English majors, our time in the sun has finally arrived.
Back in December, Katie Deighton’s article in the Wall Street Journal, Companies Are Desperately Seeking ‘Storytellers’, went viral on LinkedIn. In it, Deighton described a growing trend of Big Tech companies like Google and Microsoft seeking to fill positions with titles like “customer storytelling manager” and “senior director overseeing narrative and storytelling.” Ever since, a steady drumbeat of this type of coverage has continued (see: Business Insider, The Guardian, and Fortune to name a few).
And though the salaries may not match those being offered to AI researchers, they’re enviable nonetheless. According to Fortune editor Sydney Lake, posted salaries for communications roles at Anthropic, Netflix, and OpenAI have ranged from $400,000 to $1.2 million. On behalf of myself and all English teachers past, present, and future, I’d like to speak to the manager.
Mostly kidding. I did, however, invite Eva Domínguez, founder and creative director of Immersive Creatures, a studio creating immersive experiences blending technology, art, and stories to the 150sec: Beyond the Bubble podcast to share her expertise on storytelling and dive a bit deeper into why this ancient skillset is seemingly breaking free from the confines of marketing departments across the tech industry. We spoke at length about the value of storytelling for education, professional development, and, of course, business communications.
For Eva, the reason behind this surge in interest is twofold: on the one hand, it’s human nature. “We are narrative beings…when we talk about ourselves, we are creating a story of who we are, that makes sense for us, right? And the way we tell this story about ourselves also changes our perceptions of ourselves. So, that’s the same with companies.”
On the other hand, it’s a consequence of the overwhelming amount of “content” and information we’re all collectively exposed to and consuming essentially around the clock. Stories help us make sense of the world around us – which is why having a much larger, more comprehensive storytelling strategy is particularly important for companies working with complex, powerful technology.
“It’s not just about one story. It’s about being consistent in everything you do with this message of who you are, what are your values, how you work. It’s not about creating a specific, just a marketing campaign. This storytelling – this narrative has to be in [everything] you do.”
Developing narrative consistency is precisely why storytelling skills are coming in handy. For Eva, companies today aren’t just a list of values paired with product descriptions, they’re building entire worlds, and those worlds exist in a variety of places and formats.
“If one of your employees is talking about your company [they’re] telling a story about the company. Is this, you know, really related to the strategy that we have, or is it different? The narrative is spread in everything you do, in every email you send…I’m not talking only about copywriting. I’m talking about, you know, how you’re structuring all your narrative in everything, in the visuals, in the format… it’s very complex.”
To hear more of Eva making sense of this complexity, and to learn more about her story, the work of Immersive Creatures, and more on the art of storytelling, check out the full episode and transcript below.
Transcript
Brittany: Welcome back to the 150sec:Beyond the Bubble podcast, where we share the stories of underdog entrepreneurs and innovators who are forging their own paths in emerging European markets. I am your co-host – we have a new co-host in 2026, I’m really excited about, Siobhan. She will be also recording some episodes in the future. But today it’s me, and I’m Brittany Evansen, and I am extremely excited to welcome Eva to the show to talk about a subject that is extremely dear to my heart, and I could talk about for days, which is storytelling.
Eva is based in Barcelona, and is the founder and creative director of Immersive Creatures, a studio that creates immersive experiences blending technology, art, and stories. So, Eva, I was a high school English teacher and middle school English teacher in the United States for a number of years. And then taught English for a couple of years here in Spain, so I truly could talk about storytelling all day. I think it’s just one of the… maybe the thing that makes us all human, that connects all of us, around the world, so I would love to hear more about your background and exactly how you came to found immersive creatures.
Eva: Thank you so much for inviting me, I’m delighted to also talk about my passion, which is, yeah, it’s storytelling, although I must say that, I think people that comes from backgrounds as, journalism, which is my case, or, I don’t know, people who are scriptwriters, they don’t call themselves storytellers, you know, it’s like, no, I’m a journalist.
Brittany: Hmm.
Eva: No, you know, and a storyteller is a more broad, I think, term in which, you know, there are many, many different people with different backgrounds and different ways of working, so that normally we are very specific, you know. I come from a journalism background.
But yeah, my passion is telling stories, factual telling stories. That’s why I, you know, became a journalist, because I think the world is such an interesting place. There’s… sometimes it doesn’t look like, right? Because the news are, yeah, especially, lately, you know? But it’s a… there’s so many interesting stories out there that are worth being watched and known by the public.
And this is what I, you know, this is why I became a journalist, like, I mean, there’s, you know, oh wow, these people are doing this, they hope these people are, you know, changing science, or then, you know, improving people’s lives. This is what made me really passionate about this job.
And this is one of my passions, and the other one is technology, because technology is shaping our world, as well as stories, you know? I think they are the two… for my… I think they are the two that are somehow changing, the, our world. One is because technology is everywhere, and what technologies – technology allows us to do is this what we can create. I mean, it’s always a common ground.
And, and then I got, you know, a master’s degree in technology in the United States, because as soon as the web came out, I thought, wow, this is a new language. So I want, I want to learn this language, I want to be, you know, creating stories that are really shaped for this, you know, with this technology.
And to make this story, long story short, I’ve been working in the intersection with, you know, stories, factual stories and technology for almost 30 years, and that means that I, you know, been using, you know, any technology that was coming, emerging at that time.
At the beginning was the web, of course, then mobiles, then… and now I’m more into, of course, we are creating more immersive stories with augmented reality, virtual reality, and, you know, all these interactive technologies that allow us, that give us the sense of presence, you know, inside the story. There are more sensorial technologies. And I think it’s really a change of paradigm right now. So, my passion is to make complexity easy to understand.
Brittany: Yeah, so much of storytelling is, is making the complex more simple to understand, right? Or sometimes, I guess sometimes the opposite, depending on which direction you want to go. Maybe some novel writers like to make things more complex, but, can you share an example of a current project, prior project, a favorite project, to really kind of illustrate what we mean, what you mean when you talk about this immersive storytelling and how the technology is, making the experience different than just, you know, kind of reading a story or listening to an audiobook.
Eva: Okay, sure. We, in our startup we work with – we have two lines of work – one is, services for clients, so we create tailored projects and stories for clients in different technologies. We always put the the story and the goal that you want to achieve with this story first, and then the technology is, you know, we choose the technology based upon that.
So, sometimes you know, a client can come with, I want to create a virtual reality installation, and then you then you start asking where, you know, where is the goal, and then you realize that it’s not the best way, even though we would love to create VR, and then you create another thing. So this is one of the things we do, and we are, here are several examples, but then we have our own product, and this is the example I want to explain to you, because it’s been a long process.
I had a previous startup that was – it started in 2013, and I had to shut it down during the coronavirus in 2020. And now, we have with Immersive Creatures, we are creating a second version of the project, of the product that we created. And what is this? This is trying to make complexity easy for children by creating an adventure, an animated adventure, in which, with, you know, fictional, with characters that are extraterrestrials that come to Earth, and they need to understand humanity and what is going on in the world, because it’s really a complex world.
And these characters ask – prompt the help of children because they think they are the most intelligent beings on Earth. And, so…
Brittany: They’re pretty – they’re much more intelligent than we give them credit for.
Eva: Yeah, and, yeah, yeah, and I tell you why, because, you know, we have a long experience with this target. So what we have created, like, one, is this is a series, and each chapter is about a topic, you know, that is, you know, a factual topic. It can be something that happened in the in the Roman times or it can be something that is more, more, you know, more present right now in the, in the media.
So, each chapter is an adventure that is in the context of something that is factual. Kids can learn about this, this theme. And we are creating this, this adventure in augmented reality. And this is an app, it’s a gamified app, in which, you know, kids can learn about different topics and it’s gamified, that means that they are adding points and ability, yeah, they are, like, they have different points for different adventures, but it’s not competition, but it’s a kind of collaboration, way of, of, of, acquiring knowledge.
So what we are doing is creating a form, telling about real things, real topics, in a way that they, for them it’s just fun, because for them it’s like an escape room kind of adventure, where they have to search for clues, and then talk to, they talk to the characters. They are a part of the story, because they are someone else in the team of these extraterrestrial characters that have this mission of understanding the world. And they are adding points every, you know,every time they solve or they end one of these chapters.
And we are creating with this, you know, these animated characters and this augmented reality that adds so much magic in the experience, because then when they find a clue, you know, something pops up in the middle. It’s for tablets and phones, so, you know, a character, or an animal in 3D, or, you know, a minigame shows up in 3D and they have to solve it. So, for me, this is, well, this is our, this is my, you know, the project that I love, and I try, I keep working on it for, you know, with the team. And, the first, the first adventures are taking place in museums.
So, we have, for example, in Barcelona, if you go to the Museum of Archaeology, there is an adventure inside the exhibition about Rome. So when families, you know, they download the application on the adventure, kids have a different experience for them. It’s like a secret mission because even the story is not in the exhibition. It’s a story that is made, just made for them, that is, how were children in ancient Rome. And then…
Brittany: Oh, cool.
Eva: Yeah, and so this is where, this is our goal. I mean, this is an example of how to create an immersive experience that is not, you know, it doesn’t require, you know, a lot of settings, the – a big setting, but it’s in the app and it’s portable, and then you can have different chapters, and we, you know, we have, already experience with the first children that have been using it, and, and, you know, the feedback is amazing, so, yeah, so that – you see that, like, this project is emerging, you know, my background, everything we do is, first is the goal, what you want to achieve is, like, I want kids, you know, to be so engaged in learning about the world, because it’s just fun, because it’s an adventure. And we create the language that is natural for them, that is playing with characters, these stories.
So we have, you know, this arc of the story that are the main, the, like, the big mission of the characters, and then in each chapter is a small mission. So it’s structured like a, like a series of an animated series.
Brittany: Yeah, and this, is all within the confines of the archaeological exhibit? Or there –
Eva: No, this is only the first chapter, no.
Brittany: Got it.
Eva: The first chapter is in the – we have another chapter, for example, that is about huge animals, right? And then these are portable adventures. We have two types of adventures. The ones that are location-based, you have to be there to experience it; and the ones that we call it, portable, that is, you don’t – you can do it from home and from anywhere.
Brittany: Sure.
Eva: And so, we have these two, and then we have a third one that is called Retransmissions. That is when our characters just, find out something, and they want us to, explain to children what they, you know, their findings. And these are smaller ones, and they don’t have augmented reality. But we have these three types of adventures, yeah. So we are just launching it, I mean, the new version of the app in, you know, next week, so…
Brittany: Wow, that’s so great! That’s really exciting.
Eva: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Brittany: And what’s guiding the chapters? Like, is there, a particular, like, curriculum you’re following, or is it, like, kind of based on more, like, you had mentioned, kind of, current events, so I’m curious as to how you’re organizing that.
Eva: In the, in the first, in the – this is, this project that is called Ivanani – the main character is Ivanani, is a robot, is an extraterrestrial robot of a, of a, an extraterrestrial girl, right? She sends her robot to the, to, to our planet and so she is in her planet, and the robot is here, and then, you know, it’s, the robot is the one that engages children in the story and the team. So, in this one, I mean, we have another, as I said, another startup in the, that we started a similar project in the, for schools, and it was, the logic was the same one. It was an animated series. That’s why we have tested so much the the product and the, and the way we create content. In there, in that case, was about the, yeah, news. I mean, we were talking about everything that was going on in the world, and we have international issues, environmental issues, culture, science. So we have, like, ah three, three – four topics, and we were just trying to balance, you know, like, okay, this week we’re gonna create a one-off international topic this week. So we had, like, sections, and we were choosing the topics based on what was, what was going on in the world at the time, but also trying to balance the, you know, the different topics.
In this case, we are not solely linked to, to the news. And we are also – what we do is we try to balance the different themes we want to cover. One can be more historical, another one, another one can be more about nature.
Brittany: Sure, yeah.
Eva: The other one is going to be more about science, so that’s what I’ve been trying to balance, yeah.
Brittany: Yeah, it’s really exciting. I, like I said, I mean, I spent years in the classroom, and it’s such a shame that I think that, like, classrooms kind of…beat the fun out of learning, you know? Like, I was… as an English teacher, which was, an after-school, it wasn’t a traditional teaching role, right? It was an after-school English Academy here, well, in Vitoria, where I live, and I remember asking the students one day – this is a group of probably 14, 15-year-olds – what their favorite season was. And almost everyone said summer, which was surprising to me, because Victoria’s, first of all, quite a cold place.
And I knew that some of these students loved skiing and, like, winter sports, because we had talked about that before, and so I asked them, okay, imagine that school is not a part of this. Like, if you don’t think about the school year, what season is your favorite? You know, and then suddenly it’s like, oh, like, half of them said winter, right? Because I, like, they liked skiing, they liked, you know, being cold. Like, they come from a cold place.
And it, like, made my heart so sad, because I thought, like, learning is so fun. You know, I just think that, like, curiosity is such a human trait, and it’s, it’s exciting when you get to learn something new, and it’s exciting when you get to kind of, like, go down a rabbit hole and allow your curiosity just sort of, like, to guide you…where it, where it wants to go, and it’s really hard to create that kind of independence in a classroom, in traditional classrooms.
And it’s… it’s really…I don’t know, I feel for kids, especially today, where they have just, like, input all the time, you know, there’s, like, no lack of interesting things to catch their attention, and then the classroom becomes this place that’s sort of like the doldrums, which it should be the opposite, you know, it should be such this, like, exciting place.
Eva: I love that you talk about this, Brittany, because, that’s why, this is, this is why we created Ivanani now, but the previous project was called Nushu. That was, that was the goal, because, you know, I did it for the girl I was.I was a kid that was very curious, and I remember being so bored in school, and that I feel school was a jail for me. I mean, I didn’t have a nice experience in school, despite that I love learning. And, you know, they didn’t manage to, yeah, to forget my interest in everything, but I think many kids that would, you know, would love to, they have this curiosity, maybe, we, you know, maybe they don’t find the right way to expand it, because they don’t feel – I mean, the way that you are, yeah, teaching them some topics are so, you know,
uninteresting for them that they don’t, you know, they don’t follow this, this path anymore, that maybe there would be a path, that we, they would be interested.
So, Nusha was for schools only. We have clients, we have schools that were using it and paying for it, who’s like, you know, that were using our service. And, it makes such a difference. You know, we went to record a video in a school, and when we arrived, and they said, you know, these are, this is the team of Nushu, and all, you know, and classes start – “Nushu, Nushu” – they start, like, chanting. I said, like, we were so, we love it!
We love Nushu, because, you know, it’s so cute, because it was a very small character. It’s so cute, and it’s so much fun, and I understand topics that, you know, I didn’t understand before, and I mean, for us, it was amazing, but we also had, it’s not just kids, love it, love it, that is my main goal, because I think if they, if they don’t love it, forget about it. I mean, they have to, you know?
Brittany: Sure.
Eva: But we also have awards in, for the quality, the innovation, in, in Finland. I mean, we have a quality, we were selected, it was one of the innovations of the year in Finland, and we have a certification of quality because, one of the things they told us is that despite we’re, we’re explaining very hard topics sometimes, I mean, the war, the Civil war – we explain it. We have all kinds of topics, but some of them were really tough.
Despite we, you know, we covered these topics, we were doing it in a way that kids didn’t feel like, wow, you know, the world is a really misery place. But they had the idea that we can change it. That was our message. We have the power of changing the world. And, and so, this for me, was the most important thing we achieved, that love, kids love it, and they could, learn about anything. But, having this feeling that, okay, there are problems in the world, but I’m, you know, I can, you know, I can contribute to change.
And and this is what, this is the legacy that we have put it also in Ivanani. So, what we have done is all the good things that we learned and tested with Nushu are in Ivanani, and we have improved all the ones that were not there, you know. And, and as you said, I mean, for me, it was difficult, because when you create something that is very innovative, you don’t fit in the structure, in the… right?
And Nushu was not this kind of project that is like, oh, wow, but, it’s not about math. No, it’s not about math, but it includes math. If the topic, you know, if the topic, if the subject we are talking about, there is a math-related topic, we are going to include it. So we were talking about anything, it was very transversal. But because it was so transversal, it was very difficult to put it in the, you know, they didn’t know where to put it in the school. So each school used it in a different way.
Brittany: Yeah.
Eva: It was also in three languages: English, Spanish, and Catalan. And some people, some schools use it, for learning English, you know? But I agree with you. It’s, for me, this was the, the most enriching experience was to see how kids that had in some schools they had difficulties for learning, they loved Nushu because, they feel, they felt they were intelligent. And that’s important. Because they understood very different – very, complex issues, easily. So they thought, I’m not just stupid. I’m an intelligent person. That’s important.
Brittany: Yeah, and I think that that is such a struggle for a lot of students in school. It’s just that, like, how hard it is to feel successful if they don’t kind of thrive in that very structured environment. Like, I was always a really good student, and, you know, I do thrive in, like, structure. Like, sit me down and tell me what to do. Give me the rules. And that is, like, where I can learn best. Like, I’m a bit of, like, a boring student in that sense. And I think being an educator, it really forced me to kind of reckon with the fact that, like, that is not most students, and that actually, like, I had to kind of create more empathy within myself, of, like, this is – what worked for you isn’t gonna work for your students, so, like, you know, having to kind of get out of my comfort zone, like, you know, take what you just said, sort of, like, taking those lessons of, like, oh, that doesn’t work in this setting.
But I’d love to, like, switch gears slightly, because I could talk about education and storytelling for days. And talk a little bit more about, like, kind of the business perspective. So you said you had clients. I’m assuming not all of the clients are in the, like, world of education or educational institutions, so could you give an example of kind of more of commercial use case.
Eva: I don’t have, right now, I don’t have any clients in the educational institutions. I have clients in the pharmaceutical industry, for example. I have clients in foundations. I have – so, it’s not, because what we do is we create these complex topics easy to understand for any kind of public.
And, for example, for the pharmaceutical company, we work with doctors in the company. They have to explain, you know, either, sometimes internally, sometimes externally, you know, how their drugs work. They have a lot of papers that they had to disseminate in, you know, to doctors or professionals.
And, you know, they don’t always have the time to read papers. So, we create, out of, papers, we create videos, or we create, that we work also with 3D, we create 3D environments and, and, and assets. And then we make, these, because, of course, we have to recreate the lungs, or, you know, any, any, physical, organ. And, we create videos that are very accurate, but very easy to understand, also for professionals, because we are, as you said before, we are overwhelmed by information. So there is an overload of information. And, we don’t always have time for this, you know, to deep into a paper or a very specific content.
But I want to understand where were the results of that, you know, research they did during 10 years, and I only have, you know, 3 minutes. So, this video is going to sum up the, the, you know, the results. And then, maybe I can read the paper later, but, so, we work with all kinds of companies because this storytelling is necessary for everyone. We are consuming, we are bombarded by so much content, so much information that sometimes we don’t understand because we don’t have the time. But we – if we only have 3 minutes, you know, why not create a 3-minute piece that is accurate, you know, very, and scientific, but, you know, I can understand the more important thing about this, the results of this investigation. This is possible. This is one of the things we are doing for one of our clients.
For other ones, for example, they want to have an impact on people, on, awareness of, difficult, difficult, topics, right? And then, for example, they create exhibitions. They have to create – they create exhibitions that they want to put in different places, so in this case, we – every year, we think about how, you know, how to create a format that is interesting and immersive. This year, we are working with a VR installation, and it’s about, the, you know, the rights, how the rights of, women workers are not being, you know, are being violated in many places in the world. So it’s a difficult topic, but we are creating a VR experience, you know. So, of course, at the end, we – everything we do has an educational purpose, but it’s – we’re not working directly with educational institutions.
Brittany: Sure. No, that makes perfect sense. I don’t know about you, but so in mid-December of 2025, there was a Wall Street Journal article that went viral, so it was just all over my LinkedIn feed, with the title Companies Are Desperately Seeking Storytellers. And in this article, it talked about, you know, Google had posted a job, for a customer storytelling manager. Microsoft was looking for a senior director overseeing narrative and storytelling.
And so, as someone who’s been immersed in storytelling and the importance of storytelling for so long, I’d love your take as to, you know, why is this title growing in popularity right now? Like, what is, what is happening right now that this is kind of growing in popularity, to the extent that these, like, huge, you know, big tech companies are using this title, for roles, what does this kind of say about, like, the current climate of our society?
Eva: Yeah, because that’s what I, you know, connected to what we said before, you know, we are overwhelmed by information, and, and, it’s so much content over there that, is important. We are narrative beings, we all are. You know, we, when we see – when we talk about ourselves, we are creating a story of who we are, that makes sense for us, right? And the way we tell this story about ourselves also changes our perceptions of ourselves. So, that’s… is the same with companies. So, how you tell the story of your company, of what you are doing, of how you are, is, also changing the perception of, you know, people, but it’s not just about one story. It’s about being consistent in everything you do with this, you know, with this, message of, you know, who you are, what are your values, how you work. It’s not about creating a specific, just a marketing campaign. This storytelling – this narrative has to be in everywhere you do, in everywhere you express. So it’s more a content, a big content strategy – and I think that’s why the storytellers, as I said, you know, storyteller is a very broad term, but – you have this vision of, wow, you know, but, I mean, your values – what you are telling me, what you are telling me right now is not really connected to what, you know, your department of sales is saying, you know? It’s not the same story. You are not, you are not, you’re not having a cohesive, narrative.
So I think – and in different formats – how do you, you know, how do you create this, strategy that, what is the message? How [do] we tell our – how [do] we talk about ourselves in different formats, in different moments? You know, they are – and you cannot just repeat the same message over and over. It’s like if you are creating a, you know, big world, narrative world, you know, you have your world, and then, each character, or department, has a different way to express it.
So, that’s why I think they need the storytellers, because we have all this way to structure, you know, a narrative world that, I think this is where companies are becoming.
Brittany: That’s interesting. It’s interesting to think of, like, a company as big as, you know, a Microsoft or a Google, where they have, you know, who knows how many sub-departments. To think of every sub-department of, like, a sub – a subplot in a narrative is kind of interesting. That’s, like, as a writer –
Eva: I mean, it’s just an example, I don’t mean that they’re gonna work this way, but, yeah, at the end, you see, everybody’s telling a story – even conscious or unconsciously. So, if, if one of your employees is talking about your company, you know, is telling a story about the company.
Is this, you know, really related to the strategy that we have, or it’s different? I mean, you – the narrative is spread in everything you do, in every email you send. How you – how do you – not only – I’m not talking only about copywriting. I’m, I’m, I’m talking about, you know, how you’re structuring all your narrative in everything, in the visuals, in the format, in the, I mean, it’s, it’s very complex. So that’s why I think, they need people that are more used to think about narrative worlds, and see the inconsistency of everything or not, you know?
It’s like, oh, this, you know, what this little part has to do with the overall narrative, right?
Brittany: Yeah. It’s interesting, because it feels like, you know, storytelling was – I mean, I started my career in PR, like, I switched from education to public relations in 2015. And I remember at that point, like, branded content was kind of, like, the new, cool thing. And that’s where, like, storytelling suddenly, like, you know, maybe that was – probably not the first wave, but my first, my first wave of hearing storytelling in kind of this more commercial content – context around brands and really, you know, trying to sell their product, trying to sell their, their, their story as a brand.
And I’m wondering, is it, because I – -oh, sorry, I’m kind of trying to, follow my own rapidly moving thought – it seems like marketing and storytelling were always kind of one and the same. Like, I think marketing departments for forever have been the ones telling stories about brands. So do you think that this is kind of ah, the next iteration is more kind of like, we need to actually do this on a much larger scale, like, we can’t just, you know, keep it to the marketers?
Eva: Yeah, that’s what I think, because at the end, we are all telling stories. The way an employee is talking about your company is telling the story to the customer. So, the marketing is not the only one who is sending the message. We are sending the message all the time – everything we do, everything the way, you know, that’s what I think, we need an overall strategy, that is not, just, only the marketing department, but understanding that the marketing department is doing a type of work, but the narrative or world of the company, and the way we talk about ourselves, you know, we are all doing it in a way, you know? So, that’s what I am – the way I understand it, at least.
Brittany: Yeah. And do you find that, like, when you’re working with the client – because I’m thinking about, like, just how overwhelmingly complex that would be to think about it in that way, right? Like, if you are, you own a company that’s, you know, has been around for a while, and you’re suddenly realizing that, like, there’s no cohesive narrative, like, there’s, there’s a million different stories – and I’m thinking on top of that – right, like, if you don’t tell the story, other people will tell the story for you, right? Like, we’re all generating stories, like, inside of ourselves constantly. It’s, like, just how we make sense of the world, I think, naturally, as humans. So, if you don’t own the narrative, somebody else is gonna, like, own it for you. Like, where would you even begin? Like, can someone start, like, fresh, like even though they already existed?
Eva: I don’t know – and you have to also be flexible, because it doesn’t mean that you have to control, because, you know, it’s not something that, it’s very difficult to control the, what people are telling about you – you’re not going to control it.
But you can be open, listening to what are your people saying about you, and then include it or react in some way that is, is in your narrative. It’s like, you know, this series, this TV series that are not – that there are so many examples that they are also watching what people are saying on, on the, on, on, on social networks about the – and then say, you know, people, “ look, these people are thinking this about this character,” and then in the next chapter, they include — well, in some chapters later – they include something that is, you know, somehow, you know, that you see they are not – they’re making you participate somehow in the narrative, because they are listening to it.
So this, you know, and this is what, you know, good storytellers do also, you know, they are like, okay, you know, there are so many ways to explain this story, so if someone has since, you know, your audience, your clients are reacting in some way, you can somehow include it in the main narrative, and making it work at your, you know, in a positive way of your, you know.
Brittany: Yeah, I just read, well, just read, I don’t know, sometime last year, there was an article, I think it was in the New York Times, and I can’t remember, the prof – like, the author that was being profiled. But he was, like, a – he’s a beloved, kind of, children’s book writer in the United States – Canada? North America. I remember reading some of his books, like, as a kid.
And, what was really interesting to me is that the – his history was that he would go into classrooms and tell stories, and, like, essentially workshop his new stories with kids over time. So, like, he would go in and tell the story, and then, you know, kind of figure out what the kids reacted to, what they, you know, what they wanted to hear. And, you know, he had very much had this philosophy of, you know, the stories don’t have to be didactic, they don’t have to be, like, trying to force, like, a moral agenda down a kid’s throat. It’s really, like, allowing kids to enjoy stories for the sake of stories. And then, you know, I loved that he was, like, actively working with children to create those stories.
And, yeah, I don’t know, it just reminded me of that, that – the best storytellers are the ones that are always kind of looking for ways to improve on the story, to, like, give the audience the story that’s the most appropriate for them, you know, like, making sure that they know their audience, for sure.
Eva: Yeah, totally. And it’s important because it’s a – you have a sense of agency in the story. You are participating, you know. It’s important, more nowadays, you know, our, you know, people are so used to participating and have a, you know, an active role in creating things and saying, you know, the things about the stories, about the – so it’s important that they feel that they have this sense of agency somehow, that they are being taken into account in the story, that they are part of the creation of the story.
And, because then you feel more engaged, you know, you are not just, you know, observing a story that is made and never changes, but it’s a story that is changing, or is different, you know, every time you see it. And we come – here is the influence of video games, and, you know, and in this new era of stories, stories are more fluid, you know? They are not closed, they are open, they are more like narrative arcs that, you know, that are more open, and then, they are narrative worlds, as I say, and then they can, you know, develop or be expanded in many different ways.
Brittany: Yeah, so knowing that, you know, it’s true that they – it is much more fluid, and there is an important element of allowing, like, the audience to engage and participate, and then thinking through, like, from a startup point of view, right? So, we try to focus on startups that are working outside of huge tech hubs – which, you know, Barcelona is probably beyond emerging at this point, there’s quite a tech scene there – but I think for, for founders, for people building in places where they don’t have, you know, the same level of resources that someone in Silicon Valley could find. The thought of kind of building this narrative in a way that’s, like, flexible, but also, like, they know what their narrative is, but also cohesive. Like, where does someone even begin? Like, how do they start to tell their story? What should they – what should they do? How do they start?
Eva: You mean the story about themselves, or for – or as a service that they are doing for clients?
Brittany: I’m thinking more of, yeah, like, the – because, you know, startups obviously have to pitch a lot, right? Like, a big part of what they do is just, like, trying to find people to either invest in them, buy their product, you know, believe in them, partner with them, and that a pitch is a story, you know, like, it is a very quick and dirty story. Dirty’s not the right word, but, you know, like, quick and effective, pithy story. And I think that a lot of founders, especially founders whose background is in tech, right? Maybe, like, they’re more of, like, developers. They’re not as proficient in storytelling. I think a lot of them struggle to know how to tell their story, at least in my experience, so, I’d love to hear like…
Eva: Yeah, that’s true. I mean, that’s what the ones that we – are in this field, we always say, okay, let’s collaborate, you know? Because, yeah, you – we are not going to be all experts in everything, you know, especially small teams, startups, you have to know where, you know, where are you good at, and then for the rest, ask for help. Ask for help, and I believe a lot within startups in creating synergies and contributions and partnerships that say, okay, yeah, I can help you with this, you can help me with that, you know, because you’re good at this.
So, there is also a tendency of trying to do everything themselves, right? I mean, you know, we do our – and yes, as you say, there are amazing startups out there that have amazing products and services, but the way they spread it, because it’s so techy, it’s like, no, you’re not focus – you’re focusing on the technology, but no, it’s not about the technology, you know? The story is not about the technology – it’s about what, what are you – how you’re making people’s life easier, better? You know – or companies’ lives easier, better.
So, I would say, right now we have many tools, I mean, I’m sure that if you try, you know, with AI, we can, you know, you can have this assistant that can help you to, to create something, but what is more important is the main message, what is really your, you know, value proposition? How do you transform this in a message that people feel identified? You know, it’s like, oh, wow, yeah, you know, this is how, you know, this is really the solution I need, because this is the problem I have.
And for that, you know, there are, you know, many people that can, can help out there. I would, I will always tell them, you know, ask for help to another startup and find an agreement. We have to collaborate, yeah.
Brittany: Yeah. Yeah, I love that advice, is, like, asking for help.
Eva: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Brittany: It’s so simple, but it’s so important, and it’s really hard, I think, for a lot of people to do.
Eva: Yeah, as a startup, you have to ask for help a lot – in trying to focus on, you know, what you are really good at, because otherwise you’re gonna, you know, spread your energy all, you know, all over the place, and most of the things you’re gonna do, you know, aren’t gonna be well done, because it’s not your focus or your expertise.
Of course, when you are in a startup, you have to do a lot of things, you know? It’s like, you cannot find as – you’re not gonna hire anyone for any, for, you know, for everything you have to do, but when things are, you know, as, as this thing about the, how do you explain yourself to the world is so important. I would try to, if I don’t have the skills, I mean, I have – I can ask for advice and do it myself – or otherwise I can try to, you know, find someone that can help me, and there are many ways to do that.
Brittany: Yeah.
Eva: I believe in collaboration and contribution, not competition.
Brittany: Amen. Me too. I feel it would be wrong to end this conversation without asking you your favorite stories. Favorite story, favorite story, favorite story medium? I know, it’s a really hard one, but it feels…
Eva: I’m – yeah, it’s really – because I have so many. I mean, I love – I read so many different things, from science fiction to – I mean, I’m really, I’m so curious that I, you know, pick up from many different subjects, and, so I don’t know, I would, I would say the latest, I would recommend Hamnet, for example, I think it’s a beautiful book, and, it seems that it’s an amazing movie that I’m still, I’m going to watch this weekend.
Brittany: Oh, nice. Oof, I saw it last week.
Eva: Oh you saw it, yeah?
Brittany: I did, I did. Just last week – no this week, on Monday. It’s only Friday. I saw it on Monday.
Eva: Well, I really love her. I mean, the author, I mean, I’ve read all their – her books so far, and I think it’s one of the best writers that I have, you know, that I have discovered lately. And, yeah, that’s – this is a quick recommendation, but I mean, I’m, I don’t know, I would say –
Brittany: I put you on the spot.
Eva: What?
Brittany: I put you on the spot, I didn’t give you any forewarning, so I think it’s fair to not have an answer right away.
Eva: No, no, no, no.
Brittany: – extremely hard question.
Eva: When I say about what is the, but, for example, science fiction, I have discovered lately Octavia Butler. I didn’t know about her. Wow, I’m reading her books, like – I’m amazed. I mean, I love her. I love her. And I didn’t know about her. So, I mean, I don’t know, I could tell – I don’t know, I mean, I read so many different things, and I watch many different movies and series that I would, I don’t know – at the same time, though, I don’t know if you do this – I have, like, different books at the same time, and different series at the same time.
Brittany: Oh – series…yeah, I will, like, I like to switch, because, like, you know, I really love a good drama, like, and sometimes it just gets too heavy, so then I’ll switch to, like, you know, something like a kind of a silly comedy – and, or, yeah, something, like, outside of my, like, more of, like, a sci-fi thing, or, like, a detective sort of thing. I love to switch between series. Books, I cannot read more than one at a time. I, like, really need to be focused because I will just forget otherwise. It will just take me too long, and then…
Eva: Yeah, I always have different books at the same time. And it depends on the mood, I keep reading one or another. Sometimes I – there are books that I can just not, you know, I, I have to read it in one night, at least in one shot. But, for example, right now, I’m reading also a book that I have to pause it, you know, every now and then, that is called La Peninsula de las Casas Vacías is about the – it’s, about the Civil War in Spain, but it has some magic realism. It’s, it’s a, it’s a, you know, it’s a very good, good book, but the topic, you know, is, it’s heavy. It’s heavy, so I have to pause it anytime.
Brittany: That I fully understand.
Eva: Yes.
Brittany: There’s a book that was, really, really pop – I mean, it’s still very popular, but, back when I was living in New York, so, like, years ago – A Little Life that is – A Little Life, yeah, is the, the title, I believe. But it is so sad. Like, it – I had to, like, put it down several, I was just like, I can’t, like, I have to take a break from this, it’s just too sad. And I saw a man – I sat next to a man on a flight recently, and he was reading the book, and I looked over, and I was just like, good luck.
Eva: Was he, was he crying?
Brittany: He wasn’t, but, like, I was like, how you doing? Like, how’s that, how’s that going for you? And he’s like, yeah. I was like, it’s pretty rough, yeah? And he’s like, yeah, it’s pretty rough. It’s beautiful, but oof.
Eva: Yeah, La Peninsula de las Casas Vacías, I don’t know if I said the name right. Yeah, this is the name, it’s the long name. La Peninsula de las Casas Vacías. Yeah, so… I mean, yeah, there’s so many!
Brittany: I would say there’s so many books, so little time.
Eva: Yeah, there are so many stories. I mean, I loved talking to you and sharing the passion for storytelling. I think is what makes our life more interesting. I mean, it’s like, we – I think we, even though people are not so aware – we live in a narrative world. And, we don’t experience – we experience the world through stories, so that’s why they are so important.
Brittany: Absolutely. Well, thank you so much. I genuinely just enjoyed this conversation so, so much, and good luck in all of your endeavors. I just can’t wait to see what you and Immersive Creatures do in the future, so thank you.
Eva: Thank you. Thank you so much, Brittany.
Brittany: Have a great rest of your day. Bye.
Eva: You too, bye.