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High-stakes communication matters

High-stakes communication events matter

You need to deliver a critical business review presentation, a client pitch, a town-hall talk or an industry forum speech.

You know that if you nail it, you can drive a ton of impact. Get your key project approved. Land a deal. Raise funding. Inspire your team.

You need to put your best foot forward

Storytelling can help you win

By applying the ancient yet timeless techniques of storytelling, you can engage, inspire and convince your audience – and drive them to action.

These skills are learnable

So, you don’t consider yourself a “born storyteller”? Don’t fret – there’s no such thing.

Storytelling is very much a learnable skill – and by thoughtful application of its tools and techniques, you can derive unending benefits at work.

Including in that crucial business review presentation!

Holistic, Customised Course offerings

Whatever your work storytelling needs, we’ve got you covered!

Consulting, Analytics and Data Science

Data storytelling to drive clarity, engagement and impact – and to get those recommendations accepted.

Finance/Business reviews

Quarterly business reviews don’t have to be dull data-dumps. Learn how to energise them through narrative driven storytelling.

One-on-one Coaching for Leaders

CXOs need to be able to tell their own story and that of their organisations in a clear, engaging and inspiring way. Learn through customized coaching sessions.

Technology

Just because your work is complex, does not mean your story has to be. Learn how to craft simple yet impactful stories that drive your audiences to act.

Other functions

Operations, Sales and marketing, HR – all functions need to be able to tell their story with impact. Learn how to do so through customised courses.

Online course

Want to take your learning into your own hands? Explore the e-learning versions of my storytelling course.

Hi, I'm Ravi. And I can help you tell a great story at work.

I stumbled into the vast and fascinating world of storytelling after a career that spanned finance, consulting, the social sector and … a startup that tried to make history interesting to tourists (it didn't really pick up!). You can read more about my background and story here

Through my Content Hub

Learn about storytelling techniques

5. General

ChatGPT is a photocopier

🐦 3 Tweets of the week Questioning someone’s sense of certainty can be tough for their self-esteem! I’m not a pets person, but uff, this ad will bring a lump …

5. General

Of Skeumorphism and bullshit in science

🐦 3 Tweets of the week If there’s one tweet thread you read this week, make it this one about skeumorphism – a concept that we dont talk about enough, …

5. General

Introducing: 3-2-1 by Story Rules

🐦 3 Tweets of the week They say journalism is the first draft of history, and first drafts are supposed to be shitty. This tweet offers a good question to …

ChatGPT is a photocopier

🐦 3 Tweets of the week Questioning someone’s sense of certainty can be tough for their self-esteem! I’m not a pets person, but uff, this ad will bring a lump to your throat… especially with that lovely twist in the tail. Meetings ^ ♾️. 📄 2 Articles of the week ​a. R Ashwin on Pujara (Cricinfo, as told to Sidharth Monga) In his lovely tribute to Cheteshwar Pujara, the articulate Ashwin entertains with his narration of specific incidents and the distilling of Pujara’s safety-first cricketing approach into these funny stand-up-comic-like takes: We joke that Puji’s dad, Arvind, didn’t teach him the whole sport of cricket. He has taught him this: there is a round object, it is red in colour, people will hurl it at you, and you have to hit it. Hit it in a way that the ball doesn’t fall far from your feet. The other aspects of the sport he doesn’t even see as cricket…In fact, we joke that his house doesn’t have a lock combination. His dad and his wife throw a few balls at him, and he has to knock them back along the ground. Only then is he allowed in. ​b. Disinflation by Prof. Scott Galloway​ A rapid economic history of the past 3 years in Prof G’s inimitable style. Among others, this chart was eye-opening: ​ 📖 1 long-form read of the week ​a. ChatGPT Is a Blurry JPEG of the Web by Ted Chiang​ A fascinating point of view on ChatGPT – about how it is not meant to be do original thinking, but just provide a grammatically-accurate and superficially clever regurgitation of material it picks from the web. In response to the thought that authors, writers, creators etc can use ChatGPT to build a first draft and then work on it, I loved this point of view of the writer: Your first draft isn’t an unoriginal idea expressed clearly; it’s an original idea expressed poorly, and it is accompanied by your amorphous dissatisfaction, your awareness of the distance between what it says and what you want it to say. That’s what directs you during rewriting, and that’s one of the things lacking when you start with text generated by an A.I. That’s all from this week’s edition.

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Of Skeumorphism and bullshit in science

🐦 3 Tweets of the week If there’s one tweet thread you read this week, make it this one about skeumorphism – a concept that we dont talk about enough, but one that has significant impact on life. (PS: Follow the Cultural Tutor on Twitter – you cannot go wrong). A nuanced take on the Adani saga. A corollary: The purpose of life is to avoid experiencing things for which you will later experience regret. 📄 2 Articles of the week ​a. The spectacle of Shubman Gill by Sidharth Monga​ Just like Shubman Gill’s quick reflexes slow down the game for him, Sid Monga’s keen story sense slows it down for the reader ​b. ‘The Fleishman Effect: In a city of Rachels and Libbys, the FX show has some New York moms worried they’re the ones in trouble’ by Caitlin Moscatello​ At one level most of us are far removed from the world of the New York elite – but read through this evocative piece and you will find some commonalities. Extract: “I get up at 6 a.m., and I work until she wakes up, then I do breakfast and get her ready, then the nanny comes, I work all day, I relieve the nanny, and then get back on my computer and work until midnight after my daughter goes to sleep. I do that every day,” she says. “And it’s still not enough” 🎤 1 podcast episode of the week ​a. ‘Why There Is So Much Bullshit in Science’ on Plain English by Derek Thompson​ In the episode Derek makes the startling assertion that despite rising spends and publications, the quality of scientific progress has fallen. He attributes it to several factors: primarily a messed up incentive structure that prioritises paper publishing over genuine breakthroughs, high existing burden of knowledge making general research difficult, a paradox of choice in reading existing research sources and bigger team sizes leading to dis-economies of scale. That’s all from this week’s edition. Please let me know what you think of the new format.

Read More

Introducing: 3-2-1 by Story Rules

🐦 3 Tweets of the week They say journalism is the first draft of history, and first drafts are supposed to be shitty. This tweet offers a good question to ponder. This LinkedIn profile is a great example of boiling down a job to its simplest essence. Shreyas has a point – though the Sunday evening blues never fully go away, at least for me. 📄 2 Articles of the week ​a. The Attention Span. “Weight of the World.”​ A thought-provoking piece that builds on this quote by Jess McGawley: “Parents are good at preparing the money for the person, they are often less good at preparing the person for the money.” ​b. Everything You Can’t Have by Morgan Housel​ Your brain does not crave new stuff like cars, clothes and cottages – it craves dopamine. 🎤 1 podcast episode of the week ​a. Building for Tomorrow by the a16z podcast​ Jason Feifer of the brilliant Build for Tomorrow podcast summarises his recent book and shares six ideas about how you can adapt better to change (and influence others too). That’s it – a short and hopefully sweet beginning to the ‘3-2-1 by Story Rules’ series. Please let me know what you think of the new format. And yes, please share with me your request for long-form posts on storytelling and recommendations for podcast guests!

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Testimonials

Some kind words from Clients

Ravi knows the science behind the story. His is a simple repeatable and scalable approach that brings real results.
Kevin Ignatius
KPMG Management Consulting
Venture capital is quite complex to understand for a new investor. Ravi put-in enormous effort in studying our subject and made the pitch simple and articulate with investor benefits highlighted in every sentence
CEO
YourNest Angel Fund
This is the best training I have attended at my company. The facilitator was the best ever (that I have encountered).
Participant
Leading Analytics Firm
Ravi is a master of storytelling. Lots of people have the ability to take your idea and create a great story. Very few people can take an already great story and make it 'wow'. Ravi did that magic for our speakers during TEDxPune 2019. Highly recommended if you want to make your Story Rule!
Ashwin Naik
Serial Entrepreneur, TEDx Pune Leader
We could observe vast improvement in all the presentations given by the business heads…. Once again, you have gone above and beyond in your efforts to bring out the best in each of them!
Senior HR Rep
InterGlobe Air Transport
I have had Ravi to come to my organization for more than once for Business Storytelling. Highest recommendation from my side. We have highly benefited from his structured and creative workshop!
Senior HR Leader
Amdocs
Ravi worked with finance team in Medtronic India during mid 2020, after I reached out to him for help. He took multiple sessions through video calls in the most simplistic manner and followed up with short group sessions to clear doubts to my team. His approach of story telling is not only unique, but simple enough for everyone to understand. It's been six months since the session, I can clearly see marked improvement in the way my team including myself think on the story even though we have only numbers to present.
Vineet Jain
CFO, Medtronic India and COE Pricing, Asia-Pacific

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