Story Coaching
Transform your leadership experience into stories that inspire, influence, and drive results.
You’re a good CEO, but you could be great.
And how you distill and share your life’s insights makes all the difference. You might have great talent on the stage, or in the board room. But That’s where story comes in. The process reveals your powers and your challenges, and goes deep into where you come from and where you’re going.
Story is the vehicle. Every breakthrough you've had, every challenge you've navigated, and every insight you've gained become the raw material for stories that can transform how you connect, how you communicate, and how you inspire others to action.
“This work helps you discover yourself and integrate, actualizing the threads of your life. It has helped me refine the way in which I can tell a story that allows people to put themselves in the story and see a path to the future.”
Connect the dots of your leadership.
Jay helps you reorient your life to your leadership, guiding you to the shaping and application of stories, anecdotes, metaphors and data points in order to most effectively achieve your multiple goals.
The core of this work is pattern recognition, presence and memorability. It's about stepping into the next version of your leadership, and building a practice of meaning making. As you connect the dots between your experiences and discover the deeper insights that make your purpose, your vision, and your product unique, your leadership changes. As you put those stories to the retellable test, sharing them on small stages and large, from boardroom pitches to social media, from keynote stages to partner meetings.
What we'll develop together:
Your Leadership Landscape: I become an expert in you. I learn the pivotal moments, hard-won insights, and defining experiences that shaped who you are as a person, a parent, a thinker, a leader.
Goals and Messages: We define the areas of transformation you care most deeply about and illuminate a pathway to get there. We explore the things you most often say and the deeper changes you want to see in your work and your world. We iterate as new ideas and goals emerge.
Tools and Techniques: Along the way I develop a story repertoire that includes anecdotes, metaphors, stories and ideas in the works. I iterate on ways of enhancing memorability, story-listening and presentation power, and give homework when needed on story shaping and application.
“Working with Jay helped me see that the stories and anecdotes I used to keep to myself can be a connective force inside and outside of our company. Our work together gave me a method for organizing and shaping my insights that makes prep for meetings and talks much easier - and more enjoyable.”
The Results:
Discovery and Pattern Recognition: You’ll integrate previously unrecognized moments in order to shift the patterns and connections that build your unique approach to creating change and influence.
Meaning Making: You’ll enhance your ability to quickly connect the dots between experiences, uncovering the deeper insights and truths that make your leadership philosophy come alive.
Adaptive Story Skills: Every story, moment of meaning, anecdote and metaphor we develop will enhance your ability to shape and craft for the right context—whether you’re adapting for 30-second elevator conversations, 5-minute investor pitches, 20-minute keynotes, or written thought leadership pieces.
Authentic Integration: As your ability to shape and apply living stories increases, and as new moments and insights come to the foreground of your perspective, you integrate ideas long left by the side of the road. They give you strength ad purpose.
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![Jessica Rolph]()
“Our work together helped me organize my insights and stories for speaking and also for launching my new company. In fact, I've been using one of the stories that you helped me with in many successful pitches. We got a huge amount of mileage out of that story!”
—Jessica Rolph, Co-Founder of Happy Baby and Lovevery
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![Ken Dychtwald]()
“Even though I have been working to hone my public speaking craft for decades, Jay's wise insights and masterful guidance have given me an entirely new perspective on how to understand and feel my stories far more deeply, and how to tell them far more effectively.”
—Ken Dychtwald, Founder/CEO of Agewave, Keynote Speaker, Author of 18 books
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![Charles Antis]()
“I’m in a whole different place as a communicator as a result of this work. The personal stories took me to a place I rarely went to, and now find myself visiting frequently, with a few good jokes along the way.”
—Charles Antis, CEO and Founder, Antis Roofing
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![Kim Sherman]()
“The work you did with me was truly impactful and transformative. I just wanted to say thank you. You have helped me in more ways than you know. You are really a blessing in my life and I am grateful for you helping me to create a Re-tellable story.”
—Kim Sherman, Former CEO of Echo Media
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![Julie Hudash]()
“Jay delivers an inner sense of knowing, alignment, personal connection to story and audience, which is the perfect recipe to create a powerful impact. Thank you for all you do Jay, you are truly a gift for so many leaders!”
—Julie Hudash, Keynote Speaker, CEO of TeamKids
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![Close-up portrait of a smiling man with brown hair, beard, and mustache, wearing a suit and tie with a blurred outdoor background.]()
“Jay amazes. He provided a framework to turn what I thought was mundane into exciting pieces that others would find relatable and interesting.”
—Christopher Ticknor, Chief Transformation Officer, United Way of Orange County
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![Ashish Sanghrajka]()
“Jay creates a safe space and you start learning how to recreate that safe space. So that you can become a better speaker, a better communicator, a better boss, a better employee, a better customer, a better parent…the list goes on.”
—Ashish Sanghrajka, CEO of Big Five Travel
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![Rebecca Tarbotton]()
“It's been a personal transformation for me. I've been on a high for two months! It changes the way I approach talks. I will never again tell a story without knowing its meaning.”
—Rebecca Tarbotton, Former Executive Director, Rainforest Action Network
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![Israel Ganot]()
“I received tremendous value out of the work we did together and I use the stories a lot! I use portions in almost everyday conversations. I really like the work that we've done together.”
—Israel Ganot, Former President and CEO, Gazelle.com
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![Melinda Kramer]()
“You helped me find the soul of my stories, and understand how their meaning translates.”
—Melinda Kramer, Founder of Women’s Earth Alliance
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![Brian Dick]()
“Working with Jay helped me see that the stories and anecdotes I used to keep to myself can be a connective force inside and outside of our company. Our work together gave me a method for organizing and shaping my insights that makes prep for meetings and talks much easier - and more enjoyable.”
—Brian Dick, CEO, Golden State Foods
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![Joelle Edwards-Tonks]()
“I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to have been coached by you Jay! You are an inspiration and a great professional.”
—Joelle Edwards-Tonks, former Chief Marketing and Sales Officer, Oetker Collection
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![Nell Greenberg]()
“Hiring Retellable was one of the best professional decisions I've ever made.”
—Nell Greenberg, Former Communications Director, Rainforest Action Network
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![Sherry Benjamins]()
“We did it right! Thanks to you – I have the new story. I am so grateful! To you Jay.”
—Sherry Benjamins
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![Jennifer Witherspoon]()
“I worked with Jay and his colleague to devise a story telling presentation for restoring the Gulf wetlands. That project was also compelling and highly creative and productive. Jay Golden is a great story teller!”
—Jennifer Witherspoon, California Communications Director, Environmental Defense
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![Dr. Stever Dallmann]()
“The guidance and inspiration I got from Jay and Retellable was not only essential in helping tell the story, but enlivened and evolved our mission and vision as well. Brilliant!”
—Dr. Stever Dallmann, Executive Director, Liberation Institute
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![Ahmed Rahim]()
“I came to Jay with a lot of ideas, and threw a bunch of spaghetti against the wall. He took what I had and made a beautiful circle of stories. ”
—Ahmed Rahim, CEO and Co-Founder, Numi Tea
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![Andy Ruben]()
“You can spend a lifetime discovering the patterns employed by great storytellers, or spend a few sessions with Jay. ”
—Andy Ruben, CEO, Trove
Perfect for leaders who want to:
Elevate their speaking presence at conferences, board meetings, or team gatherings
Bring their thought leadership to the next level through authentic, memorable communications
Improve investor or stakeholder pitches with stories that make their vision irresistible
Build stronger team culture through leadership storytelling - and storylistening - that inspires and guides
Amplify their social media impact with content that feels easier, more fun, and more effective
Prepare for media opportunities with authentic, memorable narratives
