AI is Flattening Us Into a Statistical Vanilla Center with Patrice Poltzer

The more we outsource our thinking to AI, the more we all start to sound the same. Takin’ Care of Lady Business Episode 175 Patrice Poltzer, former Today Show producer and co-founder of My StoryPro, has spent decades helping people recognize the value of their own stories. Now, she's tackling a new challenge: how to use AI to tell those stories without losing the voice, personality, and lived experience that make them worth hearing. In this episode of Takin’ Care of Lady Business, Jennifer Justice sits down with Patrice to explore what happens when we let AI do too much of our thinking. Patrice explains why so much AI-generated content ends up in what she calls the “statistical vanilla center,” how that sameness can undermine a personal brand, and why she built My StoryPro to ask better questions before generating content. By digging into someone's experiences, beliefs, and perspective first, the platform helps people create content that actually sounds like them. Patrice also shares how better storytelling has helped her clients become more visible, build businesses that reflect who they are, and find the confidence to put themselves out there. She opens up about her own transition from running a service business to building an AI product, the difference between genuine vulnerability and oversharing, and why knowing your own story can be one of your greatest business advantages. What You'll Learn Why lived experience is the one advantage AI cannot recreate How generic AI content can flatten your personal brand and point of view Why better storytelling starts with stronger inputs, not faster outputs How to use your story to build trust, visibility, and memorable thought leadership Highlights: (00:00) Meet Patrice Poltzer (01:27) Why "I don't have a story" triggers Patrice (04:06) From Today Show to Lisbon: reinventing a business and discovering AI (05:52) What My StoryPro does: AI that coaches your story, not writes it (07:53) Why storytelling matters more than ever in the AI era (10:10) Antoinette's transformation and storytelling through fertility struggles (13:52) Brenna's leap from Target VP to entrepreneur (15:14) What makes My StoryPro different from ChatGPT and Claude (19:51) Bringing your real self to corporate America: the Apple manager story (29:18) The biggest storytelling mistakes founders make with AI (36:17) Raising $1M to scale My StoryPro and diversify who builds AI About Our Guest: Patrice Poltzer is the co-founder of My StoryPro, an AI-powered storytelling coaching platform designed to help people uncover the lived experiences, perspectives, and ideas that make their stories uniquely their own. A former Today Show producer and longtime storytelling strategist, Patrice has spent nearly two decades helping founders, executives, and professionals communicate with greater clarity and authenticity. After running her own storytelling studio in New York, she moved to Lisbon and began building My StoryPro, combining her journalism background with AI to help people develop stronger personal brands, thought leadership, and business content without outsourcing their voice or point of view. Patrice Poltzer’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patricepoltzer/ Explore My StoryPro: https://mystorypro.ai/pocket-patrice  About Jennifer Justice and The Justice Dept. JJ’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-justice-354a0b99 The Justice Dept: https://www.thejusticedept.com/ JJ’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jenniferjusticel/  Newsletter: https://tkolb-newsletter-a50814.beehiiv.com/ JJ’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TakinCareOfLadyBusiness  The Justice Dept. is a female-focused advisory, consulting, and law firm advocating for female founders, talent, execs, and brands. We represent bo$$ ladies to make them 💰💰. If you love what you hear, please subscribe and share with a friend. This is a Lady Business LLC Production.