EP 232: Walk the Talk London: Innovating with Visual Storytelling with Natalia Talkowska
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EP 232: Walk the Talk London: Innovating with Visual Storytelling - A Chat with Natalia Talkowska
In a refreshing episode of The Jens Heitland Show, we introduced a new format called "Walk the Talk." This episode, featuring the incredibly talented Natalia Talkowska, delves into the innovative realms of visual storytelling and strategic impact in businesses. Natalia, the founder of Nautauka Design, shares her journey of transforming a unique skillset into a thriving business venture.
From Idea to Innovation
Natalia's story is a testament to innovation and creativity. Her biggest innovative leap was starting a business that no one thought could be a business – combining her skills in listening, drawing, and instant clarity. Nautauka Design, now 13 years strong, focuses on creating transformative experiences for clients by visualizing their ideas, values, marketing strategies, and more.
The Essence of Visual Storytelling
Natalia's approach is about more than just drawing; it's about visualizing stories that have strategic impacts on organizations. She delves into how she began this journey, starting with no formal education in illustration or business but driven by sheer curiosity and a passion for drawing and human stories.
Impactful Mentorship
A pivotal moment in Natalia's path was meeting a mentor who recognized her talent and guided her. This mentorship not only kicked off her career but also instilled a belief in her abilities and the importance of visual storytelling in driving change.
Bringing Strategies to Life
Natalia highlights the power of visualization in bringing strategies to life. She speaks about the importance of alignment and clarity in team settings, especially in large-scale projects like revamping London Bridge Station. Her work showcases how visual experiences can accelerate project delivery and create a shared vision.
Daily Innovation and Strategy Visualization
For those looking to innovate daily, Natalia advises starting with simple sketches and doodles to visualize ideas and strategies. This approach helps in making abstract concepts tangible and understandable, especially in complex business environments.
The Human Element in Innovation
Natalia emphasizes the human aspect of innovation – the power of connection, storytelling, and making others feel seen. Whether it's through large-scale projects or simple acts of kindness, her mission is to ensure that everyone feels their voice and story matter.
This episode of "Walk the Talk" with Natalia Talkowska offers a unique perspective on innovation, emphasizing the importance of visual storytelling in business strategies. It's a must-listen for those who seek to understand the impact of visual communication in bringing ideas to life and fostering a sense of belonging and recognition in both personal and professional settings.
Tune in to The Jens Heitland Show to hear Natalia's full story and gain insights into how visual storytelling can transform the way we approach innovation and business strategies.
Timeline:
00:00 Introduction and Welcome
00:04 Innovative Ways of Working: A Conversation with Natalia
00:32 Natalia's Innovative Business Idea
01:59 The Journey of Starting a Business
02:44 The Power of Mentorship and Taking Action
04:06 Visualizing Stories for Strategic Impact
06:59 The Role of Visualization in Strategy Execution
09:46 The Impact of Visualization on Society
15:52 The Power of Doodling and Designing
20:47 Helping People Be Seen: Natalia's Mission
23:33 Conclusion: Walking the Talk Together
Guest Links:
Natalia on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nataliatalkowska/
Natalia Business: https://www.natalkadesign.com/
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Transcript:
(This Transcript is AI generated)
[00:00:02] Jens Heitland Podcast:
Hello, and welcome to the Inside Land Show. And today, we have a very special guest, which is Natalia.
Hi. And we have a special format. As you can see, if you watch the video version of it, It's a new episode style and a new episode format, which is called Walk the Talk, where we go deeper into innovative ways of working and how people really innovate. And that's what we talk about with Natalia today. Hello.
So, Natalia, tell us The biggest innovative idea you ever had made yourself and did it.
[00:00:42] Natalia Talkowska: Oh my god. Can I say starting a business that no one thought is gonna be a business? You can. Because that wasn't a business.
So I think combining my skills of Listening, drawing really well, and doing it in a very instant, clear [00:01:00] way, Suddenly, it became an idea for a business that I never thought it would.
[00:01:03] Jens Heitland Podcast: So what is the business about?
[00:01:05] Natalia Talkowska: Well, the business called Nautauka Design, I run it now one3 years, and we're all about creating beautiful transformative experiences for clients to bring up the value of their idea. And how we do it is Visualizing immersive experiences, creating beautiful visual stories of their ideas, their values, their marketing, their pitches, whatever it is that they need. Basically, there's a problem, and how can we solve it in a beautiful, engaging, visual way so that people care?
[00:01:33] Jens Heitland Podcast: So that was not the talking part. Now we go into the walking part where we look deeper into how do you visualize stories that have a strategic impact for organization. Let's go really deep into how you get started with that.
[00:01:50] Natalia Talkowska: Oh, well, I always say, do you want a espresso version or a wine version?
[00:01:55] Jens Heitland Podcast: Let's start with the espresso version and then we can go into the wine world.
Exactly.
[00:01:59] Natalia Talkowska: Well, the [00:02:00] story goes, I shouldn't be maybe saying that, but I've never studied one lesson in illustration, never studied one class in never studied one class in business, so I'm a bit of a liar. Um, but the story goes, I was always really curious. I came here just to study. I was supposed to go Home.
And I just always stayed curious, got in touch with people. That was the days when Twitter was a thing. It was starting. Still Twitter. X.
I hate that And I treated, um, a very interesting businessman, charity owner, consultant. His name was Darren Robson. And and I said, well, I would love to meet you for a coffee. I have all these ideas, but I don't know how to put them together. And I was in a very bad job then, underpaid, in a start up, not a good vibe, didn't know what to do with myself.
And he met me, and it's not really too much to say that he changed my life In that hour, it was very, very powerful hour in my life where let's say the sentiment goes, he was just saying, You're talented. What is what are [00:03:00] you doing? You gotta leave the job. I don't know how I'm gonna help you still. Here's my number.
Let's figure this out, but You've got a talent. People will need that. People need to see their stories that they need to have them told, um, to drive any change. So He was really passionate about it, and I was a bit like, what do you mean? And long story short, he kicked my ass.
He became my mentor for the next 6 months. He covered my expenses. I was, like, blown away that people do that. Like, until today, I just find It was the right moment, the right time, luck, everything combined. And I'll be forever grateful because until today, it Just continues to drive me in the most magical way.
Yeah. What he gave me then is a basically, he saw me, I think. He saw my talent. So that I'm here for a reason, I guess, and it was, like, the biggest gift and the start of something very
[00:03:54] Jens Heitland Podcast: special.
From a story perspective, you started that story by moving to London. [00:04:00] Yes. And we're standing on London Bridge today Yes. Which is awesome. We're a branch.
Yeah. So starting with a mentor, but the innovation piece was you Taking it step by step forward. So how did you do that this walking part? one is the one thing is having and getting the opportunity of someone believing in you, and the other thing is making it happen. So what did you do?
What kept you going? What did you do on a daily base to get one step ahead in front of each other.
[00:04:30] Natalia Talkowska: Well, to be fair with you, even before meeting him, I was always So in love with drawing and visualizing people's stories and bringing it to life. And I was always just fascinated by humans and The stories that they tell and just I've always been illustrating. Always.
I always say it's my longest internship in my life as a kid even because that matters. By the famous one0000 hours, I guess. So let's say, unknowingly, I was building that up [00:05:00] until meeting him and And action, like, started to create itself. So I already had a random portfolio of things. I was doing tons of things for free.
I was illustrating random things. I was helping people problem solve visually. I was creating mood boards for people. I was doing all sorts of things. And, like, there's kids' books out there with my illustrations.
Who knows? So let's say I was unknowingly building that up, but I was always feeling that there's something more out there for me than what I was doing. I was always feeling that, I don't know, in there, like, I know I'm I'm here to do to help people to do bigger things, to just share my skill, I guess, in my brain with more humans so they can Also, you know, get inspired by it and see the change and drive their passions through that. So I was doing Since before, then I met him, and then you're right. Like, that was the moment where you either go home and you're like, who is that guy?
Like, let me just go back to my safety, I [00:06:00] Yes. In a way, yes. I was underpaid. Really bad, London. But I I was just, like he gave me so much energy.
I was, like, Okay. That's it. I'm gonna find someone. I found someone who, for free, did my first website. There was no Squarespace back then.
There was nothing. It was heavily coded. I had no I idea how he even did it. I found someone to help me with my cards, and I just started running around and talking to people. Like, I always say to everyone, just connect with people, talk, and ask questions.
And that's just, I think, what I've been doing for the Last god knows how many years, and I continue
[00:06:35] Jens Heitland Podcast: to. Yeah. You know? I love that because as the listeners know, I always talk about the human And innovation aspect, and that is, uh, human interaction with each other and processes and ways of thinking and the steps you are doing, like, putting things into action through relationships because that's where the magic comes to, where where the magic happens literally. Yeah.
[00:07:00] So Talking about what you do, if you if you work with organization, we have talked about that in the past as well and would love to Dig deeper into that. So one of the things you you do is helping companies to visualize strategies and help them to tell their stories. So When we look into any innovating and walking the talk when it comes to strategy, what have you seen in strategies and organization that Didn't come to life, and how do you do that that and help them to come to life?
[00:07:30] Natalia Talkowska: Well, again, it's like all we do at Nataka Design is for people to be seen. I I feel so strongly about it because it's one thing to come up with an idea.
And I always think about a metaphor of you've got a team, you've got a sometimes companies have big teams, and everyone's rowing. Let's say everyone's got a rowing machine, and there's no way that Not everyone's gonna roll the same way and understand you exactly what's your vision. Because usually CEOs and leaders are so passionate About the vision, they know, they feel it, they're like, [00:08:00] we've got this. They set up the strategy. It's a beautiful kickoff usually in January.
Everyone's excited. But what happens then is they forget that not everyone understands that vision. Not everyone is aligned. Not everyone actually gets it. Not Everyone finds it clear enough.
It's down to cultural backgrounds even, down to language, down to how we view certain points. It's down to all sorts of things. So What this visual experience brings is alignment, is bringing everyone on the same page, is inspiring. We literally see how when we bring these strategies to life, people just go, wow. There's that feeling of, like, we can actually do it.
There's that accountability. You can literally tick something off, and we all like to tick something off and see How we're progressing rather than think how we're progressing. You know how I even spoke to you recently, like, if I don't put things down, I'm, like, I'm, like, all over the place. I'm like, this, that, what? [00:09:00] What's going on?
We're too overwhelmed. So think of it as this beautiful, experiential, immersive hub to bring That strategy into one place and actually make it very actionable. That's where I see the biggest change.
[00:09:13] Jens Heitland Podcast: Yeah. And I, uh, what I love about that, it's understandable for people that might not have been part of the strategy process.
Because a lot of time, the strategy is built with a specific group that is working together, let's say, maybe one0 managers, one0 different people. But the people that are working in the retail stores are on the frontline of that organization. They might not have been involved. So they often don't understand from a strategic visionary concept to what does it really mean, what is the detailed action, and and what you do is bringing that to life. Yeah.
No.
[00:09:46] Natalia Talkowska: And, like, when you say that, it's actually quite nostalgic because we're near London Bridge Station. And one of the projects that we helped to bring to life was Few years of revamping that station from not a pretty good one to the [00:10:00] latest kind of state of art station in to0one8, one9. And how we helped them to bring it to life was literally visualizing who's involved, Who is needed? What's the challenges?
What's the opportunity? What's the vision? Literally a timeline, but in a very coherent, clear, Synthesized way so that we don't need to always look at 500 things, 500 documents. We can always come back to one place. And what it brought again is alignment, and the speed of delivery was 3 times faster.
And just everyone was just excited because they could see what's going to happen. It's the whole, like I think there's the art to visualization. I don't know how much you go into that, but if you dig Dig deeper into visualization and the power of it. There's all the data and studies and science that once our brains can see something, Thanks, bro. We literally are double more likely to achieve it because the brain doesn't know whether that's true or not.
It [00:11:00] just sees it. Therefore, it thinks it's real. So I like to play with a lot of neuroscience behind and, you know, kind of psychological tricks, Uh, to get people to see the value of it. Yeah.
[00:11:12] Jens Heitland Podcast: I think a very, very important one, specifically To those listeners or the people who are watching the video version of this, a lot of people see the beautiful visualizations And think the the product is the visualization, but it's not about the visualization.
Yes. It is, but it's more about the process on how you get there and how you enable The stakeholders, as part of that process, to think differently through visual appealing stories that help them to understand how to take it to the next level, if I that you're right.
[00:11:44] Natalia Talkowska: Yeah. I mean, I always say, uh, it's not about the execution. You know?
If you want something if you we can create any transformative experience. It can be massive predictions. It can be VR experience, AR. It could be, um, art piece. It could be, Uh, [00:12:00] something you can print on your desk.
It doesn't almost matter because that is that is a skill that we have in the team. What matters is how we approach the problem, How we dig down deep into it, what questions we ask, and it's just beautiful and exciting. I wish I could film all these faces when we work behind the Scenes with people because it just gives that extra something special, I would say, in the room when people can literally see Their ideas coming to life much faster in just in front of them. It's like extracting things from their brain, and it's just that That's where I think it's the USP. That's why people keep coming back because it just it's a very different experience.
It's very immersive. Yeah. If
[00:12:38] Jens Heitland Podcast: we take London London Bridge Station as one of the examples. So you have been part of that project for a couple of years. What happened With that station, so the end product was the new station.
Obviously. And what happened to the people that have been involved? And as well, how was Experience change for the people that are traveling through the station.
[00:12:59] Natalia Talkowska: Well, I don't [00:13:00] know the numbers. Now you're catching me on data that I should know.
But, Basically, um, it's just became state of the art station that allows for millions of more people to go through the station and travel, Uh, on the trains every year. Um, it's basically something that when I looked at the size of the project, I was a bit like, This will be a moment. And it's fascinating to see for me and my team to see behind the scenes how multilayered and Long and kind of complicated these projects sometimes are, yet here we are. Like, humans can create anything When there's alignment, when there's a plan, and there's a clear action plan. And I guess we are sitting in that intersection of there's information, There's action and we're in between.
We allow that action in a more interesting, inspiring, clear way, I would say. Yeah. So
[00:13:56] Jens Heitland Podcast: yeah. Another key thing [00:14:00] for me to learn about from that It's really the impact you do with what you're doing is not just the organization. It's the people that are exposed to the project they are doing.
And it's the the customers, the clients, the travelers that are part of this transformation. And that goes back to walking the talk. It's not just Theoretically thinking about a concept about the strategy is how do you work with a strategy so that it is Translated into action like you said. Yeah. And then making it happen for the people that are traveling, for the customers that are shopping, for the end consumers of the organization or the the product.
[00:14:39] Natalia Talkowska: That's the thing. Right? We all do we all are involved in projects. We all need to work. That's how the world is built, but it just gives you so much more meaning, I guess as individual, as a team, as a bigger unit where you see that what you created and what you worked on so carefully has an impact And allows more people to well, it's down [00:15:00] to someone can see each other on a weekend.
Someone has a job in a shop and can support themselves. Someone every day, someone's saying hello and hugs every day. You know, like, when you think about even these sort of results of a project, That's that's what makes it so much more exciting. And that's also what we put on those visualizations because it's not just like, yeah, Project done. Kate, we're going.
It's about what this will allow wider society to experience. Yeah.
[00:15:31] Jens Heitland Podcast: I would like to transition to walking the talk. So what can people do that are thinking about a strategy and a storytelling and visualization and connecting that. What can small things people can do to innovate on a daily basis for themselves, with themselves, and with maybe super simple tricks you could give That's
[00:15:51] Natalia Talkowska: the thing.
You don't need to call us up straight away. You don't need to worry. Oh, you know, I don't draw or I don't know how to even, where to start? First of all, [00:16:00] if if you've got a team, there's always someone, I bet you, who likes to doodle, who likes to come up with ideas. And Let's be honest.
All of us as kids, we're drawing, we're doodling even, you know, when we were young. So I just really believe this is a skill that we could all put back into practice a bit So I would say on a daily, have a look at whatever idea or project you're working on. Take out one sentence out of it, And even literally with stickmen and dots and circles, try to put it on a paper and see what comes up. If you don't like how it looks like, is there The one that can help you make this look better. If you don't have anyone around you, are there tools that can help you?
Like Canva, like Photoshop, like all these tools. Right? Again, if there's if you don't have the tools, there's websites where tons of freelancers and excited excited young people can help you to bring that to life. So On a daily, you can start with a little note and start thinking visually and maybe your next presentation. Yes.
Have your [00:17:00] amazing fancy slides and all the report, But also maybe start the day and start the conversation with, like, guys, I kind of, like, doodled 3 points of what we're gonna talk about today and just show it. And I promise you, suddenly, the focus From you as a individual goes to the map always because people go, You got them immersed. First, you got them engaged. That's how visualizations work. So I would say there's so many ways to start it.
Just start tiny. Start small. Get a notebook. Start doodling what is the next idea and see if you you know, sometimes to be fair to you, people connect with simple sketches because they feel more familiar. They don't feel overwhelmed that it needs to be super that it needs to be super pretty.
Often, we don't start anything because we're scared it's not gonna be perfect. I don't believe in that. Nothing's perfect. Nothing's perfect. So So just little steps.
[00:17:54] Jens Heitland Podcast: I would love to go deeper into that from when you have been talking about doodling and and [00:18:00] and designing and and doing things. You always use your hand like a pen. Yeah. What is the difference from your experience Using a pen and a paper or a pen at least rather than a mouse and a and a a scratch pad or a pad that goes into digital tools
[00:18:15] Natalia Talkowska: straight away. I would say it's, uh, there's something it's a different connection for the brain.
Mhmm. So so I highly, highly encourage All of us coming back to the last point, use your hand more when you can for coming up with ideas, for scribbling stuff out, for writing. None of us have any more a riding style. Like, at school, I had the best style, writing style. Where's that?
We all lost it. I didn't. Definitely. So I am the biggest fan of digital. Anyone that knows me would know I'm always the first one to test out a new gadget or a new tech.
But There's a different connection between what your brain is pros processing and how you're using your hand. So I would say, do find places for scribbling, [00:19:00] ideating, coming up with ideas where you can use your hand. It's very powerful.
[00:19:04] Jens Heitland Podcast: And then, like you said, it don't need to be pretty. Because I know that I'm at least, I'm I don't think that I'm the best drawer, but I know that I can do it because I do it with my daughter.
Oh, 0, there you go. And and literally, her drawings look better than mine, but she still understands that, oh, this is a fire truck and this is a A boat. So, yes, I can make myself under understood by using my hand and using a visual tool that helps her understanding what I'm talking about. And if we link that to business, we can all do that. It's just our anxiety that it might seem not Professional if it's, uh, a car that doesn't look like a real car, but everyone understands it is a car.
Yeah. And it's more often you draw it, which goes back to walking the talk as more often you do it, as better you
[00:19:53] Natalia Talkowska: get. Totally. And I would say that's the thing. We if we all did a bit more of using that Skill, [00:20:00] as in you're running a session.
You're you're drawing me a car. I don't I couldn't care less how it looks like. Yeah. I understand it's a car. You're trying to make a point Yeah.
In the conversation, if the only thing we're worried about is someone going like, that doesn't look like car, Jens. Is that really the point of today's meeting? Right? No one says that about writing. That's the very interesting thing.
Does anyone tell you that's really bad writing? Maybe your mom would say that back in the days or Something, but no one comments on that. Why do we comment and judge someone's drawing skills? It's not about drawing. It's it's about making a point.
It's about communicating what's on your mind. And we all, if we get to see and we're lucky enough, we all can understand stickman. We all can understand circle, square, very simple shapes.
[00:20:47] Jens Heitland Podcast: So you mentioned helping people be seen. How do you do that, and how can and people learn from
that?
[00:20:56] Natalia Talkowska: Uh, how do I do that? I'm so, so [00:21:00] happy that I stand now that that's what I'm here for on this planet.
Like, I feel like I've always been doing it. I just could never name it. How do I do that? I do that through my skills. So, obviously, in my team skills, anything we produce usually ends up a beautiful visual immersive experience.
So I Help them with the team to be seen for their stories to be seen. That's, like, number one reason why we do what we do. And How I do that in life, it's also it's down to even noticing a barista in my cafe and saying hello rather than kinda coming up, like, you know, Tired or something is seeing a person that cleans our building every day and smiling at him and saying hello and how are you? And That's these things are so, so important for me that we all feel that we're seen. Because sometimes it takes one person one person to make you feel like You matter, and I believe that wholeheartedly.
And how others can do it is is what I just mentioned is down [00:22:00] from the tiniest things. How can you make someone feel seen? This could be a little comment. This could be A, um, little message. This could be asking them if they need any help.
This could be helping someone, I don't know, with groceries, and this could be using Your amazing skills to better the world and better your team and better everyone else. So it's to me, it's like from the tiniest things to massive projects on a scale. Right? Um, but I'm truly, truly passionate about it, and I very much believe in the importance of it.
[00:22:36] Jens Heitland Podcast: Why is that important to you?
[00:22:38] Natalia Talkowska: Because I know what it means, uh, not to be seen in life and it sucks. It makes you feel really lonely, and I have this endless, endless somehow need. I don't know if That's why I feel like I'm here, that I don't want anyone to feel like that. And even [00:23:00] if that is one person, one person on this planet that I can make Feel like they matter, and their voice matters, their story matters. I'm happy.
Like, even if it's one person, I feel like it's already been more than one person. So whenever is my last day on this planet, I'm just So happy to continue what I do, and I feel like it's my mission. I don't know. That's what drives me every
[00:23:24] Jens Heitland Podcast: day. This is an amazing mission, And I would love to finish the podcast with that and would Yay.
Thank you. Thank you. Yes. Thank you very much for Being on the first episode of the format Walk the Talk. Yes.
And for everyone who is watching the video, it's truly all about Helping people be seen. So walk the talk and let people be seen. Thank you very much, Natalia, and let's walk the talk together.
[00:23:53] Natalia Talkowska: Thank you. See you.