Chesdin Harrington

Design Thinking for Innovation

Reflection – Storytelling

Challenge  I’m a student who aspires to be in a business role in the future. However, I possess no  true business experience or academic background that would signal I’m qualified for a  career in business. The key to my candidacy is my extracurricular activity that has  exemplified leadership and management qualities throughout my college career. In order  to enhance my qualifications, I must be able to tell a story through my experiences that  displays my capabilities. In the interview process for particular jobs, storytelling is the  most important piece to someone’s candidacy.    Selection  The design tool Storytelling is very applicable to both of the factors described above.  Storytelling is the opportunity to take your listeners, whether it is your employees, your  superiors, your customers, or an interviewer, on a journey that shows logic, emotional  connection, and a larger purpose.     Application  In the guest lecture it talked about the idea of solving a problem vs. creating a cause, and  that’s something that really resonates in the application component. When telling a story  it’s important to gain an emotional feeling from the audience that allows them to relate  with a cause rather than just the problem being solved. In applying this to the job search  and interviewing, I have realized how well I can tell a story, more specifically my story,  if I tell it the right way. Many employers are looking for people who show resilience and  an eagerness to learn, and I have stories that explicitly show both. One of the videos  recommended we maximize our success by having a learning mindset, a broad repertoire,  and customer empathy, or in other words understanding what value you can bring to the  customer (or employer depending on the situation) as people, not just in a business sense.     Insight  The first time I started having behavioral interviews for scholarships and jobs, I didn’t  perform well because I had never focused on clearly telling my story. I knew the story  front to back with every minor detail in tact, but the way I told it left a lot to be desired; it  lacked power. As I had more experiences with interviews I began telling it better with  more emotions, the obstacles I overcame, and ultimately how those obstacles were the  most important part of my experience, and that I desire more obstacles to follow. In the  lectures we learned that “learning only occurs when we step away from the familiar.” In  other words, go towards uncertainty and learn. I couldn’t agree more with this approach  and when telling my story, I learned that employers, people, etc. love to hear this type of  approach to new things.

Chesdin Harrington

Design Thinking for Innovation

Approach  Through my experiences in storytelling, I’ve undoubtedly learned a ton about how to  effectively tell my story through practice. The ineffectiveness of the story in the early  part has helped me shape the effectiveness of the story now. However, that’s not  something that can be as flexible as I begin a career. In a position that needs innovation,  or in the process of getting a job that I need to be able to tell a story powerfully, I won’t  get more than one chance typically. For that reason, this class has set me up well to think  about how to tell a story well, with all the components of planning and execution that  contribute to a quality story. From the guest lecture I learned about the three elements of  a quality story: 1) logic 2) emotional connection 3) larger purpose. I also learned about  wanting to create a cause that people could identify with, not just solve a problem. I  learned that I must know my audience, give a clear sequence of events, provide moments  of reflection, and ask and answer questions along the way. Audiences need data, hard  facts, and recommendations, but the space in between these elements is where the  creativity of storytelling can truly be mastered. “Learning only occurs when we step away  from the familiar,” and I’m well on my way to learning as I continue to step away from  the familiar in approaching new classes and concepts that I have no experience with.

