"THE MOST VALUABLE SKILL IN TECH IS NOW STORYTELLING."

STORYTELLING is now the most valuable skill in tech according to NYU’s Clinical Professor of Marketing Scott Galloway.

The one skill says he would teach his children is STORYTELLING.

I keynoted for Scott at his L2 conference a few years ago, shortly after Gartner acquired his company L2, Inc for $155M. I’ve had some wonderful conversations with him and have always been a big fan of his provocative and sometimes controversial perspective. Especially the outspoken views he shared in his books The Four and The Algebra of Happiness. Well worth a read.

Scott recently published a deep dive into his views on storytelling on his Substack, where he talked about why "companies are paying a premium for perspective and taste in a world flooded with AI-generated content".

Why Storytelling Is Now the Most Valuable Skill in Tech by Prof. Galloway

“Storytelling is the most valuable skill in the economy. I’m often asked what is the one skill I would teach my children, and it’s not computer science, or Mandarin, or even STEM - it’s storytelling.

• Corporate executives mentioned ‘storytelling’ on earnings calls 469 times in 2025, up from 359 in 2024.

• OpenAI has listened multiple communication roles above $400,000.

• Anthropic tripled the size of its communications team to about 80 people, with some roles paying as much as $400,000.

Once the internet got flooded with generic cookie cutter content, it became clear: the value is judgement, perspective, tastes - to a certain extent - some edge, some sex appeal.

AI is essentially looking at patterns and trying to figure out what the next word should be. It’s a regression to the mean. AI takes everything to the average, and people aren’t interested in reading “average”. It’s emotion. Or more specifically, the ability to evoke emotions. That’s REALLY difficult to automate, which is why some companies are now paying a premium for it.

Your ability to craft a story and create a narrative is almost as important now as the underlying numbers at the company.

Microsoft launched a print magazine in 2025 - a PRINT magazine, in 2025, think about that.

The market is telling you that the ability to make people FEEL something about your product or your idea is worth as much, and in some cases more, than the technical skills that got you in the door.

Storytelling is the weapon of mass ATTRACTION. The companies that figured this out are building media teams, not just marketing departments. They’re hiring writers who think like strategists. 

Not too long ago conventional wisdom was clear: AI would kill writing. If a machine can draft an email, write a press release, or generate an essay in seconds, what’s left? Meanwhile jobs including surgery, plumbing, even coding felt much safer.”

Prof Scott Galloway

[Source]

For a deeper dive, watch Prof. Galloway's 84-minute masterclass on writing:

Related: "Companies Are Desperately Seeking ‘Storytellers" - Wall Street Journal