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The Narrative Advantage

The Narrative Advantage

Written by: Erin Trafford
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About this listen

 The Narrative Advantage Podcast is where ambitious entrepreneurs and leaders learn how to unlock the real power of their story — so they can sell with resonance, lead with confidence, and build businesses that align with their purpose.

Hosted by Erin Trafford — trusted communications strategist, media veteran, CEO of Story Studio Network and creator of The Narrative Advantage Method — each episode blends sharp storytelling strategy with embodied practices that help you feel safe, confident, and magnetic in your message.

More than tactics, this is about building the clarity and narrative advantage that sustains your business—and your energy—for the long run.Erin Trafford Incorporated Economics Leadership Management & Leadership Marketing Marketing & Sales Self-Help Success
Episodes
  • When it's time to release a bad fit client

    When it's time to release a bad fit client
    Jan 15 2026
    Open your inbox right now. Do you have a physical reaction to someone's name? That pit in your stomach, the chest tightness, the split second where you stop breathing—your body is giving you 80% of the information your brain is trying to ignore. And while you're overriding those signals, you're bleeding cash, morale, and energy. The longer you let a bad situation fester, the worse it gets. Most founders know this intellectually. But they stay stuck in what Erin calls "the loop"—a closed circuit of fear, dysregulation, and mounting resentment that compounds with every email, every meeting, every scope creep request. In this episode, Erin breaks down the four red flags that signal it's time to release a bad fit client or move on from a misaligned team member—and why ignoring your body's wisdom is leaving 80% of critical business intelligence on the table. You'll learn:
    • The two boundary signals that show up at the very beginning (before you even sign the contract)
    • Why scope creep isn't just annoying—it's a leadership failure
    • How to recognize when you're stuck in an emotional loop with a client or team member
    • What happens to your body when you ignore dysregulation signals
    • Why release is growth, even when it's terrifying
    This isn't about firing clients casually. It's about recognizing that sometimes the bravest thing you can do as a leader is trust what your body already knows.

    Your Next Steps:
    • Book your Communications Clarity to Conversion Diagnostic www.erintrafford.com/comms-diagnostic
    • Grab the Story & Somatics Private Audio Vault: https://erintrafford.com/story-and-somatics
    • Connect on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/its.erintrafford
    • Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erintrafford/
    • Find Erin on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfZBA8F_znMYzT4pjtWCbhA
    Show More Show Less
    27 mins
  • Stop Pulling Last Year Forward

    Stop Pulling Last Year Forward
    Jan 8 2026
    You sit down at your desk on the first real work day of January. Coffee's hot. Notebook's fresh. You've got that "let's go" energy. And then… nothing. You stare at the screen for 20 minutes. Or you find reasons to sweep the floors instead of opening your laptop. Or you hyper-fixate on a task that doesn't actually matter.

    Welcome to Circle Back Season.

    January has this unspoken energy where we're expected to pick up where we left off—same processes, same offers, same team rhythms—but with new results. It's old energy trying to play in a new space. And it doesn't work. In this episode, I'm breaking down why "circling back" feels so draining and what to do instead.

    Spoiler: it's not about doing more of what didn't work last year. It's about reviewing what actually broke down in your communications, sales, operations, or client experience—and drawing a line in the sand. In this episode:
    • Why your nervous system reacts to January (freeze, flight, or hyper-focus)
    • The hidden communication breakdowns that persist if you don't stop them now
    • How to shed instead of set goals
    • Real examples of how my clients (and I) are rebuilding instead of restarting
    I have two comms client spots open in January. If you're listening to this thinking, "I wonder what Erin would say about my process," DM me on LinkedIn or email team@erintrafford.com. Let's do it.

    Your Next Steps:
    • Book your Communications Clarity to Conversion Diagnostic www.erintrafford.com/comms-diagnostic
    • Grab the Story & Somatics Private Audio Vault: https://erintrafford.com/story-and-somatics
    • Connect on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/its.erintrafford
    • Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erintrafford/
    • Find Erin on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfZBA8F_znMYzT4pjtWCbhA
    Show More Show Less
    20 mins
  • The invisible inflection point capping your growth

    The invisible inflection point capping your growth
    Jan 1 2026
    So here's a question I need you to sit with: When was the last time you tried to take a week off—actually off—and came back to find something in your business that made you cringe?

    Maybe it was a social media post that didn't sound like you. Maybe it was how a team member described what you do on a client call. Maybe it was realizing that every important conversation still requires you in the room because nobody else can quite articulate your value proposition.

    If you're nodding along, welcome.

    You're stuck in what I call the Founder Dependency Trap.

    And it's not your fault. When you're small, being the voice of the business works. You should be in every conversation. But there's this invisible inflection point where what got you here becomes what stops you from getting there.

    Most founders don't see it coming because they're too busy translating.

    In this episode, I break down exactly how to diagnose whether you're stuck in founder dependency, why letting go feels impossible (even when you know you should), and what organizational coherence actually looks like when you build it right.



    This is especially critical as we head into 2026 because I saw this pattern intensify throughout 2025—founders who built real momentum suddenly realizing they've become the bottleneck in their own revenue engine.



    In this episode, you'll learn:



    • The three gut-check scenarios that reveal founder dependency (the vacation test, the client call cringe, and the bottleneck you've baked in)
    • Why you're spending more time correcting your team's work than it would take to do it yourself
    • The difference between being a micromanager and being a translator (and why the latter is more insidious)
    • What organizational coherence actually means—not consultant-speak, real infrastructure
    • The three psychological blocks keeping you trapped: perfectionism, trust gaps, and identity crisis
    • How to build narrative infrastructure that's simple enough for everyone to own
    • The self-diagnostic questions to run with your team this week

      Specific mentions in this episode:
    Erin's Conversion Shift blog series: https://erintrafford.com/blog
    Clarity to Conversion Diagnostic : https://erintrafford.com

    Subscribe to The Narrative Advantage wherever you listen to podcasts




    Your Next Steps:
    • Book your Communications Clarity to Conversion Diagnostic www.erintrafford.com/comms-diagnostic
    • Grab the Story & Somatics Private Audio Vault: https://erintrafford.com/story-and-somatics
    • Connect on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/its.erintrafford
    • Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erintrafford/
    • Find Erin on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfZBA8F_znMYzT4pjtWCbhA
    Show More Show Less
    30 mins
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