Make your messages correct. Since we were in school we have been taught to do so. But correct is a given, our key differentiating factor is in how we make these messages connect. Understand this, Telling a child, "Do not eat too much sugar" is a correct message Telling an employee, "If we do not change our ways of working, we will lose market share" may be a correct message in your case Telling...
A senior banking professional and I built a story on cyber security. We both were ready to put our hand on our heart and say, " This is the story that will drive the desired outcome. It will work." We knew people will understand the importance of cyber security once we tell this story but is that really the goal of storytelling?Is that really how far we want to go, to just get people to conclude...
"A leader supports her people during an organisational change" says a leader I am working with on building an organisational change narrative. When I hear this, I say to the leader, " The fact that you make this assertion with confidence in your voice, tells me that there are sediments of experiences layered in your memory forming this assertion." We are loyal to our experiences and many of our...
For a long time we clapped for talent. Then we learnt that talent indeed is overrated but skills can be acquired by making an effort. As a result, some of us started clapping for the effort that went in to acquiring a skill. That clap became a motivating factor for many to acquire skills. The digital world contributed towards to skills acquisition agenda by making acquisition cheaper and...
This blog is part 2 of 2 of our blog series titled, A presentation without segues is not a story. If you have not read part 1 of 2, read it here. Segue lines. Segue lines or transition lines connect the slides in such a way that when we listen to a presenter, we feel like a story is being told and as a result get high levels of engagement from our audience. The choice of the segue line is...
"Anjali, I am presenting to my team next week, can I go through the presentation with you?" A client asks. Next thing, we are on a Zoom call going through her presentation. Here is how she takes me through the sleek powerpoint her corp comms team has put together. " I will start with telling them, what I will cover in the presentation. Then, I will share the results from last year on slide 2 and...
It was meant to be normal hectic day at work where I would go about managing my responsibilities in distribution and inventory management , working mostly on demands coming from seven retail locations and corporate orders for information technology products. However, as I walked through the main entrance of the modern building with nice big glass doors, something looked different. Local police...
You developed the courage to show up on LinkedIn. You worked hard on your maiden post and finally pressed, post. Now, the wait begins, you will repeatedly check the data on likes, comments and views. It is human to do that.May be you will also notice someone else's average or below average post getting plenty of likes and views. You are now feeling disappointed that despite effort you did not...
If you have not read the introduction to this blog series, we recommend you read it here . This blog is a part of 3 part blog series where we have learnt a sequence of analysis method used by radiologists and using that knowledge created a sequence of analysis method for data analysts. In this blog post we cover how best to perform data storytelling and present your analysis when it is obvious to...
If you have not read the introduction to this blog series, we recommend you read it here . This blog is a part of 3 part blog series where we have learnt a sequence of analysis method used by radiologists and using that knowledge created a sequence of analysis method for data analysts. In this blog post we cover how best to perform data storytelling and present your analysis when it is obvious to...
If you have not read the introduction to this blog series, we recommend you read it here . This blog is a part of 3 part blog series where we have learnt a sequence of analysis method used by radiologists and using that knowledge created a sequence of analysis method for data analysts. In this blog post we cover how best to data story-tell when we our analysis is obvious to all. Obvious to All...
The biggest roadblock to effective data storytelling is this statement I hear repeatedly, "But I don't know what the insight is." I stumbled upon a sequence of analysis used by radiologists that can help data analysts overcome this roadblock. And this blog series is my attempt to create a sequence of analysis for data analysts for effective data storytelling. What can a radiologist teach a data...
A writer says, "I really don't feel like writing today." A swimmer says, "I really don't want to practice today." A corporate professional says, "I really don't want to go to that meeting today." A child says, "I don't feel like doing homework today." A leader says, "I don't want to explain stuff today. " Are all these people being their authentic selves? Well, let's start with what does being...
Path 1: It would be foolish to choose a path that guarantees no success. But many of us do. To declare that only when COVID-19 vaccine is available, you will restart your work is kind of foolish. Path 2: Many have travelled this path. It is also littered with stories of people who never made it to the end. This path is not very hard but crowded. Everyone is fighting for the attention of the same...
My 13 year old daughter posted her first set of photos on Instagram this week. It was interesting to notice that soon after she posted, she garnered 134 likes and 64 comments. Now, she is only a teenager and not a content creator but before she starts looking for validation in these social media driven numbers, it was important for me to teach her to ask the following questions, What exactly does...
We wake up every morning to a world of possibilities. Yes, everything is possible and let me remind you of But it is worth reflecting on the fact that it is the same endless possibilities that become the reason for fatigue, lack of focus and grounding for many. A better way to lead a meaningful life is to see the possibilities, label them, extract few probabilities out of the labeled...
Mariam works for an e commerce company as a marketer. She gets relevant and role specific insights from the dashboard of the analytics platform her company uses. She is empowered to make decisions based on the insights she discovers, she has a track record of good decision making and is acknowledged for her great work. Up until this stage, she is doing just fine by being a data analyst. There is...
"I have COVID-19 symptoms and I won't be able to get on the call today." This is what a Switzerland based client wrote last week. Just an hour later, another client wrote informing me that she will not be able to conduct the project update as per the scheduled because her grandmother has passed away due to COVID - 19 and three other family members have developed symptoms. As soon as I saw these...
You open your emails and you are excited that there is indeed an email from a client you were expecting to hear from. The email reads like this, Dear XX, Your proposal and ideas were really good but we have selected another company that is more suited to our needs. Thank you for your efforts and we look forward to future collaborations with you. Rgds, YZK Despite all your efforts, you have just...
Eve is head of communications for a multinational organization. She called me for help in preparing a talk on trade law changes and their impact in her industry. I asked, "Where do you want my help? Content? Delivery? Something else?" Her response: "None of those. I have anxiety about this talk." Anxiety? Isn't that a medical problem? I suggested we meet and talk. I asked, "What is causing the...
It's 22 September 2019, at 8.15 a.m., and I'm on the Shinkansen (Japanese bullet train) travelling from Fukuoka to Hiroshima. I receive a message from my husband. The message contained the google doodle for the day that linked to an article about the first woman, a Japanese, to climb the Mount Everest. The newspaper's article heading read, "Junko Tabei: Google Doodle celebrates first woman to...
A kitchen that is used, gets messy. A baker who bakes, gets burnt. A foot that runs, has scars. A mother who cares, disciplines. A wife who loves, gives feedback. A teacher who is passionate, pushes harder. A friend who is sincere, speaks truthfully. None of the above, a messy kitchen, being burnt, having scars, disciplining, giving feedback, pushing harder, speaking truthfully is enjoyable for...
Here is how a story was titled : Announcing the launch of the cloud migration webinar. This is clearly a tactical title, a title that informs the tactic or put simply, informs what we are doing. Tactical titles do not address the "why" of the webinar. As a result, they fail to connect with the emotional state of the person we intend to serve by launching the webinar. How about we change the title...
"There are 4,000 people listening to you in this webinar." "There are 300 people, who have registered for your speaking engagement today." "There are 200 people dialling in from around the world to hear you speak." These are some statements I am grateful to have heard over the last one month. Every time I heard these statements, I would first be filled with joy and then ask myself, "So, why are...
As a leader you witness sinking morale in your organisation due to factors outside of your control. You are confident that employee care will always be your top priority no matter what the situation. In fact, putting employees care has been the company's priority since its inception. Today, you want to remind people how they have been cared for all these years and how the company will continue to...