422 Melanie Greblo & Bella Borello: Purpose, Storytelling, and the End of Impact Washing

About this episode

Melanie Greblo and Bella Borello discuss the importance of authentic storytelling in purpose-driven organizations and the challenges of impact washing.

This week Melanie Greblo and Colleague Bella Borello, Two purpose-driven leaders at Humans of Purpose, working at the intersection of storytelling, marketing, and social impact. In this episode, Melanie and Bella step into a different format, a shared conversation rather than a traditional interview exploring what it really means for organisations to communicate purpose in a way that is honest, credible, and impactful. Best known for their work supporting purpose-led organisations, they unpack how storytelling can move beyond polished messaging to something far more meaningful: the creation of community. In this episode of Humans of Purpose, we explore: what truly changes when organisations implement effective storytelling how to distinguish real impact from “impact washing”, and why the “so what” question matters what makes purpose in business lived and credible, rather than performative and how brands can build trust by embracing honesty, tension, and imperfection in their stories. The conversation also looks ahead to the future of storytelling in an AI-driven world, where content is becoming increasingly abundant, and authenticity may become the most valuable currency of all…

People in this episode

Guests: Melanie Greblo, Bella Borello

Topics covered

• storytelling
• social impact
• purpose-driven organizations
• impact washing
• authenticity
• AI-driven content

Keywords

• community
• trust
• honesty
• tension
• imperfection

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Growing Your Business and Impact

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