Meet the team: Natalia
Hari caught up with brilliant Natalia Martin to capture a bit more about her and the strengths she brings to the 13 Times Project Delivery team.
Where are you based?
Argentina, Buenos Aires, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, 3 hours behind the UK.
How did you become a storytelling trainer?
It was 2018… I had been working for over 12 years at a major TV production company, Endemol Argentina. It was then that I realized the world was changing, and I knew I had to change too. So I began to delve deeper into storytelling.
And while I've been a screenwriter and storyteller my whole life, what I really wanted was to understand how to help people convey their messages. That's how, in 2019, I joined Accenture, where I was able to develop my skills as a trainer and support all the consultants.
Why is storytelling important to you?
I think that today, among all the digital noise, it's crucial to understand the best way to tell stories and exist in the minds of your audience. Otherwise, in the middle of all the data and analytics, we become just Instagram stories... we disappear in 24 hours.
What’s your superpower?
The ability to generate content-verbal, writen or audiovisual content - to spark discussion on a topic without being the main focus, to create intrigue, and to keep the conversation going. Soft skills like storytelling are among my strengths: the ability to tell stories while understanding the needs and interests of the person in front of me. Empathy.
I'm a specialist to train people who are afraid or struggle to articulate their ideas, and through public speaking, reading what their bodies and faces aren't saying. Specialist in nonverbal language
Do you have any training anecdotes or client transformation stories?
I have a few! When presenting to a client of a major cola brand, they were afraid to surprise them with disruptive ideas during a presentation. They were afraid of being unconventional... but one of them took the plunge.
The client was super happy and from then on, they understood that they always wanted to push themselves out of their comfort zone. They had become loyal customers. Presenting without using PPT, and using micro-sites sending and delivering dynamic content before and after the Oral Presentation.
Another time there was a speaker at an Hybrid Oral presentation who had a lot of difficulty speaking in public. So I suggested doing a presentation like a TV show...With live mobile feeds from outside the office and pre-recorded interviews with leaders. It was a success! And the client stayed for over an extra hour asking questions.
One of my most memorable successes was an 8-hour in-person Argentine-Brazilian oral presentation. The Team and I created a story based on a journey through the stars, using an interactive PowerPoint presentation that proposed missions and a video game structure. The client was completely captivated by the content and the storyline. That's what made it a winning proposal!
Also, during a training session, a young woman from Global Mobility asked me, "What's the point of storytelling?" and said, "I don't use it..." I replied that every time she emailed a client, she had to use storytelling. Conveying a message with a purpose and an idea is fundamental to any profession. She understood that it mattered how she answered; each client needed a specific response. Because we are still people communicating with others.
Tell us something you think everyone should know/try…
I am convinced that everyone should always try to learn something new! Always be prepared to step outside your comfort zone, be willing to feel uncomfortable trying and continuously learn new things.
Understand how to take care of yourself mentally and physically so you can also help others. Understand that your superpowers will always become more powerful when you work as a team, combining all the superpowers! For me, it's always great to be with different people who think differently – the challenge is in finding common ground and creating moments of connection that uplift us…
Natalia is one of our wonderful associates, specialising in Storytelling and Facilitation Excellence. Check out the rest of the team and find out more about the training we offer.
