Meet Michelle Newell
Narrative Strategist
Michelle is a narrative strategist who helps ambitious professionals and organisations unlock the power of story to influence minds, shape futures, and lead with meaning.
Over the past two decades, she has worked across education, cultural events, urban design, and strategic communications. A professional chameleon, Michelle has reinvented herself more than once: from high school English and History teacher to recruitment consultant, e-Learning designer, education futurist, communications manager, community engagement lead, and festival curator. Each chapter sharpened her instinct for what truly moves people: the right story, told at the right time.
Michelle has delivered keynotes to large public audiences, hosted philosophy salons in dive bars, moderated panels, and designed story activations in the UK, Qatar, and Australia. She holds a Bachelor of Education, and Graduate Certificates in Arts Management and Museum Studies.
Michelle is especially interested in:
The evolution of identity in an age of AI
The future of death, dying, and memory
How storytelling is used in both narrative warfare and regenerative leadership
Through The Storytelling Business, Michelle runs storytelling workshops, designs personal brands, and crafts futures scenarios that help leaders step into their next chapter with clarity and conviction.
Connect with Michelle on LinkedIn.
once upon a time...
The Storytelling Business 5-Step Story Arc in action
1 CONTEXT (SETUP)
I wrote books as a kid and dreamed of being a writer when I grew up. I helped my Dad in his work as a youth leader in a small town, and was full of ideas for changing the world.
At 16, I moved to Brisbane for a journalism degree at UQ. Within weeks, I was drowning as a small fish in a murky and very large pond. I wasn’t the best; and back then it stung.
When a sociology subject opened my eyes to how the media used language to disempower, divide and dispossess, it served as a convenient ‘get out clause’. I switched degrees and told people “journalism isn’t for me”.
A failed attempt to get into scriptwriting reinforced my self-doubt, and I ended up as a high school History and English teacher instead. I spent my days immersed in the writing and stories of other people and wishing I was somewhere else.
Rising Tension
I moved to London and was drawn to roles where I worked with people who were leaving their mark on the world: writers, artists, architects, and philosophers.
I ran networking events for children’s book writers and wrote design briefs for visionary new school buildings. I co-curated an Australian-New Zealand literature festival, drafted a novel and even scored an agent. I was on my way!
But I freaked out. Fifty thousand words into a rewrite, I got writer’s block. After 12 years away, I quietly shifted back to Australia and stopped returning my agent’s emails (sorry, Jenny!).
I still wanted to tell stories; I just couldn’t figure out whose story, or how.
2 Challenge (CONFLICT)
Back in Australia I joined writers’ groups but felt like an imposter. Melbourne is smaller than London, and the writing scene felt more intimate and exclusive.
When I landed a job as a comms manager, a new path appeared. I could get paid to write at last, cocooned behind the safety net of the business brand personality. My creative streak shone through, and I presented at education conferences about business storytelling.
I saw a glimpse of another life as a writer, storyteller and mentor. But I didn’t know how to take the idea forward. In a decision I’m sure my subconscious made to punish me, I left for the financial services industry.
Then COVID struck, and it was the ultimatum I needed. My boss knew my heart wasn’t in tax, and suggested we end my contract early.
3 CHOICE (CLIMAX)
With the world in chaos there was nothing to lose. I said ‘yes’ and stepped into the unknown world of business ownership.
I launched The Storytelling Business and began offering marketing services to female-owned businesses. Gradually, I had the confidence to shed most of my services and focus on my true calling – leadership for everyone through story. Finally, I’d found the right fit.
4 RESULT
Today, I am privileged to work with passionate, visionary thought leaders; people who are offering a platform for diverse or marginalised voices; innovative directors and managers who want to invest in their people’s development; grass-roots activist movements campaigning for our planet; and ordinary people who are reimagining what it means to work, connect, love, repair, design, build and be.
5 RESIDUE (LESSON/KEY TAKEAWAY)
Looking back, I can see a common career thread linking people, learning, story and futures. But I wasn’t sure I’d make it to the point I’m at today.
The path to purpose isn’t always straightforward. Often, we play both the hero and the villain in our stories. My own self-doubt made the route to where I am today long, winding and often hilly!
But false starts are not mistakes – they’re clues about untapped potential and the beginning of breakthroughs.
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Reimagine your future, with storytelling and personal branding ideas for executives, thought leaders and teams / Discover practical tips, tricks and templates for story-led leadership