Category: Softskills

Snoozing your Success

I had an early morning flight to catch and the airport was on the other side of the city. And I needed to get up very early in the morning. I was alone at home as my family was away. Though I had set an alarm but still to be double sure I called my 10 friends, who work in US, to wake me up at 3 am (IST). It was 4am when someone knocked my door bell and I woke up and saw the cab has arrived. I was in shock as neither had I listened the alarm nor any of my friends called to wake me up. Now the situation was critical as I was to leave in next 15 minutes else I could have missed the flight. Cab driver assured me that I can take another 15 minutes and get ready. I took 25 minutes and left for the airport and I was the last passenger to enter the plane. Though I caught the flight I was in shock that how could I miss the alarm? What would have happened had I missed the flight? May be just a flight or some money or an opportunity? That was the day I realized that I didn’t snooze the alarm but I snoozed my success and whenever I snooze for 10 minutes I snooze my success for 10 minutes. I realized that snoozing is nothing but another name of procrastination and in order to be successful one need to learn how not to procrastinate and how can we manage our time effectively. What is Procrastination? Procrastination is habit of putting off or delaying things that one should be focusing on, in favor of doing something which is more enjoyable or that one which is more comfortable. Reasons for Procrastination Weak Focus Focus is the most significant aspect for any achiever. You need to lay your focus right and need to understand & prioritize. You cannot allow things/problems and people to affect your focus. Make them a part of your goal and ask things to wait, problems to get solved and people to support you in your motive. You need to work, take break, rejuvenate and get back to work. Complacent attitude towards Comfort Zone It is human nature to become complacent in an affable surrounding. But you need to check the difference between being comfortable and being complacent. It is good to take a break in comfortable surroundings but we need to watch out when we are turning complacent about it and need to get back to the work. Lazy Optimism A no. of times, people seems too optimist to see the future. Mostly, it is the lazy attitude to act which brings such damage to the ongoing pace. Better to keep going positively rather than thinking positive. An untimely break usually leads to a huge wastage of time. Bad Time-management Manage time smartly. One should keep the ‘to do list’ handy. Be it the leaders, philanthropists, successful people or even those who haven’t made it large to any lists but are happier than most follow the rules of time management. A simple example, we know that we have to rush & switching on TV at the breakfast table will cause delay, still we want to get hooked for that last piece of news. How well you manage your time is directly proportional to how far you go & achieve. Know yourself If you are able to avoid the above points and feel that you have already overcome those shortcomings that it is better to know yourself and do a quick self-assessment and find out the reasons which affect your routines and lead you to procrastination. Short-sightedness & Over-excitement are some other personality reasons which lead to a break in the pace of a task at hand. Sometimes, we get over excite about a certain new project, a personal incident that we shift our entire focus towards that particular stance and leading to procrastination of the goal. Overcoming Procrastination The point here is – How to Overcome Procrastination! Self-analysis The first & foremost requirement is to do self-analysis and find out what disturbs your concentration and what leads to distractions. The best way is to take a pen & paper and make notes of what takes away your focus and then make a list on – How to stop this from happening? Manage your Time Well If you have realized that some habits and practices are leading to procrastination, immediately you need to manage your time in a way that you do not end up in such situations again. Start making Task lists and assign them time-lines and if it still doesn’t help – break the tasks into smaller chunks and set shorter goals which combined lead to a larger perspective. Change the Order of Deliverable If you think that there are certain tasks you aren’t able to accomplish on timelines. Keep it aside and take the projects which excite you more at that particular time and get to work. Doing this will bring back your confidence and it will help you get back to normal routine where you want to excel & finish up the tasks. The feeling of that small accomplishment will give you the required push for bigger assignments. Change the Work-station Very often it is seen & observed that a change in place works as magic to many. People call it funny, some say these are misbeliefs, but a simple logic of this is it breaks monotony. We humans become slow when we work in a monotonous environment. A good change is well advised for. If you are really cringed to same work for longer hours or week and you feel – you are not able to really add value, it is time to change your workstation. Before it starts leading to procrastination, it is time to change the work-station and bring a fresh spark to the perspective. Unschedule/ Unwind & Plan Sometimes, doing… Continue reading Snoozing your Success

Guru Dakshina- Proudest Moment of a Trainer

Today was the last day of my training program for Kolkata Shoppers Stop. Though I was not well for last couple of days I worked hard to make it a success. Post my session while I was packing my laptop, I saw my students discussing something and they asked me to wait for some time. I was to meet a friend on the way back to airport and it was not possible for me to wait for long. I told them about my plan and left the training room. When I was about to enter the lift a couple of students asked me to come to the training room. I walked back to the training room and to my surprise there was a big cake which they arranged as Guru Dakshina for successfully completing the training program. I invited everyone to hold hands and cut the cake together. Post the cake cutting ceremony they gifted me a big greeting card and a couple of gifts. I was in dilemma as I can’t accept gifts from my trainees. Shoppers Stop Unit Head and Unit HR asked me to accept the gifts as Guru Dakshina. Usually I don’t accept gifts from my trainees but on my colleagues from Shoppers Stop’s insistence I accepted the gifts. While I was about to leave the training room a couple of students tried to touch my feet. I stopped them from doing so, hugged them instead and thanked everyone for their kind gestures and left the training room. Guru Dakshina for me I started my journey for the hotel and all my way I kept thinking about my students, the respect they showered and the ‘Guru Dakshina’. As a professional I get my professional fees for the training programs. Do I have any moral right to accept such gifts as ‘Guru Dakshina’? I don’t have the answer and I doubt there can be any answer for this question. The only thing I want from my students as Guru Dakshina is wherever they go and whatever they do, they must do it with Belief, with Passion, with Enthusiasm and with keen Desire to excel in their lives. My proudest moment would be to see all of my students having accomplished their life goals and helping others accomplish their goals as well.

Delegation in Ramayana (Mythology & Management)

Stories are the best ways to overcome obstacles of learning. While I was working on a leadership program I came across two stories from our mythology which helped me to explain the concept of delegation to my trainees. In this blog, ‘Delegation in Ramayana (Mythology & Management) I’ll share both the stories and how these stories explain the delegation. First Story Lord Ram helped Sugriva to regain his honor and made him king of Kishindha. Sugriva and vanars decided to help Lord Ram unite with his wife Mata Sita who was abducted by demon Ravan. The entire Vanar army was divided into four groups and sent in four directions to find Mata Sita. Hanuman, Angad and Jambavantha with their group reached the southern seashore. They met Sampati, a vulture, who tells them Mata Sita was abducted by Ravan and is sitting under a tree in Lanka, which is on the other side of the ocean. Upon encountering the vast ocean, every vanara begins to lament his inability to jump across the water. Hanuman too is saddened at the possible failure of his mission, until the other vanaras and the wise bear Jambavantha begin to extol his virtues. Hanuman then recollects his own powers, enlarges his body, and flies across the ocean. After he finds Sita in captivity, Hanuman reveals his identity to her by giving her ring of Lord Ram. He reassures her that Lord Ram has been looking for her. He offers to carry her back to Lord Ram, but she refuses his offer, saying it would be an insult to Lord Ram as his honor is at stake. She gives her jewelry to Hanuman Ji and asks him to give it to Lord Ram. Second Story To seek a peaceful solution, Lord Ram sent Angad as messengers to convince Ravana to return Mata Sita peacefully. As this was the only way to avert the war. Angada tried every means to convince Ravana, but he was firm to face battle instead of returning Mata Sita peacefully. Angada planted his foot firmly on the ground and challenged anybody in the courtroom to uproot his foot. If anybody were to accept the challenge and was successful, Lord Ram would concede defeat and return without Mata Sita. All the commanders of Ravana’s army and even his son ‘Indrajit’ tried to lift Angada’s leg but none succeeded. Feeling humiliated by this failure, an infuriated Ravana slowly walked towards Angada’s planted foot and just as he was about to hold Angada’s leg to attempt the challenge, Angada moved away and Ravana fell down. Angada explained that the challenge was for Ravana’s commanders and not for Ravana. He told that Ravana was prepared to fall on his feet but instead he should choose to fall on the Lord Ram’s feet, for those are the ones that remove fear of cycle of life & death. He then picked up Ravana’s crown which fell down on the ground and threw it out of the palace. Ravana ordered his men to kill Angada. But he took a jump and flew back to the place where the Vanara army was gathered. Lessons: Mythology & Management These two stories give us very important lessons of management in purview of Delegation. See Lord Ram as CEO of company and observe the power of delegation being expelled and carried off by him. When the thought struck my mind, I got another reason to reassure myself that management certainly is a derivative of mythology. Lord Ram, put across the problem and took up a discussion to suggest solutions. He was aware of his team strengths and weaknesses.  Lord Ram also knew about the importance of each task to their organization and the task @ hand. Accordingly as per the skill set and the importance of task – he further went on to strategic delegation among the team. That is the reason why Hanuman in story 1 was assigned the task to find Sita and to reconfirm her presence at the Ashok Vatika. He was assigned the task based on this physical skill set and presence of mind. And Sita like an ardent associate understood the importance of task delegated and din’t asked for any further help or assistance. In management context, an extension further to delegation leads to imbalance and hence grievance. And that is why the delegation holds lot of importance. Coming to the second story, Angada was delegated a task of authority. He was a messenger deployed to discuss the suggested way out, to avoid war. His skill set included assertiveness, authority, communication skills and he knew temper control which wasn’t a case with Hanuman as he was an emotional devotee of Lord Ram and would never listen to any ill words for Lord Ram. Lord Ram knew of his skill set and his power. And hence the delegation was done accordingly. These two stories embark all the 5 Stages of Delegation. Where Lord Ram, observed and realized the strengths of his team members including Hanuman, Jamavanth and Angad. He evaluated the situations and the employee skill set, he made sure of the circumstances and allowed his team to collaborate and that’s how he delegated.

Journey to Excellence

Have you ever wondered what is the definition of Best? What is definition of Excellence? What is the definition of Perfection? Here is a small story which not only helped me to understand the meaning of The Best, Excellence and Perfection but also guided me towards journey to excellence. In ancient Rome, Romans had a very large number of Slaves. The behavior of Romans with their slaves was very cruel. Even for slightest mistakes the slaves were punished very harshly. Killing slave was not an offense in Roman law and Romans used to explore new ways to torture their slaves. If any of the slaves tried to escape from his master, there was only one punishment, slow but very painful death. This was also used to refrain other slaves from running. All the roads were well protected by the Roman army and a big jungle was the only place where slaves could hide themselves. But the jungle was full of wild animals and it was considered impossible to cross jungle without any protection. Romans calculated if someone was to cross the jungle successfully he will have to run like a leopard else he will be chased and killed by wild animals. It needed a superhuman to run at such speed hence Romans never tried to protect the road leading to jungle. Still in ancient Roman texts there are tales of many slaves who were able to cross the forest successfully and live a free life. When modern medical science came to know such stories they started testing human body if it was capable of running long distances at fast speeds. After so much of research medical science concluded that human body is incapable of taking this much of stress and if someone tries to run faster than the maximum speed described in the study his blood pressure will rise to such a level that he will die of a heart attack. They gave a bench mark that a human can’t run a distance of 400m in less than 50 seconds. On 29th Sept. 1900 Maxie Long of USA covered 400m in 47.8 seconds breaking the bench mark set by scientists. Time taken by Maxie was a world record in athletics and he was considered the best. Scientists said Maxie Long has something special that made him capable of covering 400m in less than 50 seconds. On May 27, 1916 Ted Meredith of USA broke this record by 4 seconds. Now 47.4 seconds was the new bench mark. On 18th Oct.1968 Lee Evans of USA covered the 400m in 43.29 seconds to reset the new bench mark. On 17th Aug. 1988 Reynolds set a new world record to cover 400m in 43.29 seconds. A new bench mark. And on 26th Aug 1999 Michael Johnson of USA made a new world record and covered 400m in 43.18 seconds. Michael Johnson’s world record still standing tall and has not been broken. Today how many of us know Maxie Long of 1900, let alone remembering him. People talk about Michael Johnson of 1999 and they will talk till a new athlete comes and reset the bar higher. In last 100 years the bench mark in athletics has been reset at least 25 times by different athletes. No one talks about athletes who were the best of their times and raised the standard to new levels. We remember people who keep raising the bar continuously and keep improving their own bench marks. Yesterday’s best can’t always be the best. It may not even considered to be good tomorrow. So what is the Best, Excellent and Perfection? There is nothing called Best, Excellent or Perfection. It is all about improving, getting better and better and raising the bar to next level. Hope you too are on your Journey to Excellence. Happy Journey!

Training Effectiveness

When I started my career into sales my first training was like some crash course of IIT JEE. Trainer will come he will try and make you understand all the medical and marketing aspects of the product; he will ensure that you are able to spell out every complex molecule name with ease. You will undergo a series of test papers coming day after day and the final test which will decide your fate. So for me it was how effective I was as a learner and not a trainer, because it was me who will be thrown out of the group for non-performance. When I made a shift from Sales to Training again I was like a fresh graduate as, all my sales experience only supported me in understanding the real situation and ways how it can be worked, I was able to simulate the real world experience but as a trainer – I still had to hone the required skill-set. Though delivery was never a problem and I mastered it. Now I was working in an environment where, questions were being asked about training effectiveness, but it was simpler as it was linked to my first-hand experience, remember my crash course experience. Now I had transition from a domain based trainer to behavioral trainer. AND THE NEXT BIG QUESTION WAS – MEASURING TRAINING EFFECTIVENESS I guess it was 1 year of my struggle with the big question and now I am able to satiate both ends of the string – My Customer and Myself. Basically, for me it was as difficult to tie a horse with imaginary rope. Things you need to learn before you measure or execute the training effectiveness: 1) What exactly is in their mind: Expectations can be endless”. Your internal/client has the right to set any expectation regarding your training before you met him and set the expectation right. On one good day my boss asked me to prepare training on effective communication and I did the same mistake, I never asked. ‘What change he would like to see after the training?’ Steps you should follow before delivering any presentation in your new organization: a- Explore their job: We as a trainer generally exhibit empathy, but do we really mean it. Come on remove your shoes and prepare yourself to put some muddy, uncomfortable shoes for a while. Remember you will feel more pain than they have it in real. This will help you to understand the key area of priority. REMEMBER, don’t assume their need, just try it first-hand and find out. b- Remember they have a Boss: As a trainer we try to full fill the expectation of our participants inside room. What about the set of people outside, who are waiting eagerly for the results to come. 2) How you can help: Remember learning is like taking bath, you need to take it every day, or soon you will be stinking. a- Know your limits: Every expectation cannot be met as stated earlier, Discover the most painful area you felt after thorough research and discussion over the expectation, where you can have a valid intervention. b- Sell your Training: Before you do any Training program for any group, sell it to their bosses. Here we are not telling to mail the teasers and stuff. It’s about selling the outcomes so that none of your customer can come up and say: “Hey you never delivered what we expected out the training” “Training was really good we can observe the change in ‘xyz’ behaviors, but would be great if peoples demonstrated ‘abc’ also” c- This is what you need to do: You are not a superhero, make them part in making and measuring the effectiveness. Clarify their role that how they can reinforce the learning. Ask for feedback in a formal patron to avoid complicated situations. (as discussed in Point B) 3) A Cook never tastes his own Dish: As old saying In India “Halwai apni Mittai Kudh nahi kahhta” A desert maker never tastes his own desert/dish. With the change in time, they do and you are a trainer. The saying never set’s right into your context. Try it once so that you have your own case study. Remember people get motivated when they listen inspirational stories. It happens because they relate or put themselves in the place of character. Guest Blogger: Rahul Molasi, is working as a Training Manager in Cipla Pharmaceuticals. A family person, Rahul loves to travel in his pastime.

Little things matter the Most!

During the beginning of a training session I asked my trainees to give their introductions and also additionally they were told to tell the name of an animal they like the most and explain the reason for their liking. When everyone finished, trainees asked me about the animal I like the most. I told them that I like Squirrels the most as Squirrels remind me that whenever we are given a task we should take it as service to God and should give our 100% to it. They were curious and wanted to know the logic behind the same. I shared an incident from ‘Ramayana’- Ravana abducted Lord Ram’s wife, Sita, and took her to his capital, Lanka. Lord Ram asked Ravana to return his wife but he refused. Then with the help of Vanar Sena (Army) he decided to fight Ravana and take his wife back. They reached the southern end of the land and Lanka was on the other side of the sea and since it was not possible for the Vanar Sena to swim and cross the vast ocean, Lord Ram decided to build a bridge (Setubandh Rameshwaram) across the ocean with the help of ‘Nal’ and ‘Neel’, the Vanar princes. Nal and Neel were very notorious in their childhood and were used to throw belongings of sages in water. They were cursed by the sages that whatever they throw in water will not sink. The entire Vanar Sena started collecting the stones so build the bridge. The army was so excited that they started running around to look for biggest stones. The Vanar Sena was very strong and they brought huge stones and rocks and dropped them in the ocean. The other animals also wanted to help Lord Ram build the bridge. A small squirrel was watching this and decided to help. It thought for a while and started collecting pebbles and dropped them in the ocean. The squirrel worked hard and dropped as many pebbles as it could. Squirrel was tired but still wanted to continue the work so it rolled self in the sand, ran into water and washed. It ran back the shore rolled and washed self again and continued. While he was moving to and fro, it came in the way of a Vanar who was carrying a big stone and just survived from being crushed by Vanar. On seeing this another Vanar picked the squirrel up and threw it towards the shore and other Vanars started laughing. Lord Ram was watching all this and he caught the little squirrel before it fell. He addressed the Vanar army: “ Dear Vanars, you are huge and strong so you can bring big stones and rocks but those big stones can’t be joined perfectly and there are many small gaps between the stones. The pebbles brought by the squirrel have filled the gaps and the sand particles bind the bridge in proper shape and also make it strong. Remember, that in order to achieve something BIG one should not only concentrate on major task involved but one must take care of the small details as each step and all the efforts count equally. If you are working in a team, the efforts of all the team members, however small these may be, must be appreciated!” The Vanars were ashamed and asked for forgiveness from Lord Ram and the Squirrel. Then Lord Ram turned to the Squirrel and said, “My dear squirrel, I am sorry for the hurt caused by my army and thank you so much for helping me building this bridge. Please go back and continue your work.” Then he touched the back of the squirrel and three lines appeared where Lord Ram had touched him. Now whenever I see a squirrel, the three lines on its back reminds me that every task however small it may be, is important and significant in its own way and we should appreciate each and every contribution made by a team member (in personal or professional lives) to achieve something.

Find out stories. Follow the Do’s and Don’ts (Post 4 in Series)

We have covered the details on ingredients of a good story and how to prepare for storytelling. To follow such steps, we need to know first, where to find the right story? That is the Part- I of this post and afterwards we will discuss about the Do’s and Don’ts of storytelling. Stories are everywhere but it’s a difficult work to find a powerful story which can connect the audience to the speaker. Where to find stories from? From your own life/experiences: This is the best place to find stories from. Your stories are unique as these tell about experiences of your life. Make a list of things happened to you or your loved ones. When you tell a story from your life, you tell it with more energy and passion. You act as a source of energy for your audience and you can pull their attention towards you. Mythological stories: Myths are an integral part of human existence and such stories are proof of people’s beliefs of divine powers. The epics ‘Ramayana’, ‘Mahabharata’ and ‘Bhagwad Gita’ contain thousands of stories about ancient Indian society, philosophy, beliefs, culture and ways of life. Though these epics were written thousands of years back but still there is lot of resemblance. For example, the exact distance between Earth & Sun which is determined by NASA now is been exactly defined in the ‘Hanuman Chalisa’ years back. It is incredible to find such meaningful information and statistics which we never realized existed. Historical Stories:History is our guide to future. It not only provides the best relevant examples but also helps with the proofing of a subject. Take up the history, research the subjects and dig deep into them. You must have heard of the Panchtantra stories and the age old Fairy tales, they all still hold so much of importance & value in terms of learning. We all remember Cinderella, Snow White, Rabbit & the Tortoise, Thirsty Crow etc. Now here is a quick review to the Do’s and Don’t of Storytelling. Do’s of Storytelling 1. Keep your stories simple and to the point: Always keep your story simple and to the point as complex stories make it difficult to explain the point you want to make and lengthy stories has potential to lose interest by the audience. 2. Relevance: Tell stories only those stories which are relevant to the subject. For experienced and intelligent people it 3. Use Humor: Humor will help keep audience’s interest in the story. Follow a simple rule: The longer, the humorous it must be. 4. Personal Stories: Tell your personal stories to the audience as these are your first hand experience of the challenges you faced and how you overcame those challenges. Personal stories will make you a unique speaker as none in the audience will have listened to them and no one can steal your story. Make a list of the things happened to you the best, the worst, the biggest mistake, the funniest, he greatest, the most frustrating, the most embarrassing. 5. Personal Humor: Tell about your ignorance at a particular instance and how did you behave in that situation. Audience will see themselves mirrored in you hence connecting to the point you want to convey. 6. Learn your Story: Tell a story at least 10 times before sharing it with your audience. Learn to tell what exactly you want to say and even if you miss that point you can improvise and make out your point. If you leave out an important point in the story it may spoil the outcome of the story. 7. Trigger the Emotions: There are many emotions, Happiness/ Sadness/ Anger/ Nostalgia/ Compassion/ Sympathy/ Empathy, a speaker can target with a story that have emotional power. A powerful story will help getting positive emotional response as the audience feel connected to it. Don’ts of Storytelling 1. Do not use too many stories in a presentation:Often only one good story is enough. You can tell two or maximum three stories to reinforce your point. Using more than three stories in your presentation will make it difficult for the participants to remember the points you made in each story. 2. Do not Keep your stories too simple: For experienced and intelligent people it will be a boring and they will lose interest in the message. Still if you have to tell a simple and short story keep it short after making your point proceed to the next part of your presentation. 3. Do not be Funny: There is a thin line between using humor in your story and being funny and lose the interest and respect of the audience. Do not portray yourself how stupidly you behaved at a particular instance as there is strong probability that they will forget the point you wanted to convey but will remember you as dumb. 4. Do not memorize Story: Do not memorize the story as people have tendency to tell the story word by word. And if the fumble they’ll miss the interest of the audience and hence the outcome of the story.

What makes a Good Story? (Post 3 in Series)

Here we are with the 3rd post in our Storytelling series. We now know about the art of storytelling and what shall go in the preparation of a good storytelling session. Now that we are prepared, we must understand what makes a Good Story, what are characteristics of Storytelling and what are the characteristics of a good Storyteller. What makes a Good Story? Single themed and well defined: A good story is always single themed and well defined. It doesn’t leave any space for absurd meanings. Connect to the listeners: A good story connects to the listeners very easily. It makes audience think of things differently or they may never have thought of. Stories bridge to one’s culture: It’s not only our blood or DNA which connects us to our culture, stories bridge people to their culture. Stories are part of every culture and are being told since generations. How many of us have actually seen the Mauryas or Mughals but we all love to listen to their stories, they make us feel proud. Stories make up our history and guide us to future. Helps to remember: A good story helps audience to remember the communications. Relevant to the topic: A good story is always relevant to the topic and helps audience learn a life lesson. Characteristics of Storytelling: Storytelling involves verbal activity/ communication: Storytelling is a verbal activity which involves a speaker and one or more listeners. Storytelling involves non-verbal communications: We use non-verbal communication to increase the effectiveness of the story telling. Tone and pitch of your voice, your body language and gestures adds to storytelling. Facial expressions and gestures add to the visualization of the story. Storytelling is a two way process: A story can’t come to life if it’s not a two way process. The storyteller and listener both share the responsibility to make story come to life through interaction. Storytelling involves a story: That’s an essential as without a story it’s not possible to tell it. Storytelling encourages imagination of listeners: As it is said that everything is always created twice, first in the mind and then in reality. Story provokes the curiosity of the listeners and simulates their senses to feel, see and touch the word picture. If your audience can see it they are more likely o take away your message. Characteristics of a Good Storyteller A storyteller is the person who works on wiring our brain, who connects us to a different world by giving wings to our imagination and adding vigor to our thought process. I have been a trainer for 8 years and during all this tenure I have been a listener to some of the great stories – be it a TTT, a TED talk or the workshops. Stories come our way through many channels, life observations etc. Based on my experience & learning, I think the following 5 are the most required characteristics which make a story teller great from good. Doesn’t make stories, Discover A good storyteller doesn’t make stories, he discovers them. Like I mentioned a trainers/storytellers life is the best source for discovering stories. You need to explore, learn & unlearn. Sensitivity to people, humanity a passion for reading and listening, all these habits helps one in discovering stories. Stories could be found in everyday life – one needs to have the passion to find them. S/he is the one who you will find with a recorder, a notebook, a pen on all his journeys and even everyday travels. S/he makes note as, writes down and details it on return. This makes a story and the above habits make a story teller. Purpose Oriented Good storytellers don’t believe in having a story. They make stories with purpose, the story has got a message and they make sure that the audience takes home the story. Good storytellers don’t leave things at that; they make sure the message is well delivered through the story. The purpose of a story is well communicated. They know the story Good storytellers make sure they know the story; they have the relevant examples to deliver it in the right way. Knowing a half story takes away the passion from storyteller, it brings down the confidence levels and hence it brings down the story- its purpose and its message. Only if they know the story well- they can make it more n more relevant to their audience. Telling the same story in different ways to different audiences is like explaining same concept to different sets of audience – freshers and experienced. Only if a teller knows the story so well can they explain it in the right way. Bring out the Emotion In training, a story is not just about the conveying the message it is about delivering the message and embossing it in the hearts & minds of your audience. If a storyteller could make the right connect and touch the emotional nodes – that means he has achieved the purpose behind the session. Such a session lasts forever, and the story and its message get submerged. I hope you enjoyed the post and it helped you better your storytelling sessions. Next in the series I will share – Where to find good stories and some Do’s and Dont’s of Story.

Storytelling Preparation Tips! (Post 2 in Series)

In the first post of storytelling series I shared about the art of storytelling and how can we learn this art of storytelling. In this post I’ll share some storytelling preparation tips. Story telling is not just reading out a story. It’s a serious business. The way you tell a story can win or lose a battle for you as a speaker. Before you tell a story you need to work on the guidelines of storytelling. Following are some tips to make your Storytelling session better. 1. Purpose of the story: Storytellers tell stories for some reason. Ask yourself why you want to tell the story, what is the purpose for it. If you know the reasons, you can easily pick up a story which will help you to drive the point to the audience. A relevant story has the ability to take the audience where you want them to reach. 2. Master the story: Master the story inside out before you tell it. To master the story identify the three parts of the story, the beginning, the plot/body and the conclusion. If you know the story, it’ll be easy for you to present the same effectively. 3. Empower Imagination: Visualization is a great tool. It helps people understand better. To make the story visible to the audience a storyteller needs to visualize it first. Use your imagination to create various characters. If you can visualize the characters, their emotions, the situation they are in, their attire, their tastes, only then you can make your audience see it. Use your body (Gestures & Body language) and voice as tools to help audience visualize it. 4. Beginning: How we start defines the journey. The same holds right for a story too. Like we have explained in previous post about storytelling – the art, the beginnings matter. 5. Conflict: Conflict is a spicy food that feeds the listeners. 6. End: When the story is over make sure you end it too. Don’t just keep going. Let the audience know the story is over without you telling it to them. 7. Practice the Story: Before you tell story practice in front of a mirror or in front of your friends and ask for their feedback. I know a number of speakers watching their video recordings to improve and improvise in their next workshops. It is told that Adolf Hitler, before going to deliver any speech, was used to practice different styles to deliver the speech in front of a mirror. And look how he grew the ranks in Post WW-1 Germany. 8. Time the Pause: As you tell the story take your time and give time to your audience. A well timed Pause will give audience a chance to understand verbal and non-verbal components of the story. 9. Make it Interesting: Make the story interesting to the audience. You can change your voice describing the different characters. Modulation can help you to give different meaning. 10. Don’t Copy: If someone is popular don’t try and imitate him. You are unique and you have your own style. Find your style; there are people who will love your style. So these are the points to prepare for a great storytelling session. I hope you enjoyed reading them and will use them in your next training/ public speaking sessions. Do share your views and the difference you could bring by these tips.