Why Storytelling is a Form of Engineering
I remember growing up, I always wanted to be an engineer.
No clue why.
It’s something that I said I was going to be when I was 5 years old.
Wish was granted.
I remember the first day I became an engineer.
The first company I interned for was a very small Aerospace company.
Since the company was so small, I was able to be much more involved.
I was a part of a project which was going to give airplane operators a tracking system.
It was amazing seeing the product from the idea phase all the way into production phase.
I had a behind the scenes look into how many moving parts it takes for 1 product to come alive.
How different people need to collaborate, components need to work with one another & business owners need to be happy.
But a few years later, things changed.
I joined a BIG corporation. A fortune 500 company.
And now I was a small fish in a big sea.
I was still an engineer, but a different one.
I was more so the engineer who fixed stuff, rather than create stuff.
That was fun for a few.
Until it became boring as fuck. Felt repetitive to me.
But at least I learned engineering from a different angle.
‘Armani, how does all this connect to storytelling?
Hold up champ, I’m getting there…
In this big corporation, I eventually had enough!
I realized how many flaws there were in the system that we managed. So, I decided to design some PowerShell scripts to automate the issue.
My manager was hesitant.
But my CEO was delighted.
My CEO had a boss mentality. He liked things being created to solve problems.
He was also disgusted by how many engineers just waited to be barked an order rather than being proactive.
He decided to take me under his wing and teach me how to see engineering from the life of a businessman.
I owe a lot to him.
At that point, I started to see engineering from the life of a creator, not a worker.
Now how does that tie into storytelling?
Well, at the core of it all…
Engineering comes down to different components being structured together to form 1 final product which solves a problem/s.
The components on their own mean nothing.
But together, they produce magic.
Same concept with storytelling.
Storytelling comes down to different ideas being structured together to get a narrative across which enlightens the reader.
The words on their own mean nothing.
But when intertwined correctly, it produces magic.
I used to think creative people were weird.
My engineering nature didn’t like the idea of people thinking of random shit and calling it creative.
I thought it was just madness!
But when I looked closer, I noticed a lot of creatives operate with frameworks.
There was a method to their madness.
That’s how the everyday world connects with the storytelling world.
From here on out, SEE the isolated components. Then COMPREHEND how they all come together to form one final product.
-It could be something as simple as observing your remote controller to TV combo.
-The different parts in your microwave.
-The different apps on your phone etc.
Everything on this planet is a form of engineering.
Practical or artistic.
Just need to see between the lines.
When you start thinking like this, telling stories becomes easier.
Rather than trying to awkwardly push random ideas and rambling away.
You become much more coherent.
In a circuit, the battery gives the circuit life.
In a personal brand, you are the battery.
Therefore, get inspiration from the tangible world.
Then turn it into a story in the intangible world.
You’ll realize what a fluid storyteller you were all along.
For more insights into storytelling, be sure to check out my book, The Art & Science of Storytelling:
✨Ebook
✨Paperback/Kindle
✨Audiobook
