WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Hari Kumar's goal is to help people excel at what he calls the oldest art form: story telling.

 

The engineer turned communications specialist recently struck out on his own to found Connect Convivo, which offers public speaking programs. 

 

"Convivo means with life, with joy, with warmth, like in convivial. So the idea is to help people build confidence and joy in their ability to connect," he said. "So with my background in communication, I know that communication isn't just about conveying content. 

 

"It's about building a connection, and especially in these AI driven days, people are really hungry to connect in authentic ways, and storytelling is one of the most authentic."

 

Kumar offers training and classes to help people enhance their personal and organizational speaking skills in storytelling, conversation, networking and presentations. 

 

"So public speaking, presenting customer engagement. For nonprofits, I offer classes on mission-driven storytelling. For businesses, I do customer centric storytelling," he said. "And then for the general public, it starts out with just getting up on stage and telling the story with no slides, no notes, no memorization."

 

Kumar is offering a four-week in-person storytelling series on Wednesdays starting Jan. 8 and ending with a showcase on Jan. 29. More information here; "Adventures in Storytelling" is limited to 10 people. He's also planning a virtual class on presentations and a business storytelling class in February while continuing the regular series.