{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Tell Me More: Empathy, Headlines, and the Stories Firms Choose","description":"When the world feels heavy, polished stories stop working. The ones that land are the honest ones \u2014 the ones that start with trouble.   In this episode of The PSM Show, hosts Damion Morris and Deirdre Booth sit down with writer and strategist Joel Hoekstra for a \u201cpull up a chair\u201d conversation about why the best AEC stories don\u2019t begin with brilliance or technical expertise \u2014 they begin with friction, uncertainty, and what wasn\u2019t working. Joel shares how he helps marketers draw human-centered narratives out of highly technical subject matter experts, why empathy consistently beats perfection, and how the stories a firm tells (or avoids) reveal its values, culture, and client experience.   You\u2019ll hear practical ways to get past \u201cit\u2019s just what we do,\u201d including a simple interviewing move that unlocks better detail, better clarity, and better trust: \u201cTell me more.\u201d Joel also breaks down why headlines matter more than most firms think, how scannable structure (subheads, bullets, formatting) increases impact, and how to build reusable story \u201ctoolkits\u201d that support proposals without relying on boilerplate.   Plus, Joel introduces his START Story Formula \u2014 a clear framework marketers can use to shape case studies, Q&A prep, and project profiles: Situation \u2192 Trouble \u2192 Action \u2192 Result \u2192 Transformation Because the ribbon-cutting is a result \u2014 but what changes six months later is the transformation people actually remember.   Guest bio: Joel Hoekstra Joel is a Minnesota-based content-marketing strategist and writer who helps design firms tell client-centric stories that win work. He has held marketing-communications roles at several architecture firms in Minneapolis and has written extensively about design and architecture for such publications as Metropolis, This Old House, RIBA Journal, ARCHITECT, BUILDER, and American Craft. Learn more about Joel and sign up for his monthly newsletter at joelhoekstra.net. Follow him on Linked in at https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/joelchoekstra\/ ","author_name":"PSM: Professional Services Marketing","author_url":"http:\/\/psm.show\/","html":"