High-stakes communication matters...

Storytelling Techniques can help you win

If you are in any mid-senior level leadership role in HR, you know one thing - high-stakes communication events matter.

These events could be functional reviews, stakeholder meetings, or new initiative presentations. If done well, they can drive a ton of impact.

But in today's world of exploding data-sets and plummeting attention spans, you realise one thing. It's not enough to just present information.

You need to tell a story with your data.

... especially if you present data for a living!

This course is ideal for the following audiences


  • HR Leaders

    Put your best foot forward during critical pitches and get audiences to approve your recommendations


  • HR Consulting and Analytics

    Present your findings to senior audiences with clarity and impact and persuade them to act


  • HR Executives

    Support your leaders with the right data-driven narratives and clear, visually-engaging slides

This course uses the comprehensive 'ABCD' Data Storytelling framework...

  • Align with your Audience: Understand your audience and set a strong story foundation with the right data and analysis

  • Build the Narrative: Craft insightful messages, build a coherent narrative and add the right engagement elements

  • Choose the right Charts: Choose simple charts, create intuitive slides and apply visual highlighting

  • Deliver with Impact: Leverage the audience's curiosity to engage their attention and deliver with impact

... applies it on a data-heavy HR Case Study

We use a detailed HR Case Study (on attrition analysis) to demonstrate the storytelling principles and take the learner through the entire journey - from analysed data to narrative crafting to the final presentation creation and delivery.

...and is facilitated by a 'battle-hardened' coach

A Story coach who drives impact through a balance of structure and creativity

Founder, Story Rules

Ravishankar Iyer

Storytelling is both a science and an art. You need to combine both ‘left-brain’ and ‘right-brain’ elements to make it work well.

I come from the world of numbers and business, given my past as a CA, MBA and management consultant (hey, don’t judge me… we all make mistakes!).

But I also understand and appreciate the importance of ‘right-brain’ elements - an understanding that flowered during history-storytelling startup days (don't ask).

So, essentially you get the holistic, complete picture about storytelling!
For more details about my profile please visit my LinkedIn page

(Here's the detailed Course curriculum)

  • 1

    Module 1: Introduction to the Course

    • Course Intro

    • Intro to the Case Study

    • Overview of approach

    • Story Objective and Starting point

    • Identifying the Starting Point for the case
  • 2

    Module 2: Finding the Messages - I

    • What is a 'Message'?

    • Can you differentiate between 'messages' and 'titles'?

    • The three functions of a message

    • Why you should use messages for every slide

    • How messages help in reducing audience time and effort

    • Writing the first message for the case

    • The 6W1H Framework for Story Flow

    • Applying the 6W1H Framework to the case - 1

    • Applying the 6W1H Framework to the case - 2

    • Introducing the Norm-Variance Principle

    • Example of use of norm-variance by Steve Jobs

    • How to use Norm-variance with data

    • Applying the norm-variance principle on the case
  • 3

    Module 3: Finding the Messages - II

    • Figuring out the root cause of attrition

    • Exploring reasons by various cuts: SBU

    • Exploring reasons by various cuts: City

    • Exploring reasons by various cuts: Dept

    • Exploring reasons by various cuts: Levels

    • Exploring reasons by various cuts: Gender

    • Exploring reasons by various cuts: Edu Tier

    • Exploring reasons by mixed cuts: Level + Gender
  • 4

    Module 4: Crafting the overall Narrative

    • Intro to Narrative building using the Pyramid Principle

    • Copying all messages from Excel to Word

    • Crafting the 1-3-9 Story Spine using the 6W1H Framework - 1

    • Crafting the 1-3-9 Story Spine using the 6W1H Framework - 2

    • Crafting the 1-3-9 Story Spine using the 6W1H Framework - 3

    • Adding another element of analysis to the case

    • The Exec Summary of your deck

    • Formats for 2 types of data stories
  • 5

    Module 5: Visuals: Chart choice and Slide Design

    • A key principle for choice of chart - 1

    • A key principle for choice of chart - 2

    • Quiz - Identify the right comparison factor

    • The Charts Cheat Sheet to choose charts

    • Choose the right charts for the data

    • Other visuals: 3 lessons from infographics

    • Applying the Chart Cheat Sheet on the Case messages - 1

    • Applying the Chart Cheat Sheet on the Case messages - 2

    • Comic-style slides to placing charts on the slide

    • Avoiding Type 1 and Type 2 errors

    • Quiz: identify the type of error

    • Debrief: Type 1 and Type 2 errors

    • Quiz: Identify the type of error
  • 6

    Module 6: Visuals: Decluttering and Visual Highlighting

    • Introducing the 3 steps to declutter charts and highlight the key message

    • How to declutter your charts

    • The Short term memory bottleneck

    • Learning visual hierarchy from Bollywood!

    • The audience benefits from visual hierarchy and how its used all around us

    • Applying the highlighting principle to our example

    • Applying the highlighting principle to tables

    • Creating our first slide - the Executive Summary

    • Creating charts for our narrative and applying highlighting principles

    • Making a Storyboard and figuring out placement on Slide

    • The final output after applying animation
  • 7

    Module 7: Deliver with impact and Conclusion

    • Preparing to present individual slides

    • How to transition between slides

    • The final presentation delivered

    • Wrap-up and further learning resources

A course that's been proven to work...

Ravi has successfully delivered this course across leading firms

...and has gotten rave reviews from clients

"Ravi knows the science behind the story. His is a simple repeatable and scalable approach that brings real results.”
Kevin Ignatius, KPMG Management Consulting

"His approach of storytelling is not only unique but simple enough for everyone to understand. It's been six months since the session, I can clearly see a marked improvement in the way my team (including myself) think about the story even though we have only numbers to present.”
Vineet Jain, CFO India and Pricing COE APAC, Medtronic

“We could observe vast improvement in all the review presentations given by the business heads…. Once again, you have gone above and beyond in your efforts to bring out the best in each of them!”
HR Leader, InterGlobe Air Transport

“Ravi is a master of storytelling. Lots of people have the ability to take your idea and create a great story. Very few people can take an already great story and make it ‘wow’. Ravi did that magic for our speakers”
Ashwin Naik, Serial Entrepreneur, TEDx Pune Leader

More questions? Great!

In case you have any questions other than these below, drop an email at [email protected]

  • How is this course different from your other self-paced course called 'Effective Storytelling with Data?

    The main difference is that this one is focused on HR.
    For that, the course uses a detailed HR Case study (in Excel) and goes through the entire data-storytelling concepts by applying them on the data set.
    So, through the course, you get a practical demonstration of every storytelling principle on a realistic data set and see it being converted from raw data to insights to a full-fledged data story presentation.
    You will also be given a copy of the Excel file to work on yourself as you go through the course concepts. Doing so you can also compare it with how I approach the same.
    Another point of difference for this course is that it is focused only on the most critical storytelling techniques - in the sense that I have edited out some non-critical ideas from other courses and kept it very tight.

  • I'm not sure if I can learn storytelling through a self-paced course (without live interaction with faculty and other students)

    That question is valid. This course will suit those who are self-driven about their learning needs.
    If you are someone who needs external push to learn, I wouldn't advise that you take this version of the course (My in-person workshops would be a better option for you then).
    Having said that, there are two reasons why this specific course will work as a self-paced course.
    1. It's a 'How' Course: Skill-based courses are of two types - the Whys and the Hows. The Whys motivate you to learn the topic and leave you to figure out the How yourself. The Hows go into immense amounts of detail into the tools, tactics and techniques that can help you in various work situations. This is a 'How' course. It is for serious students of this craft.
    2. It's comprehensive: My endeavour is to ensure that this course will meet all core requirements on this topic.
    Net-net, if you are self-driven, this course will transform your presentations and amplify your impact at work.

  • What if I start it and then become busy midway?

    Here's the deal. Don't think of this course as one that you have to "finish" at one go. There is no completion certificate. This is not a box to tick.
    This course will be your reference resource on everything to do with Data Storytelling for HR. The next time you have a high-stakes presentation coming up, browse through the topics and watch a few videos which seem relevant. Treat it as a reservoir of ideas that you can keep dipping into, to enhance your skills and impact at work.
    Remember, you have lifetime access to the course.

  • Would there be updates to this course and would I have access to them?

    Here's how I think about updates. I'm constantly updating my training material with the latest that I learn. This e-Course (2024) itself is an updated version of what I put out in earlier years.
    When you sign up for this course, you get lifetime access to all updates to the ESD self-paced course - and here's the important point - locked in at the price at which you got in!
    This course's price can go only one way, which is up. So yeah, you get all the updates to this e-Course for free, once you join.

  • The fee seems higher than typical online self-paced courses!

    On the contrary for the value it offers, it's a bargain. Think of it this way. How many critical presentations do you make in a year? Say 6? (once every 2 months?).
    What makes these presentations critical? Mostly because you are presenting critical reviews or pitching valuable ideas to senior stakeholders.
    How valuable would these ideas be? You might be pitching ideas worth millions in some meetings, but let’s take a conservative average of Rs. 1 million per pitch.
    If, after attending the course, you convert even one pitch in a year - because of better storytelling - then the value of the program would be more than realized! :)
    To give you the example of just one such person - Here is the story of Nitish (name changed) - a business leader from one of the companies I worked with.

    (As an aside, the pricing also ensures that you put in the effort to actually watch the videos).

  • Does the fee include GST? Also, can I get a GST invoice?

    Yes! The fees are all-inclusive of taxes.
    In case you need a GST invoice, drop me an email with your entity name, address and GSTIN and I'm happy to provide the same. Please note that invoices would be batch processed on a monthly basis!

  • What is your refund policy?

    I am confident that you will get massive value from the course - and achieve tangible impact at work.
    Having said that, I'm committed to full learner satisfaction. And so, if you watch all the video lessons, complete the quizzes, and still don’t find the course valuable, I’ll happily refund your full payment.

  • How does Thinkific work? And what if I face any access issues?

    Thinkific is an online platform for hosting e-courses. Once you click on enrol, you will need to register with your basic details, make the payment and then you will get access to the entire course - a set of 61 videos (and some quizzes) on the topic, across 7 Modules. It's pretty intuitive to use.
    In the last 4 years of using Thinkific, there have been no issues on access. But in case you face any issues, please email me at [email protected] and I will do my best to solve the issue at the earliest. In case the issue persists, then I will issue a refund.

  • I would like to purchase bulk licenses for my company. How do I do that?

    Great! Please send me an email at [email protected] with the details and I'll get back with some special pricing options.

Inspire change through the power of story

Convert complex HR data into simple, compelling, visual narratives