Storytellers at Heart
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Advocating for the discipline of Storytelling, its relationship and application to diverse areas, business, non-profit, and leadership, puts Brifiworks on a constant quest for distinctive voices who contribute to amplifying the meaning of stories in our lives and why they are central to the human’s existence.
In 2017, Jason Miller’s former LinkedIn marketing manager, published an article about The Rise of Storytelling Marketing, showcasing staggering numbers of marketers branding, or rebranding, themselves as Storytellers. But while the connection between marketing and Storytelling may be legitimate for both disciplines to meet in the field of communication, not all storytellers are true at heart.
The intrinsics of a storyteller rely on understanding human nature and self-awareness, and the ability to empathise and show compassion to others.
From Shy Stutter to Successful Business Founder
Once a stammer as a young boy, reserved and shy, Ameen Haque found his voice through reading comics and listening to other people’s stories while practising speech and acting at the drama club. In one of his most famous appearances on Talks at Google – the first result shown on YouTube when searching for Storytelling Business – Ameen enchants the audience with his personal story first, what lead him to become a professional storyteller, and describes the power of Storytelling applied to business later.
Today Ameen is the founder of Storywallahs. He and his team train leaders and entrepreneurs in Storytelling around the world, crafting narratives and using story and story-based frameworks to help organisations navigate change and inspire action along with desired goals.
Brifiworks got into a conversation with Ameen Haque and asked him about the role of stories in our lives and the practice of Storytelling in Business.
“The best leaders lead because they care about people, and they teach through their actions by telling AND living the story.”
Here Are Brifiworks’ Five Questions To Ameen Haque
Brifiworks: Ameen, What is your favourite story?
Ameen: There are so many of them. My mother’s life story: a self-made woman who rebuilt her life after losing her dad and did it all over again after her divorce and brought us up single-handedly while juggling a very demanding career as a professor at a college. Her story shows courage, sacrifice, love, and above all, grit and determination. It’s one of the best stories of feminism I have seen in my life.
There’s, however another one dear to me. It tells about the legend of a French Monastery known across Europe for the exceptional leadership of a man known as Brother Leo. Several monks took a pilgrimage to visit this extraordinary leader to learn from him. Starting on the pilgrimage, they almost immediately begin to argue over who should do certain chores. On the third day of their journey, they met another monk also going to the monastery; he joined them. This monk never bickered about doing chores and did them dutifully. And when the others would fight about which chores to do, he would volunteer to do them himself. On the last day of their journey, others began to follow his example, and the bickering stopped. When the monks reached the monastery, they asked to see Brother Leo. The man who greeted them laughed. “But our brother is among you!” And he pointed to the fellow that had joined them.
Many seek positions in leadership to serve their agenda of power, status, networking, and money. But the best leaders lead because they care about people. And those are the types of leaders that lead like Brother Leo. They teach through their actions, not by words alone.
Brifiworks: What ‘Big picture’ did you have in mind when you founded Storywallahs?
Ameen: I mostly had three ideas in mind: helping teachers to become better storytellers, telling stories to children at bookstores, under a tree, at a literature festival, at schools, at libraries, anywhere and everywhere, and supporting leaders, change-makers, social sector professionals, and innovators become better storytellers and help them tell their stories to the world.
Thankfully, Storywallahs turned out well, and we have been able to do all of the above. I have told stories to children in Abu Dhabi, Singapore, Malaysia, and all over India. We managed to work with change-makers in Brazil, Kenya, U.S.A., Switzerland, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and India. I am grateful for the journey we had; however, it didn’t happen overnight. It took much time, patience, hardworking and much luck.
“To become a good storyteller, you need to be a good listener first, so listen to your stakeholders and you will know which story to tell.”
Brifiworks: What is the role of sharing a personal story in the context of what storytelling can do for business leaders? In other words, how much skin should we show within a larger narrative?
Ameen: A good leader uses his personal story as a means to an end to inspire, explain his actions or beliefs, and sometimes to forge a connection, i.e. to build common ground. A bad leader uses a personal story as an end in itself for getting the story should help others and not himself. Both Barack Obama, from the political scene, and Indira Nooyi from the corporate world, come to mind as good examples of leaders who use their personal story in a measured, yet impactful tone. Both Gandhi and Martin Luther King used their personal narrative to significant effect during their leadership stints. Remember: a leader’s actions speak louder than his words, and the story needs to be authentic and coherent to the leader’s actions and values.
Sadly the world does not lack narcissistic leaders so self-obsessed with their own story that they appear boastful, full of themselves, and with little regard for others. We should never underestimate the impact leaders have on organisations.
Brifiworks: Storytelling has started to resonate within the business and non-profit world for a few years. Where do you see the future of storytelling?
Ameen: I am not surprised. If you have to change the world, you have to change the story the world believes. It is no surprise that leaders and change-makers are embracing Storytelling. In a world cluttered with too much data, attention spans have become extremely low, and the story has become the best way to cut through the clutter, inspire action and connect with an audience.
Humans have always communicated through stories. In the early days, we used to sit around the fire and tell stories; nowadays, social media and boardrooms have become the new bonfires. The informal and intimate language used is quite revelatory.
Brifiworks: What kind of advice will you give to aspiring storytellers in business?
Ameen: If you want to be a good storyteller, practice telling stories to young children. If you can tell stories to children, you can tell stories to anyone. Young kids are just like CEOs – they have low attention spans, and they are brutally honest in terms of your feedback – if you can learn how to keep them engaged, CEOs will be a cakewalk. But to become a good storyteller, you need to be a good listener first, so listen to your stakeholders, and you will know which story to tell. Last but not least, read a lot. Readers make better leaders, and better storytellers too.
Ameen Haque’s generosity confirmed his warm and compassionate nature. Brifiworks joins Ameen’s words to inspire future storytellers so that the power of stories can continue to thrive and elevate the human’s soul.