Storytelling

Challenge

Through school and college, being part of various teams under various projects. I had  always been taught to achieve the next best thing. The focus had always been to look at the  problem and solve it by the set methods. This always hindered my creativity and did not  allow me to participate enough in the activities. It seemed as if there was a disconnect  among the team members and even the stakeholders. So, when I started working on a  project with my peers as part of my masters’ degree curriculum. I decided to use storytelling  as a tool to help us interact with each other and most importantly the stakeholders involved  in the project.

Selection

Our team too had realised that not being involved enough led to lower morale in their  previous experiences. So, we collectively decided to use storytelling as a tool to be more  inclusive of ideas, building relationships, and interests.

Application

Before we started looking for any ideas, we decided to focus on who we are as a team. It  allowed us to open up to each other and connect on a deeper level. This process was  enriching in ways we could not imagine. Understanding what our needs were, made us feel  seen, the disconnect and the low morale were not there anymore. It did not end there, we  decided that to have a conversation, engagement of our stakeholders was important. We  dug deep to be what made our stakeholders feel seen and even part of a bigger  conversation. From start to finish, like every good story, we conveyed through our project  what was important to our stakeholders. This tool allowed us to be more creative, tap into  those strengths and weaknesses to create a new way of interacting with those around us  rather than sticking to textbook methods and solutions.

Our project involved interviewing people from different income groups, sexual orientations,  and ethnicities. As the group to be interviewed was very diverse, we focused on knowing  them by listening to their stories and identifying their needs. We came up with a successful  marketing plan that solved these problems as it solved not only took care of what us above  the surface but below it as well.

Insight & Approach

My biggest takeaway from using this tool is that everyone, it doesn’t matter it’s a school- going boy or a CEO infirm, they all want to be part of the bigger conversation. Storytelling as  a tool allows us to do just that. Storytelling is the tool that forms the foundation of every set  of actions we take. It is highly insightful, interactive, and impactful as it allows us to involve  those around us. Instead of bombarding the stakeholders with information, Storytelling as a  tool for design thinking allows us to engage them with us more intimately while keeping in  check their personal goals, ambitions, and needs.

This tool allowed me to unlearn concepts that were ingrained into me while growing up. I’m  grateful to have learned to have a different outlook on the problem at hand.

