By Silvy Kalra
December 18, 2020
I recently completed a 6-week course on the ‘Art and Science of Communications’ by IMD business school. This course has been the best program I have participated in this year. It taught me valuable insights and helped me redraft the communications strategy of my non profit initiative FightHer. Sharing a few incredible learnings from the program below:
- Focus on PACK: Purpose, audience, channels, and key messages
- Make your messaging clear, credible, and compassionate
- Map your stakeholders – The stakeholders include decision makers (corporates, institutions and government), society (key opinion leaders and media), partners/donors and industry leaders
- Screen the stakeholders by looking for attitudes towards your sector/company, aligning statements of purpose and interest, finding existing alliances, and looking at potential impact
- Bifurcate your stakeholders: Allies, opposers, fence sitters, adversaries, and confederates
- Customize advocacy efforts for local, regional and global stakeholders
- Make networks that link people: Finding similarities create connections
- No human means no story
- Storytelling key points: Problem, person, situation, and solution
- Stories make people stop and listen, Facts prove but stories move!
- Having courageous conversations is a key skill needed for leaders and their ability to run teams effectively. Is Your Team Trusting or Just Polite? Four Steps to Ensure a Trusting Corporate Culture By IMD Professor Ben Bryant.
- Speak with a cool head and a warm heart! – Tetra CEO
Grateful to Susan Goldsworthy, Sudhanshu Sarronwala, Rolf and my coach Michela Andrenachi for helping me on this storytelling journey. A special thanks to Phillips Morris International and Atlas Corps for the opportunity.
