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Creating lasting impacts through better storytelling
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T
he world is a busy place — full of both wonders and terrors. In the bustling heart of megapolitan Jakarta, where opportunities and ideas take flight, a silent revolution is underway.
The game changer? The age-old art of storytelling.
From the neighborhood gossip to business deals inked in skyscrapers, storytelling has kept the world – and heads – turning since time immemorial.
As someone who has been toiling in the creative and publishing industry for over 20 years, The Jakarta Post’s President and Chief Revenue Officer Maggie Tiojakin can tell you first-hand that the best storytellers she knows are among the fastest and most efficient “shakers and movers” in their respective fields – whether it be marketing, sales, information technology, science, education, et cetera.
“If I had a dollar for every time someone tries to convince me that stories are specifically reserved for fiction writing, or how stories are nothing more than puff pieces in the context of business and management – I’d be able to buy a very fancy yacht. Even better is when someone tells me the only purpose of storytelling in the business context is to ‘create product ads that make people cry.’,” she said.
Maggie acknowledged that while fiction does utilize storytelling and that some business executives often tell stories that conflate certain aspects of their organizations to win attention, storytelling, as a discipline, is much more nuanced and strategic than that.
In her professional experience, there are several clear benefits of implementing storytelling skills in her own line of work.
First, stories have an unparalleled ability to move people to action. Whether you’re a salesperson aiming to close a deal, a manager seeking to motivate your team or an entrepreneur pitching your start-up, storytelling can be your most persuasive tool.
Second, great leaders are great storytellers. Your ability to convey your vision, values and mission through stories can rally your team and inspire them to achieve greatness.
Third, stories can help you navigate some of the toughest challenges you’re facing with grace – negotiation, critical decision, crisis – and turn adversity into opportunity.
The good news is, storytelling is not an elusive talent reserved for a select few. It can be cultivated and sharpened with the right tools and within the right learning environment.
Maggie, who has been teaching creative writing and effective communication for both public audiences and business executives since 2012, said people had come up to her asking for her insights on implementing storytelling in their daily strategic briefings or decision-making journey.
“So, I thought, why not do a live workshop instead?”
And thus, STORYCRAFT.
To be held at The Jakarta Post Building from Nov. 13 to 14, the two-day workshop is designed to tell the story of storytelling, using Maggie’s own experiences in using storytelling skills at work and analyzing the building blocks of what make good stories great.
The journey crafted for this workshop is highly experiential, filled with simulations and group exercises – the only way you can build, test and tell your own stories.
“Discover the art and psychology of storytelling, craft narratives that motivate and inspire, and learn from my personal insights gained through years of storytelling adventures. I look forward to helping you unlock the storyteller within.”
To register and find out more about STORYCRAFT, click here or text Bagas at +62 812 1953 3519
