When I left corporate media and stepped into consulting, one question kept returning to me: How do stories travel without losing their roots?
That question led me to Cultural Intelligence, or CQ. At first, it sounded like a term used only in boardrooms and leadership seminars. But as I dug deeper, I realized its power for storytellers. CQ is the ability to work and relate effectively across cultures. And in the world of storytelling, that means something simple yet profound: crafting narratives that resonate beyond borders while staying true to their origins.
This idea became the seed of my upcoming book on Culturally Intelligent Storytelling. The more I listened to creators across Southeast Asia, the clearer it became. We are not lacking in talent, ideas, or passion. What we often struggle with is finding ways to let our stories travel globally without being stripped of their identity.
This June and July, I will bring this framework to international conferences in Tokyo and Hanoi. For me, it is not just an academic exercise. It is a way of saying to the world: Our stories matter. Our voices matter. And they can connect with global audiences without losing their soul.
If you are a storyteller, educator, or strategist, this is the conversation I invite you into. Because the future of storytelling will not only be about who can reach the widest audience. It will be about who can stay authentic while doing so.
