How to Tell Your Story So People Hear

Most people think “telling your story” is about having the right words ready.

The real work starts earlier: deciding what belongs in the frame. Taking a real path, with its detours, pressures, and responsibilities, and translating it into something clear enough that someone else can understand quickly and take seriously.

That was the work at the center of The City Tutors’ “Telling Your Story” session on January 23, co-hosted with Veiled Visionaries and open to learners across The City Tutors’ full community.

Mashiami Kamara, founder of Veiled Visionaries and a City Tutors mentee, opened the evening by sharing the partnership as a full-circle moment. She spoke about building Veiled Visionaries as a community for Black Muslim women focused on visibility, connection, and opportunity, shaped by what it feels like to be visible in a room and still not fully seen. That experience made clear what storytelling does in professional spaces: it is how you claim your place and help others understand what you bring.

The mentor panel returned to the same idea from different angles: your story is rarely a straight line, and it gets stronger when you can name the skills that stayed with you through change.

Stephen spoke about career transition and the power of transferable skills. Across roles, the setting changes, but the core strengths can stay consistent: learning how work gets done, leading people, keeping a team steady, and taking responsibility for outcomes. What matters is learning to describe those strengths in plain language that someone outside your world can recognize.

Angela Croghan, drawing on decades in HR and leadership, emphasized pace and steadiness. Careers take time. Confidence comes from taking stock of what you have already built, even if it was built in school projects, part-time jobs, or responsibilities outside of work. She also returned to well-being as a practical part of career growth. Progress is difficult to sustain if you do not protect what keeps you grounded.

Avi, a software engineer and tech lead at Bloomberg, spoke about learning in a fast-moving field. The goal is not to know everything. It is to keep building, keep reading, and keep showing up with curiosity. He framed career growth as a long game, and reminded learners that everyone is balancing limited time, responsibilities, and learning. Consistency wins.

After the panel and breakout sessions, the clearest takeaways came from mentees themselves, reflecting how that framing landed in practice.

Assanatou spoke about interviews shifting once she approached them as moments of direction. She described guiding the conversation by naming what she brings and how her experiences connect to the role in front of her.

Nicholas focused on mentorship as a skill in itself. Clarity changes the value of those relationships. Knowing what you are asking for, asking it directly, and using the guidance you receive determines how much forward motion comes from the exchange.

Abiba raised the question many learners were holding as they compared paths and timelines. How do you stay competitive in a tight job market. Her takeaway centered on staying visible through community. Showing up consistently, following up, and letting your name become associated with effort, curiosity, and reliability over time.

Fatoumata reflected on what she wished she had taken seriously earlier. Progress arrives through repetition and resilience. Staying in the process long enough creates more chances to be seen and selected.

Julian closed by connecting those ideas back to the long view. Careers are built through accumulation. Each role adds language, perspective, and judgment. The task is learning how to translate what you have done into something others can understand quickly and take seriously.

By the end of the night, a shared understanding had taken hold. Strong stories are built from clear choices. What you emphasize, what you connect, and what you are ready to do next.