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 born
To a creative mom and a structured dad
Shy and socially awkward was his norm
When lost in books, he was most glad

Comics, novels and thrillers he’d enjoy
Then it was non-fiction, especially history
Movies and music were a source of joy
Later he realised – all were forms of story

Writing also made him keen
To express his thoughts in clear prose
Perhaps in an alternate life he may have been
A history prof, a journalist, a writer – who knows?

But life’s more practical and so he qualified
As a Chartered Accountant (with a rank to boot)
But while the numbers and financials he could ride,
He realised, as a career, it wasn’t a hoot

An MBA from IIM-A gave him wider exposure
To business domains of Ops, HR, Marketing
His real learning happened however
During 7-years of management consulting

He still (tries to) think, talk and write MECE
And never fails to ask the “So What”
It’s a skill that he felt ‘at home’ with, you see
And in his training career it’s helped him a lot

But after 7-years with for-profits, he yearned for impact
And joined a social enterprise that trained the young
His 3-year stint taught him a great deal in fact
But the over-dependence on the government stung

So he moved on, and life took a different direction
His love for history made him co-found a start-up
CaptivaTour: to tell monument stories, engaging and fun
It got great reviews (but no revenues), so that was a wrap-up

While working on CaptivaTour, he met someone
Who trained corporate leaders, which was interesting
A session on Effective Data Analysis was his first one
And he realised, hang on – this could be working!

Data Analysis soon evolved into Storytelling
And it was when writing a content guide
For CaptivaTour’s stories’ better writing
That he had an epiphany and realised

It doesn’t matter whether it’s science, history or finance
Compelling stories can be found everywhere
Stories which share common principles – perchance
Just the knowledge of these principles is rare

And so that boy of a structured dad and a creative mom
Decided to become a lifelong story-nerd
And help others get a better outcome
Using the power of that magical five-letter word:

Story.

Oh, and they learnt happily ever after. 🙂

And now, time to begin with your stories…