Speaker: Abhimanyu Tiwari
Tell us about a time when storytelling had a positive impact on your work.
Abhimanyu Tiwari: Hi, everyone. Uh I wanted to talk about uh how story telling has helped uh me in my career or me as a US researcher to convince a product team. Uh because according to me, what I feel is uh storytelling can have positive impact on the work being done by a researcher in several ways. For example, it could help in simplifying complex messages. For example, if I have to present some uh use case scenario, uh I could get it uh presented to telling a story uh which could help in product team uh empathize more with that persona. And uh also uh they can relate or they can imagine themselves into the shoes of a user where they should be able to understand uh better uh scenario than just listening to the uh action points uh which has been my findings. So uh also uh storytelling helps in connecting with users on a deeper level. For example, uh a compelling story can have and the ups and downs of the emotions in it. And uh that could take audience uh in in such scenario where they should be able to uh consider themselves uh in that scene and they should be able to understand um the way users uh might be feeling being in that scenario. And um uh the third point which I wanted to add is like uh influencing user behavior by telling this story. Because by using our storytelling principles, uh UX designer can create experiences uh that resonate with user experience and motivation, um you know, which could help them take the actions into the design. Uh And uh finally, the, the, the final point is like creating positive brand experiences. Uh because when done, right, the storytelling can create a positive uh you know, brand experience and association between a user and the product. Um and that foster the brand loyalty. So specifically in uh in the world of UX, uh storytelling does have a deeper impact in terms of uh creating an empathy around the product or the design which you are doing or researching. And um it helps uh you know, creating persona in order to uh you know, take them through the journey, for example, uh defining the problem uh understanding uh the way or understanding the situation through which users goes into or, or, or um it could bring your audience in situation uh where you can explain the scenario with a compelling story. For example, if uh I'm doing an ethnographic study uh with a, with a few participants which has been selected for the study, um I can go with uh their uh environment in real time scenario and try to understand the way they uh accomplish their task. Uh And then I can bring back the story, create the scenario around um in office or with the product team uh to whom I need to present my result. And that way uh I should be able to uh do more justice uh in order to um bring their story and tell them as it is. Because as far as I understand the work of a researcher, a UX researcher is to uh is very similar to the archaeologist because they go um they dig um uh onto the sites and they try to present their findings the way they have discovered. And that is the beauty and uh uh of, of a UX researcher and also of archaeologist that they present, they represent the things uh it was discovered. And the same thing which I do in my experience where I bring back this story, I bring back the challenges faced by my user and I try to tell them in a compelling way so that my product team can empathize and designers could understand the situation and they can plan it out and they can build a create some product which could help the user overcome that situation or I would say do the task with less friction uh with less complexity they used to do with their uh own uh tools or into their own scenario. Thank you.
Is there anything you want to add about the previous story that you were not able to answer in the five-minute limit?
Abhimanyu Tiwari: I think that was all because I wanted to uh mention here that telling a story uh with the element uh which could uh connect with the user, which could help product team or design team uh understand uh their user or customer better. I think uh storytelling is the best way to do it. Uh because that can create uh a sense of attachment or that can make people stick to what you're speaking rather than um just listening to uh a mo uh speech which you are uh you know, providing in terms of uh just letting them know the findings that you have had on your project. So uh it kind of connects the dot And that's why storytelling is uh good in terms of if you wanted to convey any message to the team. Thank you.
Now, tell us another story. Tell us about a time when storytelling did not work as you planned/hoped.
Abhimanyu Tiwari: So here is another incident which I would like to share about uh storytelling which uh didn't work. So um there was a time when uh I had to present my research finding uh to the project stakeholders who were like a very senior level like senior executives or uh leadership team. And uh I had prepared myself to tell a compelling story which could uh describe about uh the users and the challenges they're facing the friction point we have and um the possible recommendations which could help um to talk or to improve that part into a design. And uh trust me, I was prepared with all the uh data points uh connected uh every dots and uh it was all good. But imagine what happened. I was uh I started with a background like imagine uh you uh as a person uh in user shoes and you are trying to accomplish one of the task but you are not able to do and what would you do in this scenario? And then I also described about a couple of scenarios um uh once you try in order to get that task accomplished. And after some time, I found out uh that uh most of the team members were not so much interested uh in order to uh carry forward and listen to that and be into that scenario. And then I realized that uh it's not about the story, but um it could be with the type of audience you are creating for because what I found out that I was uh talking to senior leadership uh that is uh sea level and they have very less time in order to understand and they hardly care about knowing what is us are going through because they are more concerned about companies top line. And uh I was at fault at that time because um I should know who are my audience accordingly. I should prepare my story and deliver. So that didn't go well. Uh So there is no problem with the story, but uh it's a problem with the target audience because uh a designer could uh see or hear a story in a different way than the product team and also the senior leadership because uh there is a different set of intention uh with all different teams. So first of all, knowing your target audience and then creating a story around it, uh could be one of the thing which could help in such scenario. Uh And you should also understand uh is your story having enough data points in order to back your story. And uh also should have a cue um which could attract uh users attention so that uh you should be able to uh you know, uh engage your audience and deliver a compelling story. So uh this is the scenario which I could remember. And uh I'm sure um I took good learning from there that uh you should always know your audience before you uh go ahead and prepare something for them. So I think uh that is the one scenario which I wanted to discuss the rest. I so far uh in my career as a UX researcher, storytelling has been a great help from uh interviewing candidates, interviewing myself for the other company. I, I tell a story of my cho graph uh in order to uh let interfere know about my journey. Uh And that way, I think it adds value uh to the listeners. So this is what I wanted to add. Thank you so much.
Is there anything you want to add about the previous story that you were not able to answer in the five-minute limit?
Abhimanyu Tiwari: I think that's all, uh, looks like I'm getting an error message to record video again and again and there is nothing on the screen through which I can exit.
Is there anything else you would like to tell us?
Abhimanyu Tiwari: I think I have share my story. Uh The storytelling is a great way to engage your audience and deliver uh a compelling data points. Um And, and there could be many element to it. For example, if you would like um your audience uh to be engaged, you should always bring some data points, some quotes from the user. And uh uh these are some of the few points which make them stick and understand because we all know that uh average uh human attention span is uh 8.25 seconds and um uh it's getting decreased. So it's very hard to um keep your um users engaged. So storytelling could be the savior. Thank you.
