Jeffrey Archer in Gurgaon

I happened to attend a book promotion event at Landmark this Saturday, and the book being promoted was ‘Paths of Glory’ and the author was Jeffrey Archer. Now I must admit that I have not read any book by the author, but I know almost everyone I know has read some works of Lord Archer. Going by what I heard about him, I expected him to be a master storyteller and that is what he exactly turned out to be. I enjoyed myself completely at the event and for the first time saw a book shop full to the brim and people queuing up for taking his autographs.

Post the event I was thinking about what made him such a great storyteller. Like a typical VIP in India, he turned up late for the event, and then started by blaming the traffic for his delay. He started by talking about the book that he was promoting, stating carefully the parts that would excite the audience and make them get up and pick the book from the next aisle and read it as soon as possible. He spoke about himself, about his book, his struggle to get his first novel published, interesting anecdotes and everything sprinkled with a bit of humor. In future tense, he connected with the local audience and said he wanted to be transport minister in India, is writing a story based in India and spoke about R K Narayan and how he became a fan of his after reading his books. He took questions from audience, most of which were well anticipated questions. He answered every question with humor and honesty, when he had to say No, he said No. He took stock of the audience by asking them how many have read what kind of books, by asking how many write already and how many want to write in the future. Perfect communication, know who you are talking to, talk about them and their environment, talk about yourself in a way that they will buy you and your product. All this without being philosophical, without preaching and keeping the audience entertained. He managed to sell not only the book he just released but also the book that would come six months from now.

A master storyteller indeed…