By Liese Gardner
If you’ve attended a marketing seminar, listened to a podcast or spent any time on LinkedIn lately, you’ve probably heard the same advice: Tell more stories.
It’s good advice—but incomplete.
Every caterer has stories. The real question isn’t whether you’re telling them, but whether you’re telling the ones that connect. Event elements such as menus, venues, guest counts, awards and years in business matter, but they aren’t a compelling story lead and they’re rarely what people remember.
Editors want stories with meaning. Prospective clients want someone they can trust. The best referrals usually begin with a story someone couldn’t wait to share.
Here are four simple shifts that can transform the way you tell your story.
1. Replace Facts with Feelings
One of the simplest ways to reframe your marketing is to shift your focus from what happened to how it made people feel.
Every event creates an emotional experience. The menu matters, of course, but so does the grandmother who tears up when she discovers her favorite childhood dessert has been recreated. So does the nonprofit director who watches donations exceed expectations because guests lingered longer in a beautifully designed auction space.
Facts provide context. Feelings create connection. Whether you’re writing a newsletter, social post or media pitch, don’t stop at the logistics. Ask yourself: How did this experience change someone?
One of the biggest shifts you can make in your storytelling is to resist the urge to say, “Look what we did.”
2. Lead with Transformation, Not Transactions
The more interesting story is how you did it—and what happened because of it. That’s why transformation is almost always more compelling than the transaction itself.
“We catered a 500-person gala” tells us what happened.
But “After six months of planning, the organization welcomed 500 guests to an evening that exceeded its fundraising goals and helped fund lifesaving treatment” tells us why it mattered.
Having spent years on the editorial side of the desk, I can tell you these are the stories editors hope to find. At the publication I helmed, we weren’t looking for another successful event. We were looking for the idea, the challenge, the innovation or the human story behind it.
Clients respond for the same reason. They don’t just see what you did. They see what becomes possible when they work with you.
3. Let People See You
What I mean by letting people see you isn’t to share every detail of your life or business. It’s to remove that invisible wall we often build around our businesses, the one that keeps us feeling safe by making the company the hero of every story.
People want to know the person behind the company. It’s one reason newsletters sent from an individual—not from “info@” or “marketing@”—consistently earn higher open rates. Readers are far more likely to engage when they feel they’re hearing from a real person rather than a brand.
The same is true of the content itself. Some of the most successful newsletters begin with a brief personal reflection or story that naturally leads into the topic at hand. Those introductions don’t distract from the business—they create a relationship with the reader. As trust grows, so do open rates, click-throughs and conversations.
Getting personal doesn’t mean opening your private life to the world. It simply means pulling back the curtain enough for people to understand what inspires you, what catches your attention and why a particular story mattered enough for you to share it.
Event designer David Stark does this exceptionally well. His social media often includes a personal reflection before showcasing his work. In one carousel featuring floral installations from around the world, he shared how his career began by creating small flower arrangements to support his artwork before growing into an internationally recognized design studio.
Suddenly the post wasn’t simply a portfolio—it became a story about curiosity, growth and staying connected to the craft that started it all.
4. Make Every Story Matter
Before you publish anything—a newsletter, blog post, LinkedIn article, Instagram Reel or press release—pause and ask yourself one simple question: Why should someone care?
Your audience wasn’t there. They don’t know the hours of planning or the last-minute challenges you overcame. What they care about is what they can learn from your experience. Perhaps it’s a design idea another planner can borrow, a lesson that saves someone time or stress, a behind-the-scenes moment that reveals your team’s care, or simply a reminder of why gathering around a table still matters.
One of the best ways to make people care is to spark their curiosity. Instead of announcing what you did, invite readers into the story.
24 Carrots Catering does this beautifully. One recent carousel opened with the line, “When someone asks what we bring to the table…” It’s an irresistible hook because it taps into a question prospective clients are already asking. The images that followed didn’t simply tell readers what the company does—they showed them.
Reframe the Story
Hospitality has never lacked creativity. Every day, you create experiences worth sharing. The challenge is recognizing the stories hidden within them.
The next time you write a post, pitch an editor or send a newsletter, don’t ask, What did we do? Ask, Why did it matter? What will people remember?
That’s what reframing really is. It’s not inventing a better story. It’s looking at the work you’re already doing through a different lens.
About the Author
Liese Gardner is a writer, marketing strategist, and former editor and associate publisher of Special Events magazine. Through her company, Liese Gardner Communications, she helps hospitality companies, creative entrepreneurs, and authors discover the stories that build stronger brands and deeper connections. She is the author of Reframe: Rewrite Your Story, Reimagine Your Work, Redesign Your Future, a guide to rebuilding our creative life and finding new possibilities by changing the way we see our work, our experiences and ourselves.
