Meera Barath, one of the prominent storytellers, spin magic tales through her academic and linguistic skills

A dinosaur lover who dons many hats, Meera Barath utilizes her academic and linguistic skills to spin magical tales. Her stories take you on a mystical and exciting ride. She likes to believe that I am a wandering Dinosaur and a Passionpreneur. Just like George in Peppa Pig, she too loves Dinosaurs. "I am a sparrow in the morning, an Eagle in the afternoon, and an Owl in the latter part of the day, always listening to the Dinosaur within me", she says. An M.Sc in Psychology, NLP Master Practitioner, with 14 years of experience in HR, Recruitment, and Training and consumed by the love for writing/blogging her thoughts. BV: Did you always consider yourself a performing storyteller? What was your inspiration behind turning a storyteller? Meera: I always loved being surrounded by and being with people, which was more about listening to their stories and sharing my thoughts. I didn't realize it was stories that I love listening to and sharing. I always loved to be with children and that made me tell stories to children and when my princess stepped into my life, I started quilling motherhood and &  "Me-time" stories that actually helped me share and flow my thoughts like a bird. Also, this brought about a connection with like-minded writers and storytellers. While working as an HR officer and Trainer, I used to write organization and employee-related articles on LinkedIn, which was again experiences knitted into stories. Meera Barath- Storyteller & NLP practitioner BV: What is your preferred genre of storytelling and why have you chosen it? Also, who’s your target audience? Meera: I love mythological stories connected with the current happenings. And my writings are usually in the same space. I love all genres and mostly, my audiences are children and parents, as per the requisite, I spin tales for my audiences.   BV: Given the present scenario, what challenges are the artistes facing? Meera: The connection with the audience is the main challenge that artistes face today. When I say this I am sharing this as an audience. It's not just about telling stories, it's also about building that connection with the usage of the right kind of words and voice modulation. Words are powerful and it's very important to build a connection and establish the same throughout the narration. As some stories have morals and some do not, as a storyteller, it is how we make our audience think and act as an enabler is always an important factor in building that rapport and connection with the listeners.   BV: In your opinion, how beneficial/different are online LIVE sessions from that of a live audience? Meera: It is different though both are ways to build an association. In a LIVE session, the audience has the choice to remain active or move away from the screen. Although many would like to be there, owing to various commitments at home/office, they move from one screen to another. In a real-time interaction with the audience, it's an eye to eye, ear to ear connection. The feelings and the in-person string is strongly connected with the storyteller. In this scenario, both interact with each other. The LIVE sessions are restricted to listening to or viewing what the audience wants to share through comments. At the end of the day, one is beneficial and the other might take a second-tier basis the requirements and situations. It's important for the storyteller or the facilitator to keep the string connected.   BV: How do you think the online LIVE sessions are impacting the audience in these turbulent times? Meera: In these turbulent times, it's a simple and handy medium for anyone to connect, without the running around and traveling. It's all in one go with the world held by the internet. BV: Any word of advice for upcoming storytellers? Meera: Be you, because you are your Brand! Do model others but retain your DNA and Central dogma. For more such updates, follow us on Facebook and  Instagram. Download our magazine Spunky Indian for exclusive stories.