Casablanca - StartUp Weekend Women is part of the Startup Weekend Morocco Conference, a 54-hour program of action and innovation. In its second annual event, which ran from November 20th until the 22nd, Morocco World News met Giselle Hardt, the owner of Talktolead and Talktolead Academy. These organizations present storytelling and public speaking projects. In this women-centered edition, the Brazilian speaker gave us an overview about Storytelling.
Casablanca – StartUp Weekend Women is part of the Startup Weekend Morocco Conference, a 54-hour program of action and innovation. In its second annual event, which ran from November 20th until the 22nd, Morocco World News met Giselle Hardt, the owner of Talktolead and Talktolead Academy. These organizations present storytelling and public speaking projects. In this women-centered edition, the Brazilian speaker gave us an overview about Storytelling.
MWN: What is storytelling about?
Storytelling is a narrative technique that has existed since the creation of human language. People who use this technique aim to communicate better by telling a structured story targeting a specific audience. This technique makes the transmission, learning, and memorizing of stories easier.
MWN: Storytelling is increasingly used in advertising campaigns of well-known brands. What do you think of this?
Storytelling is massively used in advertising, in marketing and in the political world because it is effective. Now, you must know how to use it and how to stay honest and authentic with the stories you tell.
MWN: In the political world, how do you measure its effectiveness?
I think that it can be easily measured, first by the election results, as these are facts, but also by public feedback.
MWN: On what basis is storytelling created?
To create a story, it is important to involve the public. The public should contribute to the creation and the evolution of the story. The story is never finished. It is fed every day, especially by the public. This exchange between, for example, a political party and its target audience will determine the image and the history of the party from its initial message.
MWN: Is storytelling important for designing a brand’s content?
Yes, it is very important because all the messages that stem from a brand, a company or a public figure are based on a story. We always like to hear or read a story rather than seeing numbers or graphs.
MWN: Are stories that talk about heroes, builders and antagonists, which are usually based on similar plotlines, likely to satiate the public? How could we avoid this classic pattern?
There are several narrative schemes. A story can tell the adventure of a hero in a chronological pattern. There are other stories where one starts with the end point first and then demonstrates how we arrived there. There are also some stories which are included in other ones. One can also vary the stories just by reducing them. For example, some brands do not say that they offer a service but rather the joy of life and energy. This could be also a story, which means that you do not have to say A plus B equals C.
MWN: Does storytelling fit in the epic literary register (action) or the lyrical register (emotion)?
Storytelling is based mainly on the emotional aspect. This does not mean that we must make people cry. The two biggest emotions that make us act are fear and desire. It is simple. When I say that there is a great opportunity, I create desire. When I say that all of my competitors will do this in 5 years if I am not moving, I create a sense of fear. We must know how to use emotions as storytelling stands for persuasion.
MWN: How do you assess the skill level of Startup Weekend Women?
I met some awesome girls at the first Startup Weekend Women Edition and I kept in contact with the winners. I had the opportunity to give lectures in Morocco and elsewhere thanks to these participants. Moroccan girls have the desire to improve their skills in the entrepreneurial field. They have creativity and a lot of courage. They dare and do not hesitate. I think they will have good opportunities in the future.
MWN: What advice do you have for them?
They should forget negative people. For example, when a student gets a scholarship to continue her studies in Canada, some people will tell her that it’s great, but others will tell her that she will be away from family and friends will miss her or that it is too cold. These “dark clouds” follow us and we all have them in our environment. Clear these black clouds or leave them around you, but do not listen to this kind of people because it is about their fears that are reflected onto others.
