marie Blake is co-founder of True, a business set up to help organizations build winning cultures through maximizing the potential of their people. She has over 25 years’ experience in communications where she’s worked both in-house and as a consultant for major global corporations. She served as secretary/treasurer on the International Executive Board of the IABC (2020-2024) and is currently chair of the IABC Heads of Communication SIG. Her contribution to the communications profession has been recognized with a Fellowships of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations.
Catch Ann-Marie at the IABC World Conference, 14-16 June in Toronto, where she'll present "Seeing Beyond Disruption: Scanning the Horizon To Shape Future-Ready Communication Strategies."