Storytelling for a trainee program pitch

Challenge

As a technical guy which has been studying electronics and electrical topics since my high school, the  ability to communicate and tell a great story was not one of my strongest skills. I’ve worked in the  engineering team of a company that develops products related to urban mobility, and during this job  experience was the first time that I really needed to communicate and express my ideas efficiently. As a  member of the research and development team, I could improve my communication skills through the  discussion of ideas for a new product. During one year, me and the engineers involved in a specific project  have done weekly meetings to show the project status for the company managers, and it had been the  most challengers “presentations” I have done so far. Recently, looking for a new job position, I subscribed  myself for some trainee positions in other companies. Here in Brazil, where I live, Trainee programs at big  companies are really competitive positions due to the high salaries and great opportunity to work through  different areas of the company, and also have a great chance to assume a leader position after you finish  it. The selection process for this position normally takes between 2 and 3 months, and has several tests  such as logical and English exams, group meetings, interview with managers and so on. For one of these  programs I was selected to go for a presential meeting, and you usually you have to do a small pitch about  yourself for the company`s mangers. It was at my first pitch that I realized the importance of a good  storytelling.

Application

In my first presentation I didn`t know about storytelling tool yet, and I thought that to talk a little about  myself would be easily done. However, when I was request to do, I realize I didn`t have a logical thinking  and presentation process, even if I needed to talk about my accomplishments, which is something that  looks easier than other subjects. As I have only two minutes to do that, I finish my presentation talking  very little about the real important things I`ve done. It was a disaster. Consequently, I didn`t get through  the next phase. However, I was able to know the storytelling technique through this course, and dedicated  myself to improve my skills on that. Recently, I had another opportunity for a trainee program, and I did  a pitch again. At this time, I had prepared my mind for the unknown, and had focus my attention on the  main activities that I felt was adequate for the trainee position.

Insight and Approach

At this time, I was able to communicate my ideas and accomplishments clearly and I felt even more  comfortable to do so, even though in this time I was speaking in English, which is not my native language.  Using the storytelling, the two minutes that I had were sufficient to make a logical presentation of my  skills and also talk about my soft and hard skills. As a result, I have been selected to continue in the trainee  program, and the managers had plenty of interest in my history.

The fact that, with no big changes in my story, only changing the way that I talked about it, and even  without using visualization or other techniques, I was able to tell then more about who I am and also

arouse the interest to work in that company, demonstrate the huge importance of a good storytelling in  business. Looking forward for the next steps on the trainee program, and for sure I will utilize all the  resources and tools we have learned through this excellent course.

