Thumb Rules for Compelling Communication

What distinguishes Ravishankar lyer's Story Rules from the crowded field of business communication guides, is its commitment to practical application. The book features over 300 real-life examples drawn from diverse contexts, from Silicon Valley startups to Fortune 500 boardrooms and from nonprofit fundraising to political campaigns,

- OJASVITA TRIVEDI

IN AN ERA WHERE CORPORATE presentations have become synonymous with tedium, Ravishankar Iyer’s Story Rules emerges as a much-needed intervention in the world of business communication.

The book opens with a question that will resonate with anyone who has sat through or delivered a lacklustre presentation: When was the last time you faced a high-stakes communication moment and how did you perform?

Whether pitching to investors, briefing the board or addressing thousands of employees at a town hall, these pivotal moments can define careers and shape organisational outcomes. Iyer identifies a trend that he describes as troubling within business communication today. Too frequently, essential information gets lost within a mass of statistics, frequently used technical terms that sound meaningless to the listener, and broad generalisations that leave listeners bored, confused or uninterested in what is being discussed.

The challenge is not that there is a lack of credibility or evidence supporting the information presented; but that there is a lack of knowledge on how to deliver that knowledge in a manner that engages, motivates and persuades the listener. In Story Rules, the author presents a solution to this issue by utilising 31 classic techniques of storytelling for business communications. In four basic areas of the book, the author presents the essential elements of effective communication.