The Experience Edge: Storytelling at PayPal - lessons from Suchitra Parikh

In this episode, Jochem sits down with Suchitra (Suchi) Parikh, PayPal's Director of Storytelling and former group creative director at Apple, to explore how to transform complex business ideas into compelling stories that drive action.

Key topics discussed:

• The one-word test - Suchi challenges stakeholders to distill their entire goal into a single word (like "delight" or "engagement") to force clarity of thinking and anchor every element of their story to that core intention.

• Every presentation is persuasion - Even routine business updates should be structured to transform how people think or act, not just present facts. Start with purpose, frame the problem, present your solution, and always come with a point of view.

• The ACT framework - Great storytelling requires understanding your audience (what problem are you solving?), their context (where are they in their journey?), and the transformation (how will you move them from one state to another?).

• Don't dump complexity on customers - Most people overwhelm their audience without realizing it. Do the hard work of simplification yourself by sequencing information strategically and giving people only the details they need at each stage.

• Energy over logic - People pick up on energy faster than logic. Rehearse your stories in safe spaces with colleagues before big presentations so you can deliver with natural conviction rather than reading from slides.

Key takeaways for CX Leaders:

The path to better storytelling starts with self-awareness and intentionality. Before your next presentation, ask yourself: what's the one word that captures my goal? What do I need this person to think or do differently? Then structure everything in service of that transformation. As Suchi puts it, "You want to sell your idea in a way that the person doesn't even realize you're selling your idea. You just made them think differently."

Want to hear the entire conversation? Watch or listen to the podcast with Suchi and Jochem on The Experience Edge:

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