The Power Of Honest Storytelling

Joanne Lockwood is joined by speaker and coach Nick Elston to explore what honest storytelling can unlock—for individuals, audiences, and workplace conversations that are often hard to have.

Nick shares how lived experience of obsessive compulsive disorder, anxiety, burnout, and a breakdown shaped his relationship with speaking, and why telling the truth without a filter can build trust and connection. Together they discuss the emotional cost of repeatedly telling a personal story, the need to let narratives evolve over time, and how to communicate with vulnerability without getting trapped in the past.

The conversation also examines inclusion in challenging environments: asking better questions, navigating fear of saying the wrong thing, and how authenticity can disrupt echo chambers. Joanne reflects on her own journey, including her trans history, what it meant to come out, and why being present in “toxic” spaces can still matter if it reaches those open to another perspective.

Listeners will come away with practical ways to think about sharing their story with boundaries, focusing on the value to the audience, and using authenticity as a catalyst for connection, belonging, and positive change.