Storytelling as an Effective Design Tool 

 Challenge & Selection 

 Completing bachelors and masters with good teaching experience , I understood the necessity   to update myself with new concepts related to my field ie . , Management . This led me to pursue   my 2nd MBA ( Imagineering ) from the Netherlands – master ’s in Business Innovation from   Experience Perspective . This was the first time I came to know about Design Thinking and   different design tools like Storytelling , visualization , world café , gamification , Lego etc . I was   enthusiastic when learned and was excited to practice . As part of study assignment , I was given   a project in one of the municipalities in Belgium . 

 The challenge here was the inactive city centre , where many entrepreneurs were shutting down   their business and the centre was soon to be life less with very less shopping and activity   around . The municipality tried some strategies to fix , but no positive results were seen . This   project was assigned to us through our professor and had a chance to practice the concepts   practically . In the creative sessions with the stakeholders ( municipality , businessmen ,   customers , suppliers , shop keepers , citizens ) , I used Storytelling as one of the design tools and   found it useful and effective to unlock the complexities in sharing their feelings with others , to   understand , discuss and solve the problems . 

 Application 

 As the first step in Design Thinking , before I begin , I searched in internet about the   municipality , city and city centre and tried collecting some needed data . As a next step , I visited   the city as a visitor and tried to observe the place , people , resources etc . This gave me   information to see and understand the problem . As mentioned in Design Thinking for Growth ,   I understood that the problem in the city was complex and there is necessity to use Design   Thinking . During the interaction with an employee of municipality , I noticed that there is a   communication gap between the stake holders , which led me to the first step - ( What is ? ) . As   a facilitator , it is important to ensure a healthy and positive environment in the creative sessions   so that the participants will participate and move towards solving the problem , else the   discussion will lead to blaming others , with negative vibrations resulting in conflicts . 

 To start with , I downloaded and printed papers with quotes on “ Appreciation ” and arranged   through out the way to the session room , so that the stakeholders , will read while entering the   room . This was planned with an intention to create a positive environment . After an ice breaker   ( to make the stakeholders comfortable and know each other ) , I requested each participant to   pick up a picture and think about why they have selected that picture for 3 minutes . The pictures   I selected were the sceneries , buildings and old monuments and important structures of the city ,   where all the people living and working there can have an emotional connection . Then the   actual practice of story telling was seen . Each participant started talking for 15 mins . about   what made he / she to select a picture and the stories behind them . While sharing their stories , a   civilian who was 75 years shared the story of a historic monument , which was build when he 

 was a child and told the story and importance of the structure , an entrepreneur shared an   experience with a customer which made him happy , a shop keeper shared his attachment with   the street and centre , another citizen spoke about her memories and connection with the place .   This was possible by posing some questions to trigger the positive activity in their brains . The   questions were 1 . What made you select that picture . 2 . What kind of attachment and memories   you associate with the place . 3 . What kind of memories you would like to share with your next   generations . 4 . What are the special uniqueness in your city . When each participant was sharing   their stories , I noted down their view , also noting their emotional connection and what positive   they can see . After which , I have used thematic analysis to frame the themes and connections .   The results were used as the start - up points for the next creative sessions . 

 Insight & Approach 

 These questions made the participants to initiate the thought process , triggering the emotional   connections attached with the place from their sub - conscious brain . All the participants shared   their true stories and felt that emotional attachment with the place , realising the trueness and   opportunities of the place . The process of storytelling helped the participants to evoke their   memories , to discuss and understanding the actual problem that the place has many vibrations   and opportunities with uniqueness compared to other cities . They realized that all the   stakeholders are worthy and talented , but there was a communication gap between the   stakeholders and felt the necessity to create a collaborative Value to solve the present issue .   They also decided that , these sessions are more needed and to continue . The same story like in   the – “ Rethinking Subsidized Meals for the Elderly at The Good Kitchen ” , that collaboration   is needed , and co - creation will create value to everyone , which is acceptable , practicable and   implementable with satisfaction and the ease to improve the present . 

 This is the power of Storytelling . 

 When people are connected emotionally , it touches the heart , when heart is touched , it becomes   passion and passion drives people to success . This experience has taught me the importance of   storytelling , its usage and effectiveness – Share the knowledge and Care the success . I used   this approach in other projects and seen good results , also decided to use this in my future   projects . Storytelling , an effective design tool to unlock complexities . 


EMAIL: 
ID_NUM: 
NAME_STUDENT: 
PHONE_NUM: 
STREET_ADDRESS: 
URL_PERSONAL: 
USERNAME: 

### Task: You are a PII (Personal Identity Information) Detection. Given a essays written by students, you have to identify ONLY the following:
NAME_STUDENT - The full or partial name of a student that is not necessarily the author of the essay. This excludes instructors, authors, and other person names.
EMAIL - A student’s email address.
USERNAME - A student's username on any platform.
ID_NUM - A number or sequence of characters that could be used to identify a student, such as a student ID or a social security number.
PHONE_NUM - A phone number associated with a student.
URL_PERSONAL - A URL that might be used to identify a student.
STREET_ADDRESS - A full or partial street address that is associated with the student, such as their home address.
### Input: Storytelling as an Effective Design Tool 

 Challenge & Selection 

 Completing bachelors and masters with good teaching experience , I understood the necessity   to update myself with new concepts related to my field ie . , Management . This led me to pursue   my 2nd MBA ( Imagineering ) from the Netherlands – master ’s in Business Innovation from   Experience Perspective . This was the first time I came to know about Design Thinking and   different design tools like Storytelling , visualization , world café , gamification , Lego etc . I was   enthusiastic when learned and was excited to practice . As part of study assignment , I was given   a project in one of the municipalities in Belgium . 

 The challenge here was the inactive city centre , where many entrepreneurs were shutting down   their business and the centre was soon to be life less with very less shopping and activity   around . The municipality tried some strategies to fix , but no positive results were seen . This   project was assigned to us through our professor and had a chance to practice the concepts   practically . In the creative sessions with the stakeholders ( municipality , businessmen ,   customers , suppliers , shop keepers , citizens ) , I used Storytelling as one of the design tools and   found it useful and effective to unlock the complexities in sharing their feelings with others , to   understand , discuss and solve the problems . 

 Application 

 As the first step in Design Thinking , before I begin , I searched in internet about the   municipality , city and city centre and tried collecting some needed data . As a next step , I visited   the city as a visitor and tried to observe the place , people , resources etc . This gave me   information to see and understand the problem . As mentioned in Design Thinking for Growth ,   I understood that the problem in the city was complex and there is necessity to use Design   Thinking . During the interaction with an employee of municipality , I noticed that there is a   communication gap between the stake holders , which led me to the first step - ( What is ? ) . As   a facilitator , it is important to ensure a healthy and positive environment in the creative sessions   so that the participants will participate and move towards solving the problem , else the   discussion will lead to blaming others , with negative vibrations resulting in conflicts . 

 To start with , I downloaded and printed papers with quotes on “ Appreciation ” and arranged   through out the way to the session room , so that the stakeholders , will read while entering the   room . This was planned with an intention to create a positive environment . After an ice breaker   ( to make the stakeholders comfortable and know each other ) , I requested each participant to   pick up a picture and think about why they have selected that picture for 3 minutes . The pictures   I selected were the sceneries , buildings and old monuments and important structures of the city ,   where all the people living and working there can have an emotional connection . Then the   actual practice of story telling was seen . Each participant started talking for 15 mins . about   what made he / she to select a picture and the stories behind them . While sharing their stories , a   civilian who was 75 years shared the story of a historic monument , which was build when he 

 was a child and told the story and importance of the structure , an entrepreneur shared an   experience with a customer which made him happy , a shop keeper shared his attachment with   the street and centre , another citizen spoke about her memories and connection with the place .   This was possible by posing some questions to trigger the positive activity in their brains . The   questions were 1 . What made you select that picture . 2 . What kind of attachment and memories   you associate with the place . 3 . What kind of memories you would like to share with your next   generations . 4 . What are the special uniqueness in your city . When each participant was sharing   their stories , I noted down their view , also noting their emotional connection and what positive   they can see . After which , I have used thematic analysis to frame the themes and connections .   The results were used as the start - up points for the next creative sessions . 

 Insight & Approach 

 These questions made the participants to initiate the thought process , triggering the emotional   connections attached with the place from their sub - conscious brain . All the participants shared   their true stories and felt that emotional attachment with the place , realising the trueness and   opportunities of the place . The process of storytelling helped the participants to evoke their   memories , to discuss and understanding the actual problem that the place has many vibrations   and opportunities with uniqueness compared to other cities . They realized that all the   stakeholders are worthy and talented , but there was a communication gap between the   stakeholders and felt the necessity to create a collaborative Value to solve the present issue .   They also decided that , these sessions are more needed and to continue . The same story like in   the – “ Rethinking Subsidized Meals for the Elderly at The Good Kitchen ” , that collaboration   is needed , and co - creation will create value to everyone , which is acceptable , practicable and   implementable with satisfaction and the ease to improve the present . 

 This is the power of Storytelling . 

 When people are connected emotionally , it touches the heart , when heart is touched , it becomes   passion and passion drives people to success . This experience has taught me the importance of   storytelling , its usage and effectiveness – Share the knowledge and Care the success . I used   this approach in other projects and seen good results , also decided to use this in my future   projects . Storytelling , an effective design tool to unlock complexities .
### Output: 