Storytelling

Challenge & Selection

The tool I chose was storytelling because it is a key element in the design thinking  process. If the story is not well told or does grab the public’s attention, it is very  difficult to sell an new idea. I´m head of financial planning in a retail company,  and I use this tool when I have to propose initiatives for cost reductions or sales  increase. People from different areas participate in these meetings where  initiatives are proposed: Country Manager, Operations, Finance, Marketing,  Human Resources, Real Estate, etc. The major challenge is to tell a single story  to people from such diverse areas, and manage to convince all of them.

Application

First of all, I have to know the audience: understand who each person is, what  are their motivations and what could hinder progress for them.. Understanding  the public is key, and based on this I will create a story using a language and  register that everyone can understand. At this point I ask myself questions like:  Are they marketing people? Are they finance people? Are long meetings boring?  Do you prefer to be clearer and more direct?

After I have understood who I am going to speak to, I begin to put together the  sequence of events that I want to communicate to them. At this point I try to be  more specific with the events that I think the audience will want me to go deeper  into.

Finally, I create some moments of reflection, with the aim of increasing and  decreasing the suspense of the story I am telling. By generating suspenseful  moments, the audience becomes more interested in the story. To generate these  moments, I ask a question, there is a silent pause and finally I give an answer.

It is very important to sell the idea as a great necessary challenge, and for that I  always try to relate it to some long-term strategic objective. If I get the idea aligned  with some of the company’s strategic objectives, surely all disciplines want to get  involved and I will be able to create good synergy.

Insight & Approach

What I learned with the storyteling technique is that if we tell a good story, the  idea will most likely be validated. Sometimes we may fail to achieve our goal,  but  if we skip the storytelling phase, we can never validate it.

It is very important to understand what the audience needs: Do you need  numbers, figures? Do you need solutions? Do you need challenges? If I don't  know what my audience wants and needs, I can hardly tell a story the right way.

What storytelling does is allow us to make strategies more accessible. In a  company, very few people know and understand the strategy, either because  they are complex or because they are poorly communicated. By means of  storytelling we can convey the strategy message in different ways, making it  easier for people to understand and connect with it.


Storytelling Challenge & Selection The tool I chose was storytelling because it is a key element in the design thinking process . If the story is not well told or does grab the public ’s attention , it is very difficult to sell an new idea . I´m head of financial planning in a retail company , and I use this tool when I have to propose initiatives for cost reductions or sales increase . People from different areas participate in these meetings where initiatives are proposed : Country Manager , Operations , Finance , Marketing , Human Resources , Real Estate , etc . The major challenge is to tell a single story to people from such diverse areas , and manage to convince all of them . Application First of all , I have to know the audience : understand who each person is , what are their motivations and what could hinder progress for them .. Understanding the public is key , and based on this I will create a story using a language and register that everyone can understand . At this point I ask myself questions like : Are they marketing people ? Are they finance people ? Are long meetings boring ? Do you prefer to be clearer and more direct ? After I have understood who I am going to speak to , I begin to put together the sequence of events that I want to communicate to them . At this point I try to be more specific with the events that I think the audience will want me to go deeper into . Finally , I create some moments of reflection , with the aim of increasing and decreasing the suspense of the story I am telling . By generating suspenseful moments , the audience becomes more interested in the story . To generate these moments , I ask a question , there is a silent pause and finally I give an answer . It is very important to sell the idea as a great necessary challenge , and for that I always try to relate it to some long - term strategic objective . If I get the idea aligned with some of the company ’s strategic objectives , surely all disciplines want to get involved and I will be able to create good synergy . Insight & Approach What I learned with the storyteling technique is that if we tell a good story , the idea will most likely be validated . Sometimes we may fail to achieve our goal , but if we skip the storytelling phase , we can never validate it . It is very important to understand what the audience needs : Do you need numbers , figures ? Do you need solutions ? Do you need challenges ? If I do n't know what my audience wants and needs , I can hardly tell a story the right way . What storytelling does is allow us to make strategies more accessible . In a company , very few people know and understand the strategy , either because they are complex or because they are poorly communicated . By means of storytelling we can convey the strategy message in different ways , making it easier for people to understand and connect with it .