This week we hosted the supremely talented Alina Siegfried. Alina is a narrative strategist, author, TEDx speaker, gifted poet and storyteller. We speak at length about her new book which discusses, among other things, storytelling and the power of words. Especially in their capacity to fundamentally impact and alter human thought, and thus behaviour, in a positive way.
Alina has been the founding communications lead of the Edmund Hillary Fellowship, where she has acted as a facilitator and liaison between five hundred different systems change advocates, including entrepreneurs, investors and artists from all around the world, engaging them to help develop practical ideas on how to address some of the more pressing issues facing our collective global narrative.
This was the second time in 10 years I had the pleasure to interview Alina, and it was an absolute joy - she was incredibly quick witted in answering some really tough questions which I threw at her (bear in mind none of these podcasts are scripted and no guests get any sort of questions or prompts before) - especially the one that I was unable to get Holly Ransom to answer last week when we ran out of time:
“Will AI ever be a leaders of humans?” - Alina’s answer is brilliant and so nuanced, as was her answer to what she would do if Mark Zuckerberg asked her to orchestrate and be the architect of the metaverse. Both of her responses show what an incredibly deep thinker Alina is, very refreshing to be around.
Alina’s book is called:
“A Future Untold: The power of story to transform the world and ourselves”
“At the root of the answers to these questions lies the extraordinary power of story. The world is built upon stories - stories we believe about ourselves and others, narratives about “the way things are”, and myths that define our relationship to the world around us. And because it was us - humans - who collectively authored these stories, it is us who have the power to change them.
A Future Untold translates the fundamentals of narrative change into authentic stories, entertaining anecdotes, new myths for humanity, and a handful of powerful poems to provide a call to action for everyday citizens who believe that we can build a better future together.”
I finally got around to reading the book and it is absolutely fantastic. It was so engrossing, I completely absorbed it and am actually reading it again for a second time, that’s how powerful Alina’s storytelling is.
Please order the book here.
Alina was the 2012 New Zealand Slam Poetry champion, and has represented the country at the World Slam Poetry finals in the USA, check out some of her brilliant performances below:
Big World, Small Planet
Humanity Stands
For the Spotify geeks out there:
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Thank you very much.
Mauri Ora.
“It takes generosity to discover the whole through others. If you realize you are only a violin, you can open yourself up to the world by playing your role in the concert.”
The legend himself, Jacques Yves Cousteau.
The Word KUPU #10 - Alina Siegfried