We were lucky to catch up with Alice Fairfax recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alice, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?

When I was 7 years old, my dad drove me across the country from his post in Vancouver, Washington to our next home in Northern Virginia. This was way before iPads, smart phones, or TVs built into the headrest of the minivan. We were in a blue Dodge Dart with no air-conditioning, vinyl seats, a lap belt and a built-in AM/FM radio with stations that drifted in and out.

The first day of our trip, my dad put me in the back seat and said:“I’m going to tell you a story from here to Virginia. I’m going to tell you the story of the West.” Off we went. When we stopped to stand in the wagon ruts in Wyoming, he told me the story of my three-times great-grandmother Lulu who traveled the Oregon Trail in a covered wagon. Dad told me about the people of the Great Plains like the Blackfoot and the Crow. There were stories about the buffalo and the railroads. There were stories about natural landmarks like Chimney Rock and Yellowstone. We stopped at the battle of Little Bighorn and I heard the story of Custer and Sitting Bull. Stories about explorers Sacagawea, and Lewis and Clark and outlaws like the Hole in the Wall Gang and Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid.

Telling stories did more than distract a fidgety child. The stories connected me to the land I was seeing, to the culture of each place, and to the events that happened there. They also connected me to the storyteller — my dad. Everything was a story, and I was now a part of that story.

My parents created space for me to live in my imagination. It gave me a passion for seeing how stories connected the past and the present, and how culture and art expressed the stories of the people. It set me on a course to find those connections everywhere.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I’m an author and a story coach. My next book is coming out in 2023, all about the power of story and how to use that power to inspire your audience and get them to take action.

As a story coach I work with businesses to help them create customer engagement through story. I also work with speakers and authors to help them craft and deliver their messages.

I started out as an actor and had a 20-year career as an improv storyteller at Walt Disney World. From there the transition for me was writing — I started writing scripts for live events, eventually landing a writer for Disney Event Group. I’ve gone on to write events and marketing videos for a variety of industries, including developing content for training programs at Disney Institute and other hospitality industry companies. I also spent the last seven years in PR for touring Broadway shows. So my story skills have lots of applications.

What really changed things for me was leading an eight-hour Story workshop for a local nonprofit. The Victory Cup Initiative is an annual competition where 10 nonprofits tell their story in 2 minutes and vie for grants up to $25,000. The real benefit is that each nonprofit gets this full day of training on the power of story — and they can take that back to their teams and boards.

So many business leaders came to me after the first event that I developed a series of sessions and seminars on the power of story. From there, I wrote my second book, coming out in 2023. My first book was a spiritual guide to creativity called “The Creative Life”. This next book is all about the power of story and giving readers to the tools to use story to power their messaging. So get ready to be able to tell your story!

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I’ve been leading a course for other authors called “Become Your Own Publicist” on how to create a PR plan. We talk about the difference between marketing and PR. When you are marketing it’s you telling the world “Buy my book!” When you are doing PR, you are connecting with others who say about you, “Hey, you should get this book!”

I get really excited about sharing my work to help others and I enjoy networking more than I enjoy marketing. When I can connect with my target audience through people who are doing aligned work, and can create value for them, then we naturally support each other and tell the world. When my services benefit someone in my community, they tell others and that makes for deeper connections. When you genuinely do what you do and respond to those that are in your arena, then you build a network of connections that will support the launch of your work. That’s what I’ve found in my work in PR and applying it to my own work as an author and story coach has helped me build my reputation in the market.

It’s been so effective, I plan on launching a four-part Promo Course online in 2023 to go along with the launch of my next book.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

It’s taken me a long time to center myself as a creative artist. I’m able to do a lot of different work — PR, project management, writing, facilitating, hosting, performing — all those great skills that support my creative work. Deciding that I’m a creative artist has been the transformative act in my career. It’s allowed me to lead with my creativity — I meet with clients to brainstorm their brand message, their next speech, their platform and position. Then if it’s a right fit, I can write the copy for them, manage the timeline and production, and launch them with PR events and strategy.

Believing that my creativity has value in itself and that it doesn’t need to be paired with a product — that my creativity is it’s own service — has many benefits for both me and for my clients. I approach projects as a creative artist and that produces higher quality work. The possibilities are endless when I start with creativity rather than product. It’s definitely a big lesson learned.

Contact Info:

• Website: alicefairfax.com
• Instagram: @alicefairfax
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alice-fairfax-3aaa711/
• Other: Copper app: @alicefairfax

Image Credits
Arelene Laboy