Reflection – Story Telling

Challenge & Selection

Life and every field or section of it has a story to tell. Hence, one of my favorite and effective tools that I  found useful is story telling. People are drawn towards storytelling, they can relate to it, they can  understand better with a story. My life and my work have taken me to many rural and semi-rural sectors  of India, where I have used this tool very effectively. When I meet strangers and I have to get my work  done in the first meeting itself, I use this tool in my own way. Information and help is given when others  are comfortable with you and are not obligated to help you. I have seen this in many cases that  storytelling opens up people and they can start relating to me and that first-time strangeness begins to  disappear. My story compels them to share their own and, in a way, I get insights of their life to. With  the information and insights gathered I usually tend to move in the direction of getting my work done  and finish my task. What I have observed is while using this tool of “Storytelling” the level of comfort  increases, people become more friendly and forthcoming which gives me better access to them.

Application

Let me narrate a story about how I learnt the best application of this tool. I was stationed at Dibrugarh  for my work and I had to convince a department head of a University for a project. My organization  needed volunteers to help teach kids at rural schools. But, getting volunteers was very difficult at that  time. The best option was to get undergraduate students to do it, but why will they do it, if and only of  there is some incentive behind it they would be willing to do it. So, I approached the education  department head and try to tell my story as a volunteer during village services and what I had gained  from that experience. Why this, because I had done my research about the department head who was  himself from a small village and have studied hard to reach this position in his life. Me appealing to  these emotions of his life complemented by my own narrations moved him. He agreed to set aside a few  credits to this community service programme. I was overjoyed and gave him another incentive, for his  students to get a certificate from my organization.

Insights and approach

Life again and again brings us in front of crisis, and these are the times that tests us for the best and the  worst. I have faced a good share of crisis and panic in my short life, and when I look back all these are  etched in my memory just like a story. Time and again I have got a chance to tell my story to some  panicking individual to reassure them that this too shall pass. Telling my story in a way they can relate  and use it to calm themselves down is a quality I have picked up from the path of life.

Telling story is an art, telling story in a way that impacts and relates you to your listener is a mastery that  I am convinced if unlocked can help in a long run. I have known the importance of storytelling, but this  course have really brought me a step closer in its practical application.

