Lauren Ready is an Emmy award-winning storyteller, keynote speaker, and the Principal Storyteller of Forever Ready Productions.The Forever Ready team tells mission-driven stories for nonprofits and businesses so they can realize and harness their collective purpose and impact.Lauren Ready started her TV news career as a production assistant at 17. She then spent the next ten years as a video journalist as she moved across Iowa, Nebraska, and Memphis to cover national breaking news.Lauren’s vision for storytelling is at the heart of every production at Forever Ready. It’s this background in reporting — where production happens fast and complex human stories are at the center — that gives Forever Ready its unique creative edge. Lauren’s specialty is taking moments of human experience and turning them into dynamic and compelling short videos. Since leaving her TV news career and starting Forever Ready Productions in 2016, her company has received the Small Business of the Year Award from the Memphis Business Journal. Lauren has also won 4 regional Emmys and in 2019, was named Memphis Business Journal’s Top 40 Under 40. Key Takeaways:You already have stories. Take a look at the “ordinary” things you do in your everyday work and try to see if there is a story in it that’s worth telling. Take the story beyond what you see in the headlines. Life continues beyond the snapshot so write about the follow-up or the continuation of the story. Give people a story that they don’t expect. Be authentic. Show the reality of your work. Don’t paint a perfect picture for the sake of your audience. Be optimistic and be empathic about the help that you’re providing to your community, but show them the real imperfect parts of the story. Instead of thinking about showing something big that you do, zoom in on one person. It makes the kind of impact you give more digestible and easily understandable.  “We're challenging folks to take the story beyond what you see in the headline.” “The story you should be telling in your nonprofit is right in front of you. It's a part of what you do every day, but it seems ordinary to us so you don't tell anybody about it.” “When we put in some of those imperfect moments, they feel real, they're truthful, they empower your client, they empower your team, and they show your supporters the real side of your work.”  “Get rid of the scarcity mindset, don't do what you've always done in the past, and don't be afraid to tell an imperfect story.”- Lauren Ready  Reach out to Lauren Ready at:Website: https://www.foreverreadyllc.com/ Be more confident, credible & convincing to your board & supporters without feeling rejected, ineffective, or pushy. Learn to manage your mindset, lead yourself and others more effectively and have the meaningful conversations that drive your most important work. Get your free starter kit today at www.theinfluentialnonprofit.com Connect with Maryanne Dersch: maryanne@courageouscommunication.com