I’m an audiophile.

Which is a polite way of saying I spend way too much time micro-adjusting gear and settings trying to hit a state of sonic nirvana. It’s a losing game in the big picture, but the tiny wins keep me hooked.

A slightly better seal on an ear tip. A quieter background. A cable swap that maybe, possibly, sort of tightens the bass.

If you know, you know.

Recently, though, my hobby smacked me upside the head with a reminder that directly applies to strategic storytelling at work.

When your system sounds “off” and you can’t fix it with EQ

For a while, I kept hearing little artifacts in my setup. Not full-on static, not hum, just… grit. A bit of edge I couldn’t dial out.

So I did what we all do:

• Tweaked the EQ
• Swapped cables
• Tried different DAC filters
• Blamed the headphones, then the amp, then the DAC, then my own ears

Nothing fixed it.

Then I finally stopped chasing settings and looked at something way more basic.

The power.

Turned out the problem began and ended with my power source.

Once I upgraded to a cleaner power solution, the noise dropped, the background darkened, and everything snapped into focus. Same music, same gear, totally different experience.

That little “a-ha” turned into a bigger one: this is exactly what happens in brand storytelling.

But before we get there, quick pit stop.

---

So what’s the deal with linear power supplies?

You’ll see two common types of power supplies in audio:

• Switching power supplies (SMPS) These are small, cheap, and everywhere. Great for phone chargers and routers. Not always great for sensitive audio gear, because they can spit a lot of electrical noise back into the system.
• Linear power supplies (LPS) Bigger, heavier, usually more expensive. They work in a simpler, more old-school way. That simplicity often means less high-frequency noise and more stable voltage, which can matter a lot for DACs, amps, and other audio gear.

Why do audiophiles care?

Because:

• A cleaner power source can lower the noise floor
• Gear can perform closer to what the designer actually intended
• Sound can feel more relaxed, more natural, and less fatiguing over time

You can own the fanciest DAC on the planet, but if the power feeding it is dirty, you are basically asking it to sing through a mouthful of sand.

And that is where the storytelling lesson kicks in.

---

Your brand has a “power supply” too

In audio, power flows from the wall to the supply to the gear to your ears.

In storytelling, power flows from your core narrative to your strategy, then out through your channels, to your audience.

Most organizations skip straight to the “gear”:

• Let’s redesign the website
• Let’s post more on social
• Let’s make a video
• Let’s buy a new tool and hope it magically fixes everything

That’s like buying a $3,000 headphone amp and plugging it into a sketchy outlet strip you got in a clearance bin.

If the power source is messy, it doesn’t matter how fancy the rest of the chain is.

For storytelling, your “power source” is:

• Your mission and values
• Your promise to the people you serve
• The real-world proof that you deliver on that promise
• The language and framing that keep that story consistent

If that foundation is noisy, your outreach will always sound a little off.

---

Signs your storytelling power source is noisy

In audio, noise shows up as hiss, hum, buzz, or weird artifacts.

In storytelling, noise shows up as:

• Every team using different language to describe the same work
• A website that sounds like one organization and social feeds that sound like another
• Staff who are unsure how to explain what you actually do
• Campaigns that look great but do not connect to any clear narrative
• Leaders talking in jargon no one outside the building understands

You can keep throwing tactics at it, or you can fix the power.

---

Linear power for audio, “linear power” for your story

A linear power supply does one simple job: take messy AC from the wall and turn it into clean, steady DC your gear can actually use.

Strategic storytelling needs the same thing.

You need a way to:

1. Take all the messy input: Internal politics, competing priorities, random ideas, legacy slogans, old taglines, pet projects, and “we’ve always said it this way.”
2. Transform it into a clean signal: A clear, simple narrative about:
3. Distribute that clean signal everywhere: Website, social, emails, videos, presentations, board meetings, community events. Same story, adapted for each channel, but powered by the same core message.

Do that, and suddenly:

• Campaigns line up
• Staff feel confident speaking about the organization
• Partners know how to describe you
• Your audience starts repeating your story back to you in their own words

That is storytelling nirvana.

Well, at least as close as we ever get.

---

What this looks like in practice

Here is how a “clean power source” approach translates into day-to-day storytelling work.

1. Start at the wall, not the headphones

Instead of starting with “we need more social posts,” start with:

• What is the single most important story we need people to understand right now
• Who needs to hear it first
• What proof do we have that it is real

If you can’t answer that, you’re not ready to plug anything in yet. You’re still at the outlet.

2. Build your narrative “power supply”

This is your message house, narrative framework, story spine, whatever you want to call it.

It should include:

• A simple core statement: “We exist to…”
• Three or four key pillars that support that core
• Real proof points and examples under each pillar
• A few phrases and metaphors that feel like you, not like every other org in your space

This becomes your linear power supply. Everything pulls from it.

3. Feed every channel from the same source

Now the fun part.

Take that clean narrative and:

• Rewrite your web copy to reflect it
• Build video scripts that show it in action
• Shape social posts that highlight one proof point at a time
• Train staff to use the same phrases with customers and partners

You can still have creativity, personality, humor, local flavor. You’re not turning your brand into a robot. You’re just making sure the signal is clean before you remix it.

---

The hobby lesson I keep coming back to

My gear-chasing taught me something simple: If the foundation is noisy, no amount of tweaking on the surface will fix it.

Same for organizations.

If your story is fuzzy, your content will feel like noise, no matter how many posts, videos, or campaigns you launch.

Clean power in audio gives you:

• Lower noise
• Better dynamics
• More detail
• Less fatigue

Clean power in storytelling gives you:

• Less confusion
• Stronger connection
• Clearer differentiation
• Less burnout for your team, because everyone is not reinventing the story every week

---

Ready to clean up the signal?

If your outreach feels a little like my old setup: Nice gear, lots of knobs, still not quite right.

You probably don’t need another “piece of equipment.”

You need to clean up the power source.

Clarify the story. Align the messaging. Then plug it into everything.

Your audience will hear the difference. And just like that tiny drop in noise on a favorite track, once you notice it, you will never want to go back.