Storytelling Design Thinking

-  Alina Ijaz

Challenge:  In 2011, I initiated a group in college called ‘Student Support Group’. This group aims to  make the transition process for students smoother. It deals with students who have joined  directly after high school, a different college, city and culture. It also focuses on helping  students have a comfortable college life and find their place in its diverse environment.  The challenge here was to collect individuals to run the group, ideate and execute different  events. These individuals must resonate the cause that the group stands for and work  passionately towards it. To find such passionate individuals was going to be tough.   Hence, we had to sell the idea of having the group and scaling it for maximum impact.   To successfully create and grow the ‘Student Support Group’ we used the tool of  ‘Storytelling’.    Selection:  Storytelling is a tool our group constantly uses to promote the cause behind it. As mentioned  in the module, a cause is something that ignites and unites people. A good story creates a  cause.  My story was about my tough First Year in college. As a student who wasn’t a part of the 11th  and 12th grade there, I found it tough to fit in within the existing cliques. It was difficult to  adjust to a complex and competitive college environment after high school. Yet, I overcame  the obstacles and created this group to find a place for myself and help people going through  the same.  To create the group and propose the idea to my principal, I used the tool of storytelling. After  it was formed, I used it again to gather my peers and form a committee. Then, I used it to  ignite passion in all our events.   Hence, I believe, storytelling is a perfect method to convey my Design Thinking story.    Application:  My first application was sharing my story with the principal. After sharing the story on  difficulties faced by a student in their First Year of college and how the group aims to tackle  it, he shared his story as a student. He gave a go ahead to the project since he had faced  similar situations.  While sharing my story with my peers, they connected with it as they were undergoing  similar circumstances. They were even willing to help me without any reward/certificate in  return because they believed in the cause. Like any good story is designed for the audience,  this story connected with them.   After sharing the story our group expanded and our events were a success! It’s because  everyone was on the same page with regards to ‘Why’ the group exists.  Before we commenced our activities for this academic year, we used storytelling as a tool to  get our creative minds into play. As a group, we shared stories of how our perception of the  cause has changed and how we should evolve this year.   We also asked our friends to share stories of their transition process in college and if they had  any recommendation.     Insight and Approach:  As rightly mentioned in the module, storytelling allows you to create energy, passion and  excitement around something. It makes strategy relatable and adds life to character and plot.

Our storytelling journey of sharing college experiences with our friends and making them  believe in the cause was a great way to practise design thinking. It is only after I undertook  this course did I realise that we were implementing a tool of Design Thinking.   Not only did we use the tool of storytelling but also actively practised ‘brainstorming’.  Having the cause intact helped us brainstorm on better and more specific ideas. We are  implementing 6 new events this year which aim to empower student talents and bridge the  gap between faculty and students.   Design Thinking for me is all about channelizing creative energy into problem solving. This  is also what our group tries to do, channelize our creative energy to solve student-related  problems.  Thanks to the course, we have found different tools within the methodology. We can now  practise and improve our storytelling skills.   Next time, we will use the mind-mapping tool to identify the key areas where we can build  activities to empower students. Mind-mapping will help us understand what the students truly  want. It would act as a great feedback mechanism on areas of improvement in our activities.

