How To Empower Employees To Tell Your Brand's Story With Confidence

Original article published in Forbes

When employees feel connected to a company's mission, they can become some of its most powerful storytellers. Yet, empowering teams to share authentic stories while maintaining brand consistency requires balance, trust and clear guardrails. For organizations, this means finding ways to give employees creative ownership without losing sight of brand integrity or introducing unnecessary risk.

To help, 17 members of Forbes Communications Council share how you can equip your internal team to tell your brand's story confidently, consistently and authentically.

1. Inspire Authentic, Lived Stories

Storytelling starts from within. When teams feel connected to a company’s purpose, they become its best storytellers. It’s about giving teams real experiences that bring the brand to life—through training, shared initiatives or community involvement—so they’re not just repeating messages but living them. That’s how you get authentic stories that stay true to the brand while inspiring others. - Toni Stoeckl, Starwood Hotels

2. Build Culture And Communications To Empower Brand Voices

Employees are the brand. Start by building a culture that prioritizes internal communications with frequent updates to the team on strategy, product or positioning. Then, empower people. One of my favorite brands does this brilliantly: Freshpet hires pet lovers, they educate their entire team on their products and the entire organization is capable and empowered to share info, creating a win-win situation. - Susan Ganeshan, Emplifi

3. Protect Brand Integrity Through Guidelines

Brands and trademarks are key assets needing consistent protection. Following corporate guidelines preserves brand value. As content creation grows, employees can promote the brand if internal teams work together to safeguard it. At our company, this means clear brand guidelines and resources for employees and managers, including robust training in logo rules, brand voice, tone and style, as well as toolkits. - Megan Longenderfer, Victaulic

4. Establish Clear Frameworks For Storytelling

Storytelling is a discipline. One way to empower teams without diluting brand consistency is to have a clear framework. Are you telling a story about the brand, highlighting an achievement; on behalf of the brand, amplifying customers or partners; or for the brand, demonstrating brand purpose? The first step is knowing which story you are telling and which story will deliver business value! - Andrea Ruskin, Blum Consulting Partners, Inc.

5. Trust Teams To Tell Their Stories

Empowerment starts with trust, not templates. Most brands over-engineer “brand consistency” to the point that teams stop creating altogether. The goal isn’t to police the story; it’s to equip people to tell it with confidence. Give teams a clear narrative, guardrails and real examples of what “on-brand” looks like, then get out of the way. - Leeron Walter, Teramind

6. Share The 'Why' To Strengthen Brand Consistency

Empowerment starts with trust and clarity. Give teams the “why” behind the brand, not just rules. Share story principles, not scripts. When people understand purpose, they tell it with authenticity. Consistency isn’t control—it’s shared meaning. Risk lowers when everyone feels ownership, not fear, in speaking the brand’s truth. - Barbara Puszkiewicz-Cimino, SUMMIT One Vanderbilt

7. Provide Guardrails That Still Allow For Authenticity

When employees share stories, they humanize your brand. The key is trust with clear guardrails—give them principles, not scripts. We provide brand values and tone anchors so their voices sound authentic but aligned. Consistency isn’t control; it’s coherence that amplifies your credibility. - John Schneider, Betterworks

8. Adopt A Newsroom Model For Story Sharing

One way to empower internal teams as brand storytellers is by creating a “newsroom culture.” At our company, teams capture client wins, product innovations and milestones in simple story form. Marketing then shapes these into consistent, on-brand narratives, giving us authentic stories that reinforce our role as a trusted partner in AI-driven receivables management. - Rhodes Kriske, InvestiNet, LLC

9. Empower Employees To Shape The Narrative

If we believe that the entire company plays a role in developing and telling its own story, then we are more focused on empowering employees to share ideas, stories and be part of the narrative. The most powerful story is one we all believe in, not one we are told over and over. Let's unlock the story of our companies from the inside. - Bob Pearson, The Next Practices Group

10. Align People And Purpose To Build Trust

Your people bring your brand to life. Storytelling resonates when everyone understands the “why” and feels confident to share it. Aligning brand and strategy is key—words only matter when they mean something. Give teams clarity, tools and trust—not rigid rules. When people feel empowered, they tell your story with authenticity and create lasting connections with audiences. - Alyssa Kopelman, Otsuka Precision Health

11. Use Real Examples To Strengthen Narratives

Press them for a supporting example. By encouraging teams to communicate through concrete examples that capture their point, you'll naturally unearth memorable stories that make your audience's brains light up. Position the information using a "challenge, solution and evidence" framework, and, with permission, weave in customer names and real outcomes. - Stephanie Bunnell, Local Language

12. Make Every Employee A Brand Ambassador

Every employee is a member of the marketing team. When you tell your family about your company, you're telling your brand story. Part of the onboarding process for every new employee should be a "welcome to the marketing team" message. Explain that everyone plays a part in building the brand internally and externally. Give them messaging they can put in their own words. - Tom Wozniak, OPTIZMO Technologies, LLC

13. Unite Governance And Communication Systems

Real brand risk doesn't start with employees. It occurs when communications and governance fall out of sync. To prevent narrative drift, anchor shared values and brand voice through training, brand architecture, key messages, tone and feedback systems. When people and purpose align, every story told strengthens trust and brand equity with employees, customers, shareholders and other stakeholders. - Toby Wong, Toby Wong Consulting

14. Host Feedback Forums To Discover Stories

Host regular pulse checks with your team to discuss new relationships, insights and standout moments from recent conversations. By scheduling feedback forums and dividing the work across your comms team, you stay approachable while uncovering unique stories and identifying synergies. This process encourages authentic storytelling and allows you to review and manage content before it’s shared. - Victoria Zelefsky, Anne Arundel Economic Development Corporation

15. Reinforce Messaging Through Clear Communication

Make sure you're communicating to the internal teams thoughtfully and consistently. While someone might adopt their own wording, the more they are confident in the story you want to tell, the more accurate their storytelling will be. Don't expect people to "get it" from written copy, rumor or (worse) silence. Repeat the messages with proof points regularly, modeling for them how to share. - Ellen Sluder

16. Create Spaces That Encourage Shared Stories

A healthy culture should have spaces for open dialogue through fireside chats or anonymous forms that reach leadership. If it doesn’t, build that foundation first. Then introduce a clear framework that defines which stories reflect the brand and why. Lean on existing brand champions to model and empower others to share, and surface the quiet storytellers who often hold the most meaningful stories. - Sarah Chambers, SC Strategic Communications

17. Provide Playbooks To Balance Risk And Voice

Give people a lightweight “story playbook” and a safety net. Share three to four brand pillars, “do” and “don’t” examples and approved assets. Offer office hours, a fast review lane and celebrate great posts. You’ll get authentic voices at scale, without drifting off-brand or triggering risk. - Heather Stickler, Tidal Basin Group