Deconstructing the saga: Farzana Baduel
In this week’s episode of The Career Circus podcast, trailblazing PR exec Farzana Baduel tales from how she transitioned from running a tax firm to public relations, her first PR client and how she learns from her students at Oxford University.
More than mere anecdotes, Farzana’s stories were case studies in how to capture an audience's attention as her storytelling subverted expectations, were driven by a passionate protagonist, and layered in the rich detail of personal experience.
The Power of the Unexpected
Memorable stories often confound expectations. As a strategic communications CEO, you'd expect her first client to be a blue chip company. Instead, it was dating platform Toy Boy Warehouse. This plot twist set up Farzana to unpack what led this to be her first client and what this client engagement entailed.
More specifically, the story revealed conclusions from her firm’s research. Despite the prevailing assumption that younger men would only date older women for financial purposes, research showed a more complex reality.
These men were drawn to older women for their confidence and to avoid the pressure of marriage. This subversion of expectation is a powerful tool as it challenges assumptions and creates curiosity to hear more.
What also made this story powerful was that it was driven by a passionate protagonist. Farzana described her client, Julie McMillan, as an "arch feminist" driven by a powerful conviction against social double standards. Her passion was so authentic and compelling that it fueled the PR campaign.
In other words, people don't just buy what you do; they buy why you do it.
Details That Make a Difference
As the podcast unfolded, Farzana shared the story of her work for the Ukrainian government. What made this story so compelling was that it was a sensory experience.
Rather than superficially recounting her trip to Ukraine, Farzana provided vivid details that allowed listeners to immerse themselves in the story. She talked about meeting oligarchs with "GCSE history of art" collections and encountering Ukrainian women who were not only beautiful but also "aeronautical engineers" and "chess champions."
Such specific, personal observations are what make a story feel real and relatable. You don’t have to journey to Ukraine to have a sense of what teenage artwork and powerful oligarchs entail.
In a world of high-level summaries and bullet points, such rich details and small moments of personal observation, are what’s needed to build trust and make our message stick. It’s what moves a story from the abstract to the tangible and memorable.
Lessons from Oxford
Another example of subverting expectations is Farzana’s story about teaching at Oxford. Despite coming in as an industry veteran with decades of knowledge, she told tales about learning about the modern media landscape from her students.
In particular, she described how her students challenged the conventional wisdom of PR, citing the Kardashians as key evidence. While traditional PR often focuses on crafted messaging and controlled narratives, the Kardashians' success was built on the opposite: a raw, unfiltered, and deeply human form of storytelling.
The Kardashians don't just tell their story; they live it in front of their audience, from their homes to their heartbreaks.
This story is compelling because it inverts the expected teacher-student dynamic and demonstrates the importance of staying humble and open to new ideas, no matter how much experience you have. It’s a great reminder that the most compelling stories often come from unexpected sources.