Welcome to the Story Rules Content Hub – the second best resource to learn all about storytelling techniques for work (after ‘Story Rules‘, my comprehensive book on the topic!).
In this Hub, Here’s where you get rich storytelling examples, analyses, viewpoints, interview nuggets, visuals, quotes, and much, much more. To find out how you can make the most of this resource, please watch this 12-minute video.
You can explore this (for now free!) resource in four ways:
Today I’m sharing an old article that I wrote – back in early 2015, when I was figuring out what to do after leaving my job at an NGO. I briefly flirted with blogging, but then moved on to co-found a startup focused on history storytelling. During that period of blogging, I wrote something about the role of probability and how our struggle with it defines such a large part of what we do. This piece is written from the point of view of organised religion – but it applies to a lot of aspects of life. Look forward to your thoughts …
My dad loves listening to talks and lectures on spirituality. He often shares little-known stories from the unending storehouse that is Indian mythology. Recently he shared a fascinating story about Goddess Saraswati – the Hindu Goddess of Learning and Music (about whom I hadn’t heard very many stories)! It is a little known side-story from the epic Ramayana. As we all know, Lord Rama was an avatar of Lord Vishnu, sent down on earth to vanquish and kill Ravana, the ten-headed king of Lanka. Now here’s an interesting theory in this version of the story: When God comes down on …
A few months back I had written the “3R” framework for thought leadership: Read, Reflect and (W)rite. I, ahem, reflected on it since then… and realised that it was missing a few key pieces. So here is my revised thought-leadership model, conveniently christened as the 5Cs Framework. In order to be a thought leader, you need to: Consume – Cerebrate – Confer – Create – Coach Let’s dive in. 1. Consume: Reading is, of course, critical. But just ‘reading’ is too narrow. Different people get their information in different ways. Some prefer visual inputs, while others like to listen to stuff. Do what …
Today being the first Saturday of the month, it is time for my content recommendations – a book, a podcast, articles and videos. Let’s get started 1. Books a. ‘The Psychology of Money’ by Morgan Housel Once in a while, you come across a book, that makes you think – damn, I wish I had read it when I was younger. A book that you’d like to gift to everyone you know. A book that takes a universal topic (money) and uncovers counter-intuitive wisdom, using data and some carefully curated stories. And a book, which makes for a fascinating …
“I think health advisories about eating and drinking are all made up. My uncle enjoyed having fried food, drank like a fish and smoked often. He lived to a ripe old age of 87. My aunt, on the other hand, was a teetotaler and used to go for her daily walks. And yet she passed away because of a heart attack at 62!” ”I don’t think we should invest in Madhya Pradesh. My cousin had a tough time getting his approvals for a factory in Jabalpur“ “Nepotism exists in all sectors. Have you not heard of doctor/lawyer families? And by …
I was in two minds about writing this story. It’s the story of my journey of revamping Story Rules’ brand identity. On one hand, I feel it’s worth sharing since it contains lessons that can be applied by anyone looking to build their personal/corporate brand. On the other hand, talking so much about myself in a post makes me squirm a lot. Some parts are decidedly ‘salesy’, and not the kind of stuff that would normally go in this story-letter. But eventually, I thought that the benefits outweigh the cons. Let me know if you think otherwise 🙂 Here goes. …
Today being the first Saturday of the month, it is time for my content recommendations – a book, a podcast, articles and videos. Let’s get started 1. Book a. ‘Content Trap’ by Bharat Anand How important is a product’s quality to its success? You’d say, its the most important thing! Customers would always buy a higher quality product over a lower one. Right? Wrong. It depends on the connections that the product leverages. Consider Apple. The Macbook in the late 80s and early 90s was clearly superior to any Windows machine. And yet it struggled. Here’s the author, Prof. Anand: ‘Imagine …
I’ve been listening to a lot of podcasts lately – the quality of conversations is truly mind-blowing in some. And to think that it is all free… (Enjoy it while it lasts – subscription-only models may be coming soon). In this month’s edition, I review a podcast that shares some absolutely gobsmacking stories from previous disasters that have plagued humanity (literally) … and what we can learn from them. But the first recommendation is the book of the month – a fun and insightful read. 1. Book: a. ‘The Catalyst: How to Change Anyone’s Mind’ by Jonah Berger: In Thailand, …
If you could resurrect one person from the past to deal with the Covid-pandemic, who would it be? For me, there’s only one answer: Dr. Hans Rosling. Unfortunately, on 7-February, 2017, the world lost this gem of a man – who was incredibly talented, insanely driven and a superb storyteller to boot … But he left behind an unparalleled legacy. Probably the most enduring part of that legacy for me? Not his much loved TED videos (which are brilliant of course)… His most important legacy is a massively important, fascinating and superbly-readable book: Factfulness. (Hat tip to Meghna Pal for the recommendation. Incidentally, even after the …
Ravi is a storytelling coach and consultant. He is a Chartered Accountant… But wait, that’s not how a story begins. This is how it does: Once upon a time, a boy was bornTo a creative mom and a structured dadShy and socially awkward was his normWhen lost in books, he was most glad Comics, novels and thrillers he’d enjoyThen it was non-fiction, especially historyMovies and music were a source of joyLater he realised – all were forms of story Writing also made him keenTo express his thoughts in clear prosePerhaps in an alternate life he may have beenA history prof, …
