7 Wives & 1 Husband
A storytelling technique for Corporate Problems
Unfortunately, a husband had seven wives!
He kept trying to please each one of them, and keeping them all happy wasn’t easy (obviously!). Thankfully, he never had resource constraints, for he was the courtier and the King’s favorite.
Each of his wives had different personalities and needs. With time, he realised that he needed to understand each wife's perspective in order to keep everyone satisfied. He created a journal to write down their unique tastes, likes, dislikes, and things they are particular about. He essentially performed psychometric profiling.
After sufficient research, data collection, and exposure to risks, he created 1 to 2 word profile for each of them, and here’s how it looked:
First Wife - (WHO) She was extremely picky about WHO she interacted with, including their appearance, strengths, weaknesses, personality, value system, and so on. Naturally, this applied to him too. He had to make sure she got the best staff.
Second Wife - (WHERE) She was picky about places, locations, infrastructure, and so on, so he had to make sure she got the best palace, views, and vacation spots.
Third Wife - (WHEN) She was a WHEN person. For her, timing mattered a lot. Is it an auspicious moment? Is it an apt time to go for a walk? So she was time-sensitive.
Fourth Wife - (WHAT HAPPENED) She cared about the happenings around her. It could have been the best chef, the best restaurant, and the best occasion, but she would be put off if something went wrong in that moment. WHAT HAPPENED bothered her the most.
Fifth Wife - (WHAT NEXT) She didn’t care about any of the above but was only worried about the reactions, repercussions, and escalations. She was like a public relations officer.
Sixth Wife - (WHAT WORST) She was one of the most difficult people to handle. She always worried about the worst-case scenario. The climax—what happened or is likely to happen. So she’s the negative side of the fourth and fifth wives.
Seventh Wife - (WHY) She was indeed the most difficult to handle. Why this happened, why didn't you come, why, why, why! She needed justification.
The Husband - And our poor husband was a HOW individual. He had to give solutions. He someHOW got things done for each of his wives.
As a courtier, this came in handy. With time, he mastered the beautiful storytelling technique of 7W1H. He narrated his strategies and gave advice to the king and other courtiers by breaking it down into these 8 elements. It was comprehensive and engaging. He didn’t need PPTs :-)
7W1H storytelling technique
I tried the 7W1H storytelling technique for climate change:
Climate change affects everyone, regardless of race, gender, or location, but some populations are more vulnerable, such as those living in low-lying areas and developing countries (Who).
This is a global problem, but its impacts are not evenly distributed. For example, the Arctic is warming at twice the rate of the rest of the world, and island nations are particularly vulnerable to rising sea levels. (Where)
Climate change has been accelerating over the past few decades and is now more urgent than ever. According to NASA, the past five years have been the warmest on record, and 2020 was the hottest year ever recorded. (When)
Climate change is causing the average global temperature to rise, which has increased by 1 deg C in 100 years and it's having a profound impact on the planet and its inhabitants. (What)
Climate change is having a wide range of impacts, including rising sea levels (which have already risen by over 8 inches in the past century), more frequent and intense heatwaves, and increased frequency of extreme weather events, such as hurricanes and droughts. (What next)
The impacts of climate change are expected to become even more severe in the coming years. For example, by 2050, sea level will increase by 15 inches. In future, potentially catastrophic consequences for human health, food security, and the natural world are expected. A 250,000 additional deaths per year are expected from malnutrition, malaria, diarrhoea and heat stress (What worst)
Climate change is caused by human activities, such as burning fossil fuels, deforestation, and agriculture, that release large amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. These gases trap heat and cause the Earth's temperature to rise. (Why)
We can take action to mitigate climate change by reducing our greenhouse gas emissions and transitioning to clean, renewable energy sources. This can include individual actions, such as using public transportation, reducing energy use, and eating a more plant-based diet, as well as collective efforts, such as supporting government policies to address climate change. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), we need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45% from 2010 levels by 2030 to limit the impacts of climate change.
By taking action now, we can prevent the worst impacts of climate change and create a more sustainable and resilient future for ourselves and future generations. By working together, we can reduce our carbon footprint, promote sustainable development, and protect the health and well-being of the planet and its inhabitants. (How)
Storytelling with data is turning out to a crucial skill in today’s corporate world. How to keep the attendance on the topic without straying on schedule or objective and ultimately walking out with desirable agreement of stakeholders is the essence of storytelling now.
If you are interested to learn more about storytelling skills workshop for your team, please contact us at business.support@collaborat.com