Talent Scouts for telling our stories
Most of us are grown up listening to lullabies, tales and sci-fi stories from Mom. But, who would have fathomed that storytelling could become one`s dream job. It’s a no joke, storytelling is all pervasive to the corporate functions. Communicating and managing it in a right way has been key ask from the marketers, PR professionals and HR guys. But, lately, these job roles are transforming to become a storyteller. Being in a corporate job, a communications specialists fits into a shoe of a customer, be empathetic and personalise a tone of the story to sell one`s product.
Creating Mindshare, is a challenge. Simply, it can be facilitated with Storytelling. It`s good for all. It helps to build in ethos, helps you accentuate your business messaging in an empathetic way, it helps increasing bonds and overall helps connect with people faster. A session embellishing with storytelling techniques intelligently invigorates the audience`s experience. Not only, does it creates an engaging commentary, but also initiates fast reactions. Not alone, does it creates an absorbing commentary, but also initiates fast reactions. What evokes these reactions are more to do with subliminal messaging – which is experienced differently by different people.
As a communications specialist, we all understand that communications is yet another tangible product and which need to be marketed. But is marketing only about News? No, not necessarily, stories could be about wins, reaction, feelings, acts, future, present and now. All of these packaged to cut the clutter and to be best received. Storytelling is not about telling a story by saying it, it’s about leveraging what matters to the audience, with a pinch of creativity. Stories can be recited over an infograph, charticle, diagrams, videos, interactive maps and many other visually disruptive ways.
More so often, digital marketer and HR teams are making their communities using the above. All they need is a CREATIVE NEWSROOM and a team that picks up the pulse of the moment and release a piece of information to engage with customers and employees for the latter. Ubiquitous to the new age story telling is digital aid—You tube channels, digital notice boards, creative apps etc are some of the most common techniques which help pushing the message.
For an HR centric organisation, the role of an internal communication is far beyond just pushing in corporate alerts, press releases, town halls, intranet portal, newsletters and team huddles. It has evolved and is challenging than never before, HR professionals have today become talent scouts and evangelists, and in many cases beyond a “Go-To” person. Progressive companies like HP, Adobe, Apple, Microsoft are all-embracing this new definition faster than others, as they understand that its People, who makes organisations. They all are on a spree to personalise communications for their employees, make it more frequent, relevant and succinct. The companies are reinventing the wheel, by stating the employees what they require to listen over what the company wants to differentiate them.  Quoting an example for HP Employee communications “We make it matter”, an internal campaign, that forked up to its utmost measure in terms of raising employee`s voice and made them feel heard.
Using storytelling techniques, the company avoided all the mundane routes of communications and introduce more compelling ways like using infographicsfor Earning calls, interactive maps to simulate a facility tour, contest to entrust that employees choices  are captured, conducting training modules over mobile platforms, launching an Employee TV- that has employee based episodes on their achievements, Story about a product launch—working teams and their experience on the website.
What`s your role as a storyteller—think like being a talent scout and find in those underleveraged emotional stories that could touch one`s heart. Enable their experience, rope in your employee base over an “Ambassador Program”and make them travel for company events, let them bring back their experience.
In the nutshell, experience and empathy are intertwined, have them  viewed from a different lens and you will get your story. And ensure to share to create more!