Can Writing Reveal More Than It Says? A Conversation with Srashti Tripathi on Noticing, Authenticity & Storytelling
Would writing reveal more than it says?
If you've ever thought writing is simply about putting words on a page, this conversation might completely change your perspective.
Our next guest believes that meaningful writing begins with noticing. Currently pursuing law at Presidency University, Bangalore, she has built a voice that blends storytelling, strategy, and honest observation. As a ghostwriter and content strategist, she has helped founders shape their ideas into narratives that resonate, while growing a personal brand known for thoughtful reflections, unconventional perspectives, and stories that make people pause long after they've finished reading.
Joining us today is Srashti Tripathi, a writer, strategist, public speaker, and aspiring lawyer who believes that the most powerful stories aren't created by chasing algorithms they begin by paying attention to the world, having the courage to be honest, and finding meaning in everyday moments.
Let's dive into a conversation about observation, authenticity, storytelling, law, creativity, personal branding, and the subtle art of writing that people don't just read but remember.
Noticing always comes first because writing starts with attention to the world. If you don’t really observe what’s happening in your life, in your industry, or around you, there’s nothing real to be honest about later.
For example, you might notice in your daily life that you always get unusually quiet when someone interrupts you in a group conversation. That’s the noticing part, just seeing the pattern without judging it or dressing it up.
Honesty comes after that. It’s when you write, “I realised I shrink myself in conversations when I feel unheard, even though I later act like it didn’t affect me.” You don’t exaggerate it into something dramatic, and you don’t soften it to look better either. You just say it as it is, even if it feels a little uncomfortable to admit.
So noticing is seeing the pattern in real time. Honesty is having the courage to name it without editing it into something more acceptable.
Q2. If algorithms disappeared tomorrow, how would you judge whether a piece of writing was truly good?
If the writing is just someone expressing themselves, not for content or commercial space, I’m honestly not in a place to judge it. Because writing like that is just a person putting their thoughts out, and if it’s coming from the heart and not copied or AI-generated, it already has value on its own. That’s one of the purest ways people express themselves, so I don’t really rank it.
But if I’m looking at writing in a content or creative space, reach or algorithm is again not the way to ‘judge’ it. That’s not the filter for me.
What matters is whether it makes me pause for even a few seconds after reading it, or if it comes back to me later in a conversation with friends about the same topic. If it does that, then it’s good writing to me.
Q3. Have you ever chosen authenticity over virality, knowing a post would perform worse?
There is a very big misconception that you have to choose between authenticity and virality. You don’t. You can be both authentic and viral at the same time.
Yes, many times I do write with virality in mind. I won’t polish that. When you’re on LinkedIn, there is always a purpose behind it; expression for me is the first, and reaching the right audience is second.
But I also feel that if authenticity completely disappears, virality doesn’t last either. Because real virality usually comes from something that feels like it came directly from this person and something they haven’t thought about before.
Accordingly, you can easily balance both what you truly think and then present it in such a way that it will actually connect.
So no, it’s not a choice between the two. It’s about staying real while also understanding what resonates.
Q4. Has ghostwriting for others ever changed the way you understand your own voice?
Ghostwriting hasn’t changed or diluted my voice at all. If anything, it has made it sharper and more visible to me.
When you write for different people, you start seeing how voice actually works in real life.
For example, if I’m writing for a very structured, corporate-sounding founder, I have to strip emotion down and make everything tight and formal. But when I switch back to my own writing, I instantly feel the difference; I naturally lean more toward flow, honesty, and personal reflection.
Also, while working on others’ voices, you learn more creative ways to understand yours or to expand and find more ideas that match your voice.
Another example is tone. If I’m ghostwriting for someone who is very bold and opinionated, I’ll push arguments harder and make lines more punchy. But when I come back to my own work, I notice I don’t naturally force opinions; I usually explain and build slowly.
These comparisons teach me what actually feels like me. So it’s not that I lose my voice. It’s more like I keep trying on different voices and every time I return, mine becomes easier to recognise.
Q5. Law and storytelling seem worlds apart. What common skill do they secretly share?
Shaping meaning from what happened.
In law, I take facts and arrange them in a way that makes a strong argument.
In storytelling, I take facts/observation/pattern and arrange them in a way that makes people feel something.
So it’s basically the same thing in two directions. One is for logic, one is for emotion. But both depend on how you present the story, not just the story itself.
Q6. Where do you draw the line between authenticity, vulnerability, and oversharing?
Authenticity: The true parts of me. My failures, lessons, wins, strengths, and weaknesses.
Vulnerability: The uncomfortable parts of me that are still mine.
Oversharing: The parts of me that are true, but I shared it to everyone else too.
Authenticity is not about sharing everything. It’s about sharing the process, like what I’m going through, what I’m learning, what I’m building from.
Vulnerability can be shared when it helps people relate. For example, talking about failure, self-doubt, or moments of confusion is fine and often meaningful.
But vulnerability becomes oversharing when it includes things like personal fights with friends, private family issues, or emotional situations involving other people, or even anything that you feel isn’t supposed to be shared on the internet. Those are still real, but they don’t always need to be public.
Q7. If every social platform vanished tomorrow, what part of your work would still survive?
If every social platform disappeared tomorrow, personally, I don't think much would change. I'd still be me, observing people, having solo coffee dates, or just making sense of me & the world around me. Writing is just how I process those observations. The platform is only where I publish them.
Professionally, content creation is just one part of what I want to build. I'm a law student, I would want to practice law, I also want to build a business, wantto speak at the UN one day, or be an artist maybe. So if social media disappeared tomorrow, I wouldn't feel like my career disappeared with it. I'd simply take those skills somewhere else. For me, content is not a destination currently. Yes I do love expressing myself here but it's still just a part of who I am, not the whole thing.
Q8. If people could inherit just one habit from you, not your skills or network. What would you want it to be?
One habit I need to move away from is trying to figure everything out before I even start.
Yes, it does sound cliché and something that everyone on the internet talks about, but it's rea
What happens with me is I try to lock everything first. Niche, audience, content pillars, direction, as if I need full clarity before I can actually begin. And then the problem multiplies.
I start overthinking every idea because I’m still “figuring things out.”
Then I become indecisive, even with simple decisions like what to post, because I keep questioning what fits and what doesn’t. And slowly, I don’t just think more; I also act less.
The worst part is that this stage of “figuring it out” never really ends. So instead of starting and learning through action, I stay stuck in planning and trying to perfect the direction first.
And because of that, I end up avoiding experimentation altogether, just because I’m waiting for everything to feel clear in advance.
But thankfully, this awareness is helping me, and I have improved much in actually putting effort before giving it a 50th thought.
Also, this one quote to anyone struggling with the same problem (changed my mindset a load):
“Let it exist first; you can always make it look good later.”
About Conversations by Brains in You
Conversations by Brains in You is a curated interview series featuring students, professionals, entrepreneurs, creators, researchers, and changemakers whose journeys offer meaningful lessons beyond conventional achievements.
Rather than focusing solely on titles or milestones, each conversation explores the decisions, experiences, challenges, and perspectives that shaped the individual behind the profile. The aim is to create a growing repository of practical insights that help students and young professionals navigate their own careers with greater clarity, productivity, integrity, and purpose.
Every featured conversation is thoughtfully selected with the belief that authentic experiences can inspire informed decisions, lifelong learning, and better human development.
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