Reflection - Storytelling    Challenge     We are a group of school friends who have got together ‘virtually’ almost twenty-five years  after leaving school. One of the friends posted about an unfortunate case of a young boy  (studying in our school), who had leukemia and needed urgent funds for treatment. The  amount had to be remitted in the shortest possible time to save his life.      The challenges were as follows

-  We needed to reach out to as many donors as possible in a short time

-  We had to be able to communicate with the target audience in a language that they  would find interesting and appealing

-  The people who would contribute were busy folks and I had only a few seconds to  grab their attention

-  Because it was a medical emergency, there were medical terms associated with the  illness and the remedial processes – they were not understood by the audience.

-  There are many skeptics around crowd-funding appeals of this nature. So our appeal  had to stand out in terms of authenticity.

-  The process of remittance also had to be very simple and convenient

Selection     We decided to use the tool of Storytelling to make my case. We wanted to create an  impression in the shortest possible time to allow the donor to make up his mind and  contribute to my cause.     I remembered the lecture by Ricky George from Mars and how a human being needed to be  at the centre of the conversation and used a real story in my appeal.    Application     My story centred around the young boy’s love for cricket – a game that is very popular in my  country. To gently nudge the memories of our own school days we used the tag line ‘help  him go back to playing cricket again.’    By bringing in an everyday real-life slice of life, the audience immediately connected with  the story and donated for the cause.     This is how the appeal went -     Two months back, 10 year old Vincenzo Mondal was only worried about how many runs he  would score at the next cricket match. His parents, though of meagre means, dreamed of  giving their only child an education they hadn’t enjoyed - and had enrolled him in Indian School of Business in Kolkata. Vincenzo wants to be an astronaut when he grows up.

In July this year, a regular visit to the doctor revealed Vincenzo is suffering from B Cell  Precursor Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (commonly referred to as blood cancer), and his  parents’ world came crashing down. He is currently undergoing treatment at Tata Memorial  Hospital, Kolkata. The chemotherapy treatment plan is for one year. Vincenzo’s parents  have run out of their savings, and according to current estimates they need Rs XXX to beat  the disease.      Insight     I am happy to say raised significant funds and a few days back, heard that the boy has  started going to school and playing cricket!     The application of the tool told me that it was important to resonate with the audience in a  language and through a process they understand and find convenient.    Approach     With the success of this one idea, I was convinced that I could use story telling in a variety of  examples in my professional and personal life.


Reflection - Storytelling Challenge We are a group of school friends who have got together ‘ virtually ’ almost twenty - five years after leaving school . One of the friends posted about an unfortunate case of a young boy ( studying in our school ) , who had leukemia and needed urgent funds for treatment . The amount had to be remitted in the shortest possible time to save his life . The challenges were as follows - We needed to reach out to as many donors as possible in a short time - We had to be able to communicate with the target audience in a language that they would find interesting and appealing - The people who would contribute were busy folks and I had only a few seconds to grab their attention - Because it was a medical emergency , there were medical terms associated with the illness and the remedial processes – they were not understood by the audience . - There are many skeptics around crowd - funding appeals of this nature . So our appeal had to stand out in terms of authenticity . - The process of remittance also had to be very simple and convenient Selection We decided to use the tool of Storytelling to make my case . We wanted to create an impression in the shortest possible time to allow the donor to make up his mind and contribute to my cause . I remembered the lecture by Ricky George from Mars and how a human being needed to be at the centre of the conversation and used a real story in my appeal . Application My story centred around the young boy ’s love for cricket – a game that is very popular in my country . To gently nudge the memories of our own school days we used the tag line ‘ help him go back to playing cricket again . ’ By bringing in an everyday real - life slice of life , the audience immediately connected with the story and donated for the cause . This is how the appeal went - Two months back , 10 year old Vincenzo Mondal was only worried about how many runs he would score at the next cricket match . His parents , though of meagre means , dreamed of giving their only child an education they had n’t enjoyed - and had enrolled him in Indian School of Business in Kolkata . Vincenzo wants to be an astronaut when he grows up . In July this year , a regular visit to the doctor revealed Vincenzo is suffering from B Cell Precursor Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia ( commonly referred to as blood cancer ) , and his parents ’ world came crashing down . He is currently undergoing treatment at Tata Memorial Hospital , Kolkata . The chemotherapy treatment plan is for one year . Vincenzo ’s parents have run out of their savings , and according to current estimates they need Rs XXX to beat the disease . Insight I am happy to say raised significant funds and a few days back , heard that the boy has started going to school and playing cricket ! The application of the tool told me that it was important to resonate with the audience in a language and through a process they understand and find convenient . Approach With the success of this one idea , I was convinced that I could use story telling in a variety of examples in my professional and personal life .