BENGALURU: On a weekday morning, a group of engineers are huddled in a conference room. These techies are not attending a seminar or lecture. Instead, they are listening to stories, which will help them enhance their sales strategies, improve their coding techniques and understand new arrivals in their companies.
Once upon a time, the art of storytelling was associated with children, a concept that corporates, including Accenture, Wipro, Infosys and Asian Paints, are re-looking into. Like Akshay Trivedi, an employee at an IT firm that invites storytellers to their campus often, points out, technical teams speak to their clients or team leads on phone, and are “tongue tied when it comes to explaining the concept to their clients. This, despite having a clear picture of the concept complete with the nitty-gritty of the subject.”
A storytelling workshop organised by Trivedi’s firm changed things, with the techie admitting that he is now able to explain the same concept in a better manner and keep the other party engaged. “For instance, when we were developing a website, we were given instructions such as page inputs, hyperlinks and logins, in the form of a story. The format is now drilled into our heads. The associative learning has helped us remember and retain keywords and specifics longer,” said Trivedi.
Agreed Krishna G, a sales trainer and coach at Growthaspire, whose firm arranges storytelling sessions on a regular basis. “I have noticed that it has helped employees improve their sales pitches. I’ve now learnt to explain the subject to my clients in the form of stories, and am able to give convincing presentations using the right kind of lingo,” he said.
Shreya Biswas, a storyteller at Katharangam, who conducted about three sessions for Asian Paints says the company chose to explain their new products through this art form. “Storytelling is an extension of the conversations we have on a daily basis. We teach employees the art of conversation with an employee without making it sound very formal. This way both the client and customer can engage with each other, and employees can improve their interpersonal skills,” he said.