The Art of Storytelling

Be in control of our stories, to shape it. Shape our self image. As creatures we are programmed for Story telling. 

Our wold needs stories, we are all striving to convey our stories in the most persuasive manner. 

Story is licensed and channelized day dreaming. There is relaxed openness

Story need to have - EMPAT formula

1. Emotion (Heart of the story)

2. Mirror

3. Pattern - Start , middle, end

4. Ability to hold attention 

5. Transformation - (Soul of the story) - Key lesson, Have clear call to attantion

Agoraphobia. Mind the Gap. I am just a copy, of a copy of a copy. Do better. Know what the viewer wants. 

What sets you apart is how you tell the story. What is pulling one is not the katha or story, but the kathakar or the storyteller. 

Orbit shift is what is needed. Be mindful of gravity. Be grounded, and don't fly.  Know of personal gravity,  Gravity of company, industry, social or cultural gravity - prejudice, jugad, cumulative gravity kills idea. Sometime you have to be impractical. Come up with something really innovative, that is Orbit shift. 

Challenge - TV has become second screen, mobile phone has taken up. Find your flavour. Inform - without giving fuss. 

Ethos - Authority on the subject

Logos - Logical Appeal 

Pathos - Emotions - genuine connection with audinece

Metaphor - a thing regarded as representative or symbolic of something else.

Brevity - Punchy lines

Purpose - what is the purpose of what your are doing? Which is your favourate story as child, that shaped you?

Most CFOs are terrible storytellers.

→ Net profit is $18.2 million, down from $21 million

→ Operating margin decreased from 22% to 19%

→ Revenue grew by 7.3% since last quarter

→ G&A expenses increased by 12.5%

You know what's wrong with this?

This is data dumping. 

The audience doesn't know what to do. 

No decisions get made. 

Instead the better way is this.

(WHAT) - (WHY) - (GOOD/BAD) - (NEXT STEPS)

Here's how.

(WHAT)

Last quarter, revenue grew by 7.3%. But that growth came at a cost. Our G&A expenses increased by 12.5%. This led to a drop in operating margin from 22% to 19%.

The result?

Net profit fell to $18.2 million, down from $21 million.

(WHY)

Here’s why this happened

We invested heavily in marketing to drive top line growth.

Operational inefficiencies increased costs in key departments.

(GOOD OR BAD)

But it’s not all bad news.

Our investments are paying off in improved brand awareness.

And we have identified three areas to optimize operations and reduce expenses.

(WHATS NEXT)

Next steps-

Streamline our supply chain by Q2.

Reassess non core spending.

Focus on high margin products for sustainable growth

This is storytelling.

- It gives context.

- It connects the dots.

- It drives decisions.

Follow this flow -

- WHAT

- WHY

- GOOD OR BAD

- NEXT STEPS