Your Story Sells (Even If You Think It Doesn’t) 🎤

Read the full transcript here.

Before Mellissa Tong was the Chief Story Seller at Duck Punk Productions…
Before she helped companies like Toyota, Wells Fargo, and McDonald’s connect with real people…
She was a composer. Then a reporter. Then a producer.
And in every version of her career, one thread has stayed constant:

🧠 The story matters.
Not the tagline. Not the data point. Not the 15% discount.

In this episode of Coffee Dreamin, Mellissa shares how to build stories that connect emotionally, persuade ethically, and help you sell without feeling “salesy.”

🎬 From newscaster to storyteller

Mellissa didn’t set out to build a storytelling company.

She studied music composition. Got a job in broadcasting because she spoke multiple languages. Started covering “soft” stories like red carpets, community features, and lifestyle segments. 1,200+ on-air stories later… she realized she’d accidentally trained herself to connect fast, extract meaning, and shape stories on deadline.

From there, she launched Duck Punk Productions — and spent two decades helping businesses tell real stories that actually connect.

🧠 The Belief Equation

If you only take one thing from this episode, take this:

People buy because they believe your offer will help them:

• Look better

• Work faster

• Avoid stress

• Feel confident

• Sleep easier at night

The belief comes first.
The facts come second (to justify it).

No belief? No sale.

📖 The CPA story

This was one of my favorite moments from the episode.

Mellissa was working with a CPA who hated networking. No one cared when he said “I help people save money from Uncle Sam.” No one remembered him. No one followed up.

So she pushed. Hard. And eventually, he shared this:

Boom. That’s a story. That’s a why.
That’s what people remember.

✍️ Selling without being “salesy”

Mellissa works with business owners and execs to help them craft story-based assets:
Elevator pitches. Keynote talks. Sales decks. Personal brand content.

But it always comes back to this:

She reframes selling as service through story. And when the story is real and human, the right people lean in.

🔧 How to find your story (if you think you don’t have one)

Not everyone has childhood trauma. Not everyone remembers their “turning point.”
But you don’t need to be dramatic. You just need to be honest.

Here’s what Mellissa recommends:

1. Look for a moment of emotional intensity — fear, frustration, awe, joy

2. Ask yourself what changed because of that moment

3. Connect the dots between that emotion and your work

You’ll find something. And once you do, people will start remembering you.

👀 What to do next

• Stop leading with facts. Start with connection.

• Ditch your old elevator pitch. Write a short story instead.

• Practice telling your story until it feels natural — not rehearsed.

This episode made me rethink how I introduce myself, how I write copy, and how I help others show up.

Mellissa’s work is a reminder that:

Want help building your story?

📘 Grab Mellissa’s free ebook – 3 Secrets of an Impactful Elevator Pitch at duckpunk.net

Tune in to her free coaching on SCORE.org as well.

You can reach Mellissa Tong directly on LinkedIn for 1:1 help.