29. Storytelling

What is storytelling? It is simply a way of sharing stories in a creative manner that encourages the reader to visualize the description of the storyteller. In one of our masterclasses, Shashidhar Nanjundaiah, Chief Storytelling Officer at Enzen Global Solutions, taught us what storytelling is all about.when it comes to be an effective communicator, one needs to tell a story in such a manner that would grab the attention of the listener. When we say communication, it doesn’t only mean the language and words but also the way we present it. Like, our body language, eye contact, and the content.

In storytelling, we need to put 5Ws and 1H in sequence i.e., ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘why’, ‘when’, ‘where’, ‘whom’ and ‘how’. The story always starts with the question, what happened? With the consideration of the type of audience to whom we are telling the story. Framing means meaning making. Storytelling is a concept that is subjective from person to person.

For constructing a story, there is a process called AMRIT- Audience, Message, Relatability, Intrigue and Takeaway. So, when we construct a story you should think of the audience for whom we are telling the story. Then, come up with the message that your story is telling about. Our audience should have some relatability with our story as it catches more attention. Intrigue is the curiosity because of which our story will hold our audience till the end otherwise the attention span is very less now a days among people. It is very difficult to hold anyone’s attention for a longer span of time. Lastly the takeaway, one idea that is to be remembered about the story.

“A story is a way people internalize someone else’s experience and carry it forward”- Shashidhar Nanjundaiah