Thread by @NaijaFlyingDr

I think it's worthwhile for finance professionals to pop into one of @elnathan_john's classes on story telling.

I still meet people with ACCA/CFA/CIMA/Financial modelling/ICAN/ICAN'T etc. That know the numbers, but are completely unable to tell the story behind the numbers.

As much as we think that only the numbers matter there are actually three levers that influence people to take action on an idea.

Aristole described them as ethos, pathos and logos.

Logos is the power of logic/data/numbers and statistics. People like me and many other finance professionals/scientists believe the "numbers speak for themselves". We are deeply rational.

Unfortunately, most humans are not.

There are two other levers that are just as important.

Ethos is credibility. Your track record. Brand and whether the presenter has adequately communicated their expertise.

Qualifications/experience signal to an audience that you are worth listening to.

Signals like a Nigerian 'Ivy League University like LBS, OAU or Unilag. Improve credibility. This is probably even MORE important for women than men.
theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/…

The final lever is pathos which is actually the subject of this thread.

Your ability to tell the story, to inspire, to use analogy, to paint a picture, to make people laugh.

This is a finance professional/deal makers secret weapon.