A few weeks ago while doing work in Durban, I went to a restaurant for some fish take aways.

It is a third-generation, family-owned and operated business, and it shows.

The enthusiasm of the assistants is palpable.

‘I have never worked for a company like this,’ the woman behind the counter says. ‘I have been here for five years, and I love it!’

When I ask why she talks about how much the owners care.

‘They would do anything for us. They even get up on a ladder to change our lightbulbs.

They remember our birthdays. They want the best for our customers and us.’

As the conversation progresses, ‘they’ becomes ‘we’.

‘We don’t keep yesterday’s food. We are just proud to sell a beautiful and fresh fish here in town.’

Storytelling is more than clever copy. It is the act of showing up, with intention.

Your story is more than a tagline or a positioning statement, it is not only what you say, it is what you do.

If you say you care, care.

If you say batho pele [people first], let them come first.

If you say “how am I help?” mean it and help.

The best stories are not just told, they are lived.