Summary of Session 1 – Vaishnavi Venkat

When reading the title The Art And Science of Storytelling for Leadership , one might wonder how storytelling can create a meaningful impact ? To shed light on this, Rtn. Pradeep Yuvaraj, MD & CEO of Prezantim, kicked off the first session of As I Evolve Season 24-25 with his dynamic and captivating presentation, leaving the audience inspired and energized.

The session began with an icebreaker, where students from 17 different institutions switched seats to encourage interaction and foster a more relaxed, collaborative atmosphere.

A Harvard survey was mentioned, revealing that storytelling and creative thinking—not just talent, skills, or technical knowledge—are key traits of effective leaders.

To engage the audience, a relatable scenario was presented: How do you decide whether to watch a newly released movie? The common answers were trailers and previews, leading to a thought-provoking question: Why did you choose to spend 45 minutes of your valuable time here today, listening to the story of Pradeep Yuvaraj, the narrator himself?

PROLOGUE:

To convince the audience, the narrator decided to share his personal story:

It all began with the inspiration from the book he read Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki, his initial instinct was to carve his own path and become his own boss—an entrepreneur, determined to take control of his future and establish something huge.Fueled by his new dream,he left his stable job and returned home, filled with ambition ,but the reality hit hard when he was met with the inevitable question from those around him: “Have you lost your mind!?”

Society, after all, has a way of imposing its expectations. Get a steady job, earn a good salary, avoid unnecessary risks—that’s the path we’re often told to follow. Yet, he knew that wasn’t the path for him. With courage he started the venture of designing race bikes, a company which did not reach great heights and recurred a huge loss at the age of 27, which was his first business that ended in failure. To many, his failure seemed like a crime, and he was even tagged as a “serial entrepreneur.” However, he emerged determined to never give up and keep trying.

This led to the conclusion that 95% of people who try something new will fail on their first attempt. However, the most important thing is to wipe off the failure and move ahead, which is synonymous with the popular American saying: “Fail fast to win faster.”

THE LESSONS

The narrator described three important lessons to learn to become a better leader:

• Complex versus Simple Debate: We grow up in a society that teaches us to look at things in a complex manner, but time and again, the world is ruled by those who find simple solutions.
• The 360 degree perspective –

99% of the time, the answers to our problems are right in front of us. However, because we look at them with a narrow perspective, we don’t see the solutions we need. Thus, when faced with a problem, view it from all perspectives.

3) Don’t Assume:

A common reason why people give complex answers is the assumption that the next question is going to be difficult. In reality, the question may be very simple. Therefore, do not assume things.

WHY DO WE NEED STORIES ?

Because stories help people remember what we said long after we’ve left. Stories are the greatest ways to change the world. Stories are the greatest ways to lead people.

Thus storytelling is not the art of reciting stories; it is the art of passing a message in the form of a story

WHAT ARE THE COMPONENTS OF A GOOD STORYTELLING ?

• SIMPLE: Easy to convey.
• MAKE ABSTRACT IDEAS CONCRETE.
• CONVERT FACTS INTO EMOTIONS.
• BRING CONSISTENCY WITH THE UNEXPECTED.
• ADD CREDIBILITY: The more details you provide, the more believable it becomes.

Last But not the least ….

The story session beautifully derived the meaning of SUCCESS through the art of storytelling.

To breakdown:

S – SIMPLE
U – UNEXPECTED
C- CREDIBLE
C- CONCRETE
E – EMOTIONAL
S – STORY FORM

All these attributes are the elements that a story contains. It’s no surprise that leaders worldwide use storytelling—it’s a powerful and effective way to embed their ideas and messages in people’s minds, ensuring they resonate long after they’ve been shared.